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desolator144 
Member - Posts: 7
Member spacespace
Joined: August 11, 2008
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 7:06 PM / IP Logged  

My very, very unique system is getting up around 1000 watts RMS and when it plays a bass note it drops the voltage noticeably.  Also, when I hit the brakes the combination of less power to the alternator from the engine revving lower and the brake lights going on makes the voltage dip down low enough to shut off one of my more sensitive components which unfortunately takes down the entire audio system.  My alternator is also in really bad shape (one half of the casing is cracked in half and a lot of it is coated in nasty grime) so after I get that replaced, things might be a little better but probably not 100% better so I'll probably still need a capacitor.

So I have some questions about caps.  I read the useless wikipedia article and even with how good I am with math and electrical stuff, not a whole lot of it made sense.  But from what I could gather, it seems if a capacitor is attached to a 12V circuit, it will maintain a voltage of 12V if the supplied voltage suddenly drops and if it's on a 14V circuit, it will maintain 14V, right?  How does a standard car capactior handle a surge from 12V to 15V and back down again over about half a second?  Will the change in voltage make it past the capacitor?  Does the "fullness" of the capacitor determine whether a surge makes it past or not?  I know most say they're rated for 24V surges but that just means it won't blow up at 23V, not that it won't pass that on to the devices after the capacitor, right?

And most importantly, what's a respectable brand name that I can assume won't fail after like 2 weeks or go pipe bomb on me?  I heard not to get some off brand one but I don't know the brands very well so hopefully you guys do.  If you're too lazy to think up all the brands, there's Stinger, Lanzer, Legacy, Pyle, Pyramid, Power Acoustik, Kole, Raptor, Tsunami, Voodoo, Visonik, Hooker, Rockford, Absolute and probably tons of others I missed

i am an idiot 
Platinum - Posts: 13,666
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: September 21, 2006
Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 7:27 PM / IP Logged  

A capacitor is not going to help your light dimming situation.  The only way to help that is to upgrade or replace your current alterator with a much higher output unit.  Higher as in current output.  If we knew what kind of vehicle you had someone could probably reccomend a decent alternator for you.  Following is a diagram to help you with the capacitor.

capacitor -- posted image.

haemphyst 
Platinum - Posts: 5,054
Platinum spaceThis member has been recognized as an authority in Electrical Theory. Click here for more info.spaceThis member has been recognized as an authority in Mobile Audio and Video. Click here for more info.spacespace
Joined: January 19, 2003
Location: Michigan, Bouvet Island
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 7:59 PM / IP Logged  
i am an idiot wrote:

If you liked that one, you are going to love this one. I even named it HaemCap.

capacitor -- posted image.

I'm famous! capacitor -- posted image.
It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
i am an idiot 
Platinum - Posts: 13,666
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: September 21, 2006
Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 8:08 PM / IP Logged  
I forgot about that one  they are alphabetical   captrash came before HaemCap
desolator144 
Member - Posts: 7
Member spacespace
Joined: August 11, 2008
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 9:51 PM / IP Logged  

oh boy, the capacitor vs alternator debate again.  If anyone's system is 1000W or more, they need a capacitor for like 5 different reasons no matter if their alternator is a crappy 70A one or a brand new 300A one.  Having your alternator constantly re-adjust as it plays bass notes at 1000W then 0W, it will wear our your alternator.  It's about as good for your alternator as turning your rear defrosters on and off once per second.  You really, really, really need a capacitor to even it out.  But of course I'm not one of those people that thinks capacitors will magically solve everyone's problems universally either.  Mine's at least 600W on average and surprise surprise, mine broke horribly.  So yeah I need a new one but I also need a cap and the only reason I need an alternator is because mine is broken.  I calculated how much is being drawn and my stock alternator can power my system just fine without maxing out after counting the rest of everything that's running like headlights and stuff.  So I COULD buy an alternator that can supply more and react faster but I could also just buy a capacitor and have it do the same thing as long as my system doesn't draw more than the alternator can supply.  Plus if I got some high output capacitor, there goes my killer gas mileage that I modified my car for.  I assume a 200A alternator's lowest mode has a pretty high drain on the engine compared to the lowest mode on a normal output one so even if nothing really power sucking is running, it's still destroying gas mileage.  Anyway, I do need a new alternator and it's a 2000 V6 Mercury Cougar.  I was looking around today and there sure are a lot of choices!  I can apparently cheap out on a $50 remanufactured one on up to like $700 for one that could run a rail gun and laser gun at the same time lol.  I'm looking for one maybe around 100A-130A.  What's a decent one?  And also what's a good brand of capacitor to get?

The best looking one for now at least seems like this one:

http://bestvalueautoparts.com/item.wws?sku=8254&itempk=122268&mfr=ORANGE%20COUNTY%20ALTERNATOR&weight=10&cookieID=2FS1CU3LG2FS1FG358&clientid=BestValueAutoParts

I mean if that list price is even remotely accurate, HOLY COW!  It's a 110A one btw.  One site says it only fits on the 01-02 cougar but this one says it fits on the 00 so I dunno about that.  Otherwise what are some better and hopefully cheaper options?

i am an idiot 
Platinum - Posts: 13,666
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: September 21, 2006
Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 10:10 PM / IP Logged  
desolator144 wrote:
Plus if I got some high output capacitor, there goes my killer gas mileage that I modified my car for.
Nevermind
desolator144 
Member - Posts: 7
Member spacespace
Joined: August 11, 2008
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 10:11 PM / IP Logged  
my bad, I meant high output ALTERNATOR :P
desolator144 
Member - Posts: 7
Member spacespace
Joined: August 11, 2008
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 10:18 PM / IP Logged  

what the heck is that diagram supposed to be anyone

and the bonus question: does anyone here know about alternators and caps or are they all on vacation at the moment?

audiocableguy 
Copper - Posts: 630
Copper spacespace
Joined: January 27, 2003
Location: Idaho, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 10:51 PM / IP Logged  
     
Post Reply Quote desolator144
oh boy, the capacitor vs alternator debate again. If anyone's system is 1000W or more, they need a capacitor for like 5 different reasons no matter if their alternator is a crappy 70A one or a brand new 300A one.
Theres no debate. There have been countless explanations of why Caps are a total waste. You must make power. Period. Your conclusions are incorrect.
I'll let someone else bang their head against the desk.
desolator144 
Member - Posts: 7
Member spacespace
Joined: August 11, 2008
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Posted: August 11, 2008 at 11:22 PM / IP Logged  

you do know that basically all electronic devices use capacitors, right?  It's one of the most common components in existence.  They don't use them so often because they don't work.  Hey guess what, when my couple hundred watt refrigerator turns on, the lights dimm and that's on a 3600+ watt house circuit.  Having tons and tons of power available doesn't stop a large, sudden draw from dropping the voltage.  Guess what would happen if I had a capacitor attached to the fridge?  Yeah, it wouldn't do that.  Hey, there's one of those mini power station thingies down the street from me that conditions the power for the surrounding area.  Why does it have a bunch of capacitors in it?  Maybe to even out sudden draws from a single source even though there's thousands of amps available?  Yup, think so.

Of course peopele add caps and OMG their 1200 watt still dims the lights cuz their alternator can only push 70A and then they bitch on forums about how caps are evil and don't do anything but back in the real world, even if you put in a 300A alternator, you still need a capacitor to keep the voltage steady.

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