capacitor working?

[mxracer591 10+ year member]

i finally got my set up working today. i have a alpine mrv-1000, bridged to one channel. the sub i have is a kicker compvr 12, dual 4 ohm voice coils. it is wired in parallel, so 2 ohms to the amp. i have a 1 farad capacitor that i bought from a friend for like $75 bucks. i'm pretty sure i have it hooked up right. only the "+" terminal is labeled, and i hooked both the battery 12v and the amp power cable to that terminal, and the ground to the other. i checked the voltage today, and it was at like 14v i think. maybe a little lower or higher, idk, i have a analog meter. but the point of my story is, after all was said and done, and i have the gain on the amp all the way up, i'm getting some pretty serious voltage drops. i'm dropping to just about 10 volts at some point, when listening to rap and stuff. it's pretty bad. anyway, isn't this what capacitors are supposed to stop? what's my best solution? big 3?

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[memphis_vette 10+ year member]

they are useless

 

[terra 5,000+ posts]

i finally got my set up working today. i have a alpine mrv-1000, bridged to one channel. ... i have a 1 farad capacitor that i bought from a friend for like $75 bucks. i'm pretty sure i have it hooked up right. only .... of my story is, after all was said and done, and i have the gain on the amp all the way up, i'm getting some pretty serious voltage drops. i'm dropping to just about 10 volts at some point, when listening to rap and stuff. it's pretty bad. anyway, isn't this what capacitors are supposed to stop? what's my best solution? big 3?

holy god...you got ripped bad! and caps do solve the problem..but to a very very tiny extent, at which point they become a burden to your electrical. big 3, bigger wire, better battery

 

[Enellz 10+ year member]

Personally I don't see how your voltage would drop that crazy with just 1000 (which Im guessing). With that much of a difference I say get a bigger battery and do you know what size your Alt is?

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

LOL??!?! 75$ ?!?!? bad deall......

 

[mxracer591 10+ year member]

i'm assuming my alternator is stock...it's a 97 gmc jimmy. i'm assuming the battery is too. i know the battery is nearing the end of it's life, because the previous owner also had a system in it. he's the douche who sold me the cap. it might have been 50 bucks, i don't remember. by the looks of it, still a bad deal though, right? lol.

 

[terra 5,000+ posts]

i'm assuming my alternator is stock...it's a 97 gmc jimmy. i'm assuming the battery is too. i know the battery is nearing the end of it's life, because the previous owner also had a system in it. he's the douche who sold me the cap. it might have been 50 bucks, i don't remember. by the looks of it, still a bad deal though, right? lol.

lets just say i bought 2 3farad caps for $40 brand new. (they were for a friend as a joke for a xmas present)

 

[silvercookie 5,000+ posts]

oh and turn your gains down

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

The fact that the gain is maxed is 90% of the problem. You're probably clipping the hell out of the amp and it's trying to draw a ton of current which you can't supply. Factor in the weak battery and there you have it. The cap isn't doing a thing for you (it can't).

 

[mxracer591 10+ year member]

The fact that the gain is maxed is 90% of the problem. You're probably clipping the hell out of the amp and it's trying to draw a ton of current which you can't supply. Factor in the weak battery and there you have it. The cap isn't doing a thing for you (it can't).

it sounds good? lol jk. yeah you are probably right. so basically what you are saying is that until i upgrade my battery, maybe do the big 3...i should keep the gain down to what i can supply as far as current is concerned?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

You should keep the gain down to keep the amp from clipping regardless of what kind of current you can supply. The clipping is bad in and of itself. That it is making your current supply situation worse is just one more thing.

 

[GMCJimmyslt2000 10+ year member]

what size wire are u running.

I would say upgrade wire to atleast 4gauge(if u dont already have) or 0/1gauge(perferably).

Get a new batt. up front(Optima, Kinetik, or deka). Also do they big 3 in 0/1 gauge.

 

[mxracer591 10+ year member]

what size wire are u running.
I would say upgrade wire to atleast 4gauge(if u dont already have) or 0/1gauge(perferably).

Get a new batt. up front(Optima, Kinetik, or deka). Also do they big 3 in 0/1 gauge.

i'm already running 4 gauge for my power and ground. i'll probably do the big 3 next then. then after that, get a new battery.

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

I would get the battery first.You need the power to supply the amp before you worry about upgrading the BIG 3.

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

Your supposed to set your gains according to the voltage output of your headunit's RCA's. The higher the RCA voltage the lower you set your gains. With 2 volt RCA's you set it 3/4 to full, but with 4 and 5+ volt headunit's your best to leave it at the minimum.