need power
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=103630
Printed Date: July 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Topic: need power
Posted By: heu_duck
Subject: need power
Date Posted: April 01, 2008 at 10:56 PM
I have lil problem i have a audiobahn a2300hct amp with a 5 farad cap and 0ga wire and a yellow top and when i drop the amp from 2ch to 1ch the and i turn it on my subs hit a about 3 time so maybe 30 sec it drops from 14volts to 11.92volts and will barely make it back up to 13 if im lucky i have a 105 amp alt on there i was woundering what i could do on top of getting a bigger alt.
Replies:
Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: April 01, 2008 at 11:28 PM
Upgrade your big three.
Check if the amp can safely handle the load.
Get a bigger alternator...105 amp alt is not big by any means.
If you are dropping down to 11.92 volts than you need a new HO alternator.
(crapacitors in my experience read up to .8 volts higher than actual voltage)
Posted By: jmelton86
Date Posted: April 01, 2008 at 11:30 PM
First, what do you mean when you drop the amp from 2ch's to 1ch? What sub(s) do you have connected to the amp -model #'s please? Have you done the Big3 Upgrade? Ditch the cap. It is contributing to your problem. ------------- 2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator
DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)
Big3 in 1/0G
1/0G to GTO14001
Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: April 01, 2008 at 11:53 PM
Posted By: jmelton86
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 12:57 AM
aznboi3644 wrote:
Amp
Well, all right! You fingered it out! ------------- 2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator
DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)
Big3 in 1/0G
1/0G to GTO14001
Posted By: heu_duck
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 2:27 AM
I have four 10 inch mtx blue thunder legends that r 4 ohm each and i thing the cap is what is keeping me from frying my alternator and im looking at a 140 amp alternator would that stop the problem
Posted By: heu_duck
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 2:29 AM
oh and would 4ga welding cable work for the Big 3
Posted By: jmelton86
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 2:57 AM
The cap is making things worse! It is another piece of equipment that the alternator is struggling to keep charged. Get rid of it and you'll notice a big improvement. Wire 2 subs to each channel in parallel (both sub +'s to amp +, both -'s to amp -). This will load the amp to 2ohms per channel. Audiobahn states the amp is .5ohms stable per channel (bridgable to 1ohm = .5ohm per channel), but I wouldn't push it. The 140a alternator will help, but I doubt it'll take care of all your electronics PLUS the cars' electronics. But, it will help. For your current alternator, 4g welding cable is fine. If you upgrade to the 140amper, you should go ahead and do the Big3 with 2g. ------------- 2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator
DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)
Big3 in 1/0G
1/0G to GTO14001
Posted By: heu_duck
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 3:09 AM
please tell me how the cap is the problem b/c thats where im getting my voltage reading at and the only thing i'm losing power to is the amp the rest of the cars power is fine b/c the lights arnt diming
Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 4:30 PM
The vehicles electrical system cannot handle the load already...all you are doing is adding another load. The cap adds what 10 watts of power when its discharged which does nothing.
A cap is a voltage conditioner for dips and spikes of like .1 volts. A cap will not save an alternator.
You wasted your money on a capacitor.
Posted By: skee-weezy
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 7:30 PM
sounds like not only could u use a better alternator and charge system upgrades... get yourself a kinetik hc1400 or better.. and like the other guy said... ditch the cap.... caps can charge and discharge quickly but when u are pullin the kind of current that a high current amp can your charging system perceives this like just another amp that it has to keep up with... powercells like kinetiks and optima have more amperage STORAGE CAPACITY.. they can't charge as fast as a capacitor.. but that is where a HO alternator comes into play.... DOESN'T MATTER WHAT U HAVE.... BE IT CAPS OR BATTERIES... if your charging system can't keep up it will all be in vain..... ------------- there can be only one.......
Posted By: heu_duck
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 8:30 PM
then whats the point in them even making them and the cap i have is SPC505 Stinger HyBird Power Capacitor
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: April 02, 2008 at 8:42 PM
Because uninformed people don't know or understand the function of them... And because they are a HELL of a marketing gimmick with REALLY nice profit margin!
And you could have the "Super-Mega-Ultra-Big-Boy" 1 Million Giga Farad Cap from AudioMaxFordKenSony, and you STILL basically put a band-aid on a bullet wound. It doesn't matter WHAT cap you have, it does you no good unless you already have the charging system to run EVERYTHING effectively, to start!
Your electrical system in it's present state CANNOT run what you have effectively. Period. End of story.
:::::EDIT:::::
And please stop opening new threads... You have three going right now, and while TECHNICALLY asking different questions, they are all regarding the same installation. One install, one thread.
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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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