stiffening capacitor

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187smurf187

Member - Posts: 27

Joined: February 18, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: March 08, 2006 at 4:12 PM / IP Logged

i want to install a capacitor in my car becaue someone told me that my system neded one because it would help the sound and the cars power supply........what do i need to install one?........and how do i install one?............im clueless on this so a little info is alot to me thanx

kgerry

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Joined: February 07, 2004

Location: Saskatchewan, Canada

Posted: March 08, 2006 at 4:16 PM / IP Logged

get a second opinion.... they are rarely a "cure-all" for the problems you may be having.....

Kevin Gerry

Certified Electronics Technician

MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer

Classic Car Audio

since 1979

One_Evil_Necro

Copper - Posts: 115

Joined: April 03, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: March 08, 2006 at 5:25 PM / IP Logged

What problems are you having or what reasons are there that he might have suggested this to you?

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supradude

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Joined: September 21, 2004

Location: South Carolina, United States

Posted: March 08, 2006 at 8:07 PM / IP Logged

I agree, get a second opinion.

'85 Toy

willdkartunes

Copper - Posts: 250

Joined: February 01, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: March 09, 2006 at 1:55 AM / IP Logged

Tell us the problems your having and maybe we can help you.... Whatever the problem is, I'm sure a capacitor isn't going to solve it. I really don't think that a capacitor is a necessity in a car stereo. It's a wonderful cosmetic gadget and nothing more. Adding a capacitor will not help the cars power supply. The capacitor will draw current from the power supply, as it needs to store energy. In other words it will put more strain on your power supply and not "help it". Let us know your problem and we can go from there.

jt824

Copper - Posts: 52

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Joined: March 17, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: March 18, 2006 at 6:22 PM / IP Logged

I have another question about caps. I have 2 kicker L7 12" subs and 2 Kicker sub amps. Should I use a cap for each sub/amp combo? So have a total of 2-caps???

arrow12

Silver - Posts: 527

Joined: October 06, 2005

Location: United States

Posted: March 18, 2006 at 7:18 PM / IP Logged

Well do you have enough power in the first place? If you already have an HO alternator, then a cap can be helpful. Adding caps to an already burdened stock alternator can cause it to work harder and die faster.

That's my opinion. Take it, leave it, or correct me.

jt824

Copper - Posts: 52

Joined: March 17, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: March 18, 2006 at 8:21 PM / IP Logged

The setup is on a 2001 crownline boat. The alternator is stock. When the boat is parked I am powering the system through my batteries, however I have a generator running to keep power going. I normally park the boat and let the generator run. was advised that the cap would help when heavy bass kicks in???

jt824

Copper - Posts: 52

Joined: March 17, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: March 18, 2006 at 8:25 PM / IP Logged

One more thing.....on the original set-up I had 1 sub/amp and 1 stero amp with a single farad cap. Since I added another sub/amp would another cap be needed?

haemphyst

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Joined: January 19, 2003

Location: Michigan, Bouvet Island

Posted: March 19, 2006 at 5:17 PM / IP Logged

No, a cap won't "help" in your situation, although it won't "hurt" as I have seen suggested.

Your only option, EVER, is an HO alternator. The power fram ANY system never comes from caps, batcaps or batteries. It will always come from the alternator. If the alternator is too small for the job, you can't add a "magic box" (a cap) and make the source of the power in ANY electrical system (a generator or alternator) make more power than it already can... Thus the name "generator"; it generates.

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."

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