Second battery/cap electrical question...

[BFeezy 10+ year member]

Alright, right now I have a 220a alt, Big 3, and a red top. My lights keep dimming and my voltage is dropping slightly. Should I purchase a Batcap 2000 or an Optima Yellowtop?

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[kramer_212 10+ year member]

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id say kinetik, over the yellow top at least, this little guy is 900 amps 450cca, and is pretty cheap. and it can fit pretty much anywhere you want.

here one i put in earlier. basically the way kinetik rates there batteries is for the second bat an amp for every rms watt you are going to be running.

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

to add, if your lights are only dimming slightly a batcap 800 or kinetik h800/600 should be sufficient to solve your problem, but the only sure way to get rid of voltage drop is to purchase a ho alternator.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

 

[sacsking916 5,000+ posts]

Batcap>kinetic

 

[BnGRacing 10+ year member]

Alright, right now I have a 220a alt, Big 3, and a red top. My lights keep dimming and my voltage is dropping slightly. Should I purchase a Batcap 2000 or an Optima Yellowtop?

Your system is exceeding the current capabilities of your alternator and you're dipping into the voltage supply from the battery. A better battery isn't going to fix that problem as its voltage will be below the alternator. 5 batteries isn't going to fix it either, in practice it'll just make the situation worse as the alternator will have to power your system AND charge each battery which requires anywhere from 5A and up.

Have you tried slightly turning the gains down and/or using a subsonic? That'll make the system a bit more efficient as you won't be using current to reproduce signals you can hear (subsonic) and you're not wasting current by clipping the amp. Past that, you should probably think about trying a capacitor. Lots of people look down on them, but they work. Unfortunately many caps on the market are junk as they're a big plastic voltage meter and nothing more. A quality cap will not be made in Asia and won't be cheap unless you go used. If you're kinda iffy on using a cap, see if you can pick up a used Monster or old Stinger cap on ebay or in the classifieds. Not too long ago someone on DIYMA was selling a Stinger cap for $25 shipped...can't go wrong with that.

Just keep in mind that the rule for caps is 1 farad per 1kW with 1 farad minimum. Also, install it within 1' of the amp.

I swear by the things and have been using caps since the 90's but I'm not an SPL guy nor will I listen to music with lots of sine sweeps like that new/popular retarded techno stuff (can't think of the name of the genre). Caps are absolutely useless for SPL & long drawn out bass notes. But the little peaks where your amp needs a lot of current on demand, they're awesome and can help with dimming lights.