Proper Cap usage?

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

So, I have a bunch of equipment hooked into a 70 amp alternator. At my desired volume level I get slight dimming, and at abusively loud, it dims alot. I did notice however, that the dimming only occurrs on quick, hard hitting notes, but is fine on the longer drawn out notes.

My voltage only drops .4 at most, and once the initial hit is done, the lights are fine, even though there is still alot of bass. So, if I was to use a cap to eliminate, or atleast reduce, the amount of initial dimming, that would be using the cap properly?

I have a 1 farad from my more n00b system in the old car, so I'd just recycle that one.

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[expo5.0 10+ year member]

try it- see if it helps.

post your results...

-drew

i'm betting it DOES- not many will agree though.

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

No

Essplain?

I was told that a cap should only be used as a tool to reduce alternator spikeage through creating a 'pool' of energy that refills slower than the immediate hit an amp uses. Knowing that usually amps also have a small form of capacitor, and I apparently am exceeding that, I would assume the 1 farad would help, specifically since the dimming is not caused by the length of the bass note, just the initial introduction. If I even out that introduction, it should help, no?

If I'm wrong, I'd like to know, because the cap would be taking up room //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

try it. they can work fine with low wattege systems.

 

[expo5.0 10+ year member]

you will very likely be helped etc.- just do it

 

[.::DuD3::. 10+ year member]

it might help with small dips. but it is in no way meant to just fix your electrical system.

 

[expo5.0 10+ year member]

as far as this guy is concerned- it will fix all of his problems- 95% chance.

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

I understand, to open the amp up further, I'll need to grab the 160 Amp wrapped alternator, but I won't need that till I upgrade the speaker amp. It's just the initial hit that is making the lights dim a tad, enough to be annoying and look bad. I guess it doesn't help that the body of the vehicle is standing at 15 degrees, and the warmer it is, the better conductivity.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

and the warmer it is, the better conductivity.

Colder things conduct better...hence superconducting ceramics that are minus hundreds of degrees F.

You aren't going to get any change in conductivity through weather fluctuations that you can measure in a vehicle frame, though...

 

[BoomBoomBoy 10+ year member]

I've used caps successfully on my system. Not a cure all but will definitely help with voltage drop.

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

Colder things conduct better...hence superconducting ceramics that are minus hundreds of degrees F.
You aren't going to get any change in conductivity through weather fluctuations that you can measure in a vehicle frame, though...

I notice the lights dim worse when the car is cold, specifically the engine cold. After a 15 minute drive, it won't dim as much. Is this just because the battery is fully charged again?

 

[Radioflyer97 10+ year member]

i've notived a similar thing but it's not due to battery beign charged. with my old truck i had a digital volt meter on the dash. Right after startup on a warm day i'd have a 15.4volt reading, and after a cold day startup i'd have a 12.5volt reading

as far as installing a capacitor, a 1 farad cap should be good for 1000W of power, but then again if you're running 1000 watts, you should probably go with the H-O alternator.