Capicator?

[mxrider250]

Right now I've got a 1 farad capicator hooked up to my system... (A8002T amp and 2 AWC12T subs.... overall drawing 800watts RMS) and the lights still dim like hell and you can see the voltage gague dip with each hard hit of bass. I just bought a new amp and subs, so I'm upping my amp wattage to 1300 RMS on an Audiobahn high current amp. I have no doubt that my car will struggle with this... here is my question: will a higher farad cap fix this problem? If I got a 3 farad cap would it help deal with my voltage problems? Or is the only solution to this problem a new alternator (right now I have a 72amp one). I'd prefer to stay away from a new alternator because of cost. But my question is, does the high number of farads that the cap is, dictate how much voltage it can fill for? What should I do?

-Kienan

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[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

Alternator, the Big 3...

If you do those and your car is still struggling add a 2nd battery....

 

[RattlinStratus 10+ year member]

Sell both caps, you dont need them. You dont need an HO alternator most likely. I would upgrade the big three (do a search for them on here).

Get a smaller battery, and then make sure your grounds are clean, and tight.

Since you upgrading though I would get the HO just so you have more room to expand in the future.

 

[RattlinStratus 10+ year member]

Oh and the voltage is not dictated by the farad size. The farad means how much "energy" it will store. A smaller farad cap will charge quicker, but a larger cap will send a bigger jolt of energy for say.

IF you still have your A8002T, i would be interested in buying it, or trading for something. I got a pair of 12s and a bunch of caps.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

...a larger cap will send a bigger jolt of energy for say.

Thought you might find this interesting...

per se

adv : with respect to its inherent nature; "this statement is interesting per se" [syn: intrinsically, as such, in and of itself

 

[RattlinStratus 10+ year member]

Lol its an expression i use a lot

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

Sell both caps, you dont need them. You dont need an HO alternator most likely. I would upgrade the big three (do a search for them on here).
Get a smaller battery, and then make sure your grounds are clean, and tight.

Since you upgrading though I would get the HO just so you have more room to expand in the future.

Wouldn't a smaller battery hurt the system overall? I believe the purpose of getting a new batt is to get one with a higher capacity (Ah) and more CCA's (cold cranking amps).

 

[mxrider250]

Thanks alot guys, I'll prolly try to get a 3 farad and see how that goes.

-Kienan

 

[RattlinStratus 10+ year member]

Theoretically the smaller battery has less battery to maintain at a certain amount of volts. You really only need the higher capacity if you run your stereo with the car off for comps or stuff.

 

[Scarenius 10+ year member]

I don't think a 3 farad capacitor is going to do much. Seriously, take care of the big 3, it takes a little more time, but a lot less money, and the payoff is better, too.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

the caps will do nothing to help an already struggeling charging system.....the will in fact add to the load that your charging system......if u dont wanna buy a new alt a cheaper option is to get it rewound....might check around for local alt shops and see how much they charge to rewind your alt......generally its about 1-3bux / amper........

 

[travisx01 10+ year member]

If ya play your tunes loud longer than a few seconds its running off your alternator and battery, the caps energy has already been consumed and is now in a recharge state, which in turn can create ADDITIONAL load on your supply! DO NOT GET A CAP!!!

 

[drppindimes 10+ year member]

I don't really like caps myself, but how would a batcap work in this situation?

 

[JoseMCeee 10+ year member]

New batt ( Like yellowtop) and new HO alt would be 4 times as better than adding caps and would cost nearly the same price. Just a little bit more. But that money is really worth it.