capacitor?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=83340
Printed Date: May 28, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Topic: capacitor?
Posted By: gcorrea
Subject: capacitor?
Date Posted: September 25, 2006 at 8:24 PM
can a capacitor be placed in the engine compartment. hell do i really need one anyway. ive heard a lot about them but no real answers. just wondering.
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gcorrea
Replies:
Posted By: jlord16
Date Posted: September 25, 2006 at 9:49 PM
if you do a search you will fine that most people on here think they do jack doodie for you cars electrical system (in some cases they can harm it) but caps are designed to be placed close to that amplifier that they are being used on. What sorta equipment are you running??
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Clarion DB36MP
Infinity Kappa Perfect 10"
Respone 800w Mono
ALPINE MRP-F250
*Custom fabrications*
Posted By: gcorrea
Date Posted: September 25, 2006 at 10:41 PM
two phoenix gold 2350s running mono at 350 watts rms and a phoenix gold 2100 running stereo at 75 watts rms per channel.
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gcorrea
Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: September 25, 2006 at 10:42 PM
Simply put...NO A CAP IS NEVER NEEDED.
Save yourself some money and scrap that idea.
Posted By: Flakman
Date Posted: September 25, 2006 at 11:01 PM
Agreed. Use the money you would have spent on the cap and upgrade the "big 3". There's a sticky near the top of this forum.
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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
Posted By: jlord16
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 5:24 AM
yeah, upgrade your big three wiring, and if you need it a bigger alternator, your money can be put to better use then a cap ------------- Clarion DB36MP
Infinity Kappa Perfect 10"
Respone 800w Mono
ALPINE MRP-F250
*Custom fabrications*
Posted By: bellsracer
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 12:27 PM
What is it with people against caps? They clean up power lines and provide that little bit of extra juice when the system hits hard briefly. A 1 Farad cap will provide a 70-80 amp boost in the system for a second or two. I have yet to hear of a car battery that can discharge that quickly without damaging the chemicals/materials inside it. If a charging system is just a little shy for the sound system (about 30-40 amps), it makes a good patch for brief bursts. And unlike a car battery, it doesn't deep cycle when it is fully drained. Recharging between bursts has never hurt any of the systems I or any of my teammates have ever installed. Yes I would put the Big 3 and Alternator first. But if caps were as bad as many people say they are, then I'm curious as to why and how manufacturers keep making and selling them. ------------- Never send your ducks to eagle school.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
The 3Ls of life: Learn from the Past, Live for the Present, Look to the Future.
Posted By: killer sonata
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 12:30 PM
Caps are good when the carging system can support them. Most people lean on them as a crutch that is why we dont recommend them to people at first.
Posted By: supradude
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 3:35 PM
bellsracer wrote:
Yes I would put the Big 3 and Alternator first. But if caps were as bad as many people say they are, then I'm curious as to why and how manufacturers keep making and selling them.
Why does Pyramid and Audiobahn keep making and selling their crap? ------------- '85 Toy
Posted By: jlord16
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 8:30 PM
When you have upraded to a HO alt and replaced your battery then a cap will usually do the benifits listed above. But when a salesman sells some1 a cap they do it becuase its an easy sale and alota people beleive that caps do there system good. A cap installed in a system that hasnt had a battery or HO upgrade will just be another load on the alredy dying battery/alt. When peoples headlights flicker due to bass, and such cases that usally result in the salesman recomending a cap its becuase its easier to sell some1 a $150 cap then a new battery and HO alt worth $500
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Clarion DB36MP
Infinity Kappa Perfect 10"
Respone 800w Mono
ALPINE MRP-F250
*Custom fabrications*
Posted By: jettagli03
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 8:33 PM
If you upgrade the alternator, battery and big three to what you need... how is a cap even needed?
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Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 11:22 PM
But hell...they look really cool and the the salepeople always tell you that caps give you the "power" your amp needs when the bass hits hard right???
But where does this "power" come from??? Ah yes the alternator...but still...they look cool with their digital voltage readouts.
lol
Posted By: gcorrea
Date Posted: September 26, 2006 at 11:53 PM
well the cap i have already just laying around the garage. the reason i asked about placing it in the engine bay is because i have no more space to place it behind the rear seat of a king cab truck. all the amps and cross over take most of it up. i dont even remember how i came across the cap. but thought i might ask since ive never used one and i actually considered selling it to a friend.
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gcorrea
Posted By: Mad Scientists
Date Posted: September 27, 2006 at 5:33 PM
I suspect that caps get such scorn is because what they do isn't readily apparent to the ear. Even in a vehicle with 'the big three' upgrades, you can still get a significant voltage drop from alternator charging voltage to battery voltage when the amp momentarily draws more power during bass hits. Even if the alternator isn't charging at max output, the alternator isn't fast enough to catch the increased load on the system, so voltage will drop. The cap helps to slow down the voltage drop. It starts working as soon as the voltage starts to drop; a battery doesn't do anything till around 12v. The cap is designed to slow the decrease from 14v to 12v. When I read about someone who had dimming headlights, installed a cap, now the headlights don't dim anymore - isn't that a fix?.. Not to some people. You hear about how caps increase the load on the charging system.. does that make any sense? I've yet to have someone explain it; I've had people say things, but I've yet to have someone really explain it with electronics/electrical theory included. I believe caps do what they are intended to do. Will caps make an audible difference?.. probably not. Will they make a measureable difference?.. yes, but it depends on how and what you measure. I suspect that's the problem.. people expect more than they should from them. Just my thoughts.. Jim
Posted By: Flakman
Date Posted: September 27, 2006 at 6:33 PM
That is a good point, Jim. Though much cannot be blamed on consumers that think the cap can do more than it is meant to. Much of that blame has to go to the manufacturers. Their advertising makes it sound like "Are your lights dimming when you crank your car stereo? Get our cap and you won't have to worry about that anymore!!!". And that's plain BS! They, and soooo many shops (not all, mind you) are pushing them as the thing that will save your electrical system. That is where the problem starts. You get Joe customer walking in knowing only enough to be dangerous, and they get caught up in the hype thinking the cap does everything except what it was meant to do because it's a sale, it's money in their pocket. *flakman steps down from his soapbox* ------------- The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
Posted By: bellsracer
Date Posted: September 27, 2006 at 9:27 PM
Thank you Mad, nouse, and Flak. I had no way on figuring out how to say that. Thanks again! ------------- Never send your ducks to eagle school.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
The 3Ls of life: Learn from the Past, Live for the Present, Look to the Future.
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