Completed Small cap needed 1.5-2 farad

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What's the issue you're trying to solve with a cap?
Excessive voltage drop with bass hits/lights dimming. For a 1000w rms mono (12" sub), a 300w mono (10" sub) and a 300w 4 ch (front door/high mounted tweeters) do I really need to do a big 3 upgrade (160 amp alt now) or will just a 1-2 farad cap on the 1k mono help? I'm working on a tight budget and not planning on getting too crazy about SPL in the future, more concerned with SQ.
 
Excessive voltage drop with bass hits/lights dimming. For a 1000w rms mono (12" sub), a 300w mono (10" sub) and a 300w 4 ch (front door/high mounted tweeters) do I really need to do a big 3 upgrade (160 amp alt now) or will just a 1-2 farad cap on the 1k mono help? I'm working on a tight budget and not planning on getting too crazy about SPL in the future, more concerned with SQ.
What kind of battery do you have under the hood? The biggest agm battery that you can fit will help. I'd get your alternator and battery tested before i bought anything though because honestly you're not running much power and stock electrical should handle it without a huge voltage drop.
 
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Hi all,

I'm looking for a budget friendly 1.5-2 farad capacitor near Southwest VT.
I had a brief encounter with capacitors. I purchased one that had a voltmeter attached to the top. It was pretty, but useless. I eventually discharged it, gutted it, left it in place and used it for the voltmeter. As previously mentioned, your system should work with stock electricals.
 
What kind of battery do you have under the hood? The biggest agm battery that you can fit will help. I'd get your alternator and battery tested before i bought anything though because honestly you're not running much power and stock electrical should handle it without a huge voltage drop.
I haven't had to worry about batt performance much before now so probably weaker than it should be. Do AGMs charge/discharge quicker? I've just always heard one of the first things to add is a farad per 1000w for power issues.
 
I haven't had to worry about batt performance much before now so probably weaker than it should be. Do AGMs charge/discharge quicker? I've just always heard one of the first things to add is a farad per 1000w for power issues.
If your have an old style lead acid battery than an agm will be a big upgrade and your current battery very well could be the problem, a cap wouldn't fix that. Still get the battery alt checked before buying anything though 😂
 
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Before you drop any money, look at some real-world reviews and tests of caps in that range.
Preferably reviews and tests by people who don't stand to make money off of you purchasing one (through affiliate links, etc)

For example, one test done with an amp dyno found this:

1733957147285.png
 
Excessive voltage drop with bass hits/lights dimming. For a 1000w rms mono (12" sub), a 300w mono (10" sub) and a 300w 4 ch (front door/high mounted tweeters) do I really need to do a big 3 upgrade (160 amp alt now) or will just a 1-2 farad cap on the 1k mono help? I'm working on a tight budget and not planning on getting too crazy about SPL in the future, more concerned with SQ.
So, are your lights flickering or dimming? Flickering beans they are going on and off, while dimming just means they are... well... dimming when the bass hits.

What vehicle do you have? In most cases, even a bigger batter and/or cap will still allow your lights to dim. Especially if you have small care with a small alternator. If your voltage drops below 11 volts, you're going to notice a bit of dimming when your lights are seeing 14 volts before the bass hits. To go away from it, the cheapest way is to install a decent sized lithium battery or a 10+ capacitor near the amps. An AGM is good, but a lithium will discharge faster and allow the amp to pull from that versus your main battery. However, if you're bumping long enough, the lithium might not charge fast enough to keep up. Either way, you're going to be at least a couple hundred into it.

Of course, this is my opinion.
 
Because you said it I will encourage it. YES, do a big three!!! 160a Alternator isn't bad. Don't use CCA for the big three, use full on copper cables. 1/0awg.

Alternator power out to Battery positive.
Battery ground to Alternator bracket.
Battery ground to Chassis.

That's your Big 3. You can add an extra ground to the engine block from the chassis as well. Make sure ALL connections are very tight.
 
Before you drop any money, look at some real-world reviews and tests of caps in that range.
Preferably reviews and tests by people who don't stand to make money off of you purchasing one (through affiliate links, etc)

For example, one test done with an amp dyno found this:

View attachment 61910
Kyle,
In case you don't know what is being shown, this shows that the more reliable the power source, the more power your amp will generate. If you deplete the power of a cap, you will lose wattage because the car's alternator is now trying to power the amp and charge the cap at the same time. This is shown by looking at the wattage drop after installing the 1 farad capacitor, which was too small. This is why I recommended a large capacitor and battery near the amps.
 
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