Will an Extra Battery act like a Cap?

[monte_carlo97 10+ year member]

My lights are dimming in my car when my bass hits. So i went to the local shop and said all i need is a cap. So he hooked one up just to prove to me that it will work and it did. But he said i need a 2.4 farrad cap if i want minimal dimming. Would it just be the same to use a new battery as a second one and put it in the trunk. Battery=$70 Cap=$130. Therefore buying a battery would be cheaper. Would the battery be able to do what a cap does?

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[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

no - a battery will only have an effect when the voltage of the system drops to around 12.5 whereas the cap will charge to whatever voltage the alt will supply.

You could add 10 extra batteries and as long as the alt is being over-drawn on bass hits you'd still have dimming.

 

[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

A cap is a band-aid for a bigger problem. Lets see battery in trunk $70.00, PLUS the wire to hook it into the system 60.00. (you forgot about that) = 130.00. Just about the same. A cap will work AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO extended long bass notes. This will draw all the power out of the cap, and then start taking it from the battery. Try this quick fix and see. Most people use the same size if not smaller wire for there ground. I ALWAYS use the next size up for my ground. A good ground will make all the difference. Ground it to the frame NOT THE BODY of the car. No matter if you have a 200000000000 amp alternator and your ground ***** you will still dimm the headlights.

I have been doing stereos for 20 plus years and the bigger ground has helped about half of my customers. Not all but it is worth the 5 or so dollars to try it, plus it will make your system run better down the road.

 

[WarDrumz 10+ year member]

You probably already know, but DON'T get a regular car battery. It might leak acid in your trunk. Get one that is for car stereo. Like a drycell or something.

 

[monte_carlo97 10+ year member]

Hey thanks for the tips and sugestions. Is there anything that will work better than a cap but not have more than 150 in.

 

[zerohertz 10+ year member]

Listen to pavengmike6 about the grounds, very true. A cap would probably be your best bet. Consider how many watts you have total and for every 1000, a farad is needed. So a 2.4 farad cap may not be necessary unless you have 2400 watts but it doesnt hurt to go higher. If you do get a cap, i reccomed this site to help you install and charge it. http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audio_capacitor_installation/car_audio_capacitor_installation.htm#car_audio_capacitor_installation

 

[monte_carlo97 10+ year member]

I talked to someone and they were saying i need a battery isolater if i want to hook up a 2nd batt. is this neccessary?

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

I talked to someone and they were saying i need a battery isolater if i want to hook up a 2nd batt. is this neccessary?

not necessary, no matter what other people will say...in all reality, it is not needed. I, along with plenty of people i cunsulted b4 doing my install, DO NOT use isolators. Just runs a fuse 1/0 run from front batt. to rear batt. Then ground the rear bat in the rear. peace

NG

 

[monte_carlo97 10+ year member]

Why should not use an isolator. You Seemed to emphazise that. Why not? I am just curious.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

it's a waste of money that is not needed. peace

NG

 

[monte_carlo97 10+ year member]

So what kind of battery do you recommend. Or is a regular car battery alright like an AcDelco 5 yr job.

 

[xSomeguyx 10+ year member]

I had the same problem on my car, and added a .5 farad cap, and that fixed everything. Generally, they recommend to use 1 farad for every 1000 watts RMS you're putting out. Since I've got 400 watts (50x4 + 200), a .5 farad cap is about right. It never hurts to go higher.

You might try eBay for a cheap cap too, they're pretty cheap. That, and as long as they're not installed incorrectly, they'll theoretically last for a looooong time. My .5 farad cap costed me $20, the guy even threw in a foot of 8gauge cable (6 inches for ground, 6 inches for power) to install it.

 

[brandontw 10+ year member]

Omtima yellow top, or red top, or Stinger brand.

These are dry cell car batterys for car audio better for a few reasons, no leaky acid, deep cycle, and more cca.

 

[91explorerV6 10+ year member]

hey im new to the site this is my first reply Im not sure how old this thread is or if ya'll still discuss it but I noticed a few

people saying you dont need a battery isolater which is true

I suppose but if you dont use one and one battery dies the other will too where as if one battery dies when you have an isolater you can jump the dead battery with the fresh battery make any sense? at least thats how it works with the ones ive seen

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Well, this is true if you totall want to run ur system for a long amount of time with the engine off. But, with an amplified system...why would you do that? You are driving when u listen to it for the most part, so it doesn't matter at all. If u run ur system with the car off for a long enough amount of time to completely drain it, then u have other problems...like, you're an idiot. Peace

NG