capacitor?

[popcanfish]

ok i hear so many different things and I just need to know what I need. I have a 2000 boneville ssei I have 2 12 inch alpine type r subs and a phoenix gold titanium 600ti amp. with 4 gauge wire running to it. I can totally tell the amp is not getting enough power but I want to know what I need to fix it. don't have much money to spend but i've been reading that capacitors don't really help much. So can anyone direct me in the right way? Thanks

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[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

capacitors are worthless....just add a 2nd battery.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Well without knowing the specs of that amp it's hard. Do you know how much power it's supposed to be outputting? If it's a lot you may want to upgrade to 1/0 power and ground. But I'm guessing it probably isn't that powerful and 4 gauge will suffice. The best thing you can do is the big 3, 1/0 would be the best but 4 gauge will suffice, and you should only need like 15ft of it.

 

[AlterEgo99 5,000+ posts]

capacitors are worthless....just add a 2nd battery.

^This

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

capacitors were useful for a while, then amplifier manufacturers started putting adequate capacitance inside the amps right on the power bus. if you use a cap, it needs to be as close to the amp terminals as possible. some amplifiers recommend external capacitance because they skimped on cost inside the amp.

a second battery isn't a default solution. before adding additional batteries you should replace your main battery, do the big 3, and evaluate the current capability of your current alternator. if you can't maintain 14V now, a second battery will only make things worse.

wire should be sized based on this chart:

 

[popcanfish]

Well my power wire is only like 4 feet long cause my battery is under my back seat. I wouldn't think this amp has a built in capacitor it's like 7-8 yrs old it's got a lot of power but just killing my car. the battery is band new in my car are you talking about upgrading to like and optima or something? If I try using a capacitor can I hurt anything or can i just see if it helps?

oh yeah and when I watch my volt reading on my car it gets down to like 13 volts regularly and even lower on some hits.

 

[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

Big 3