92 Civic LX install

The kit that you look at mainly depends on the wire guage. The wire gauge depends on you're amp size. (how much power it puts out).

Caps help smooth out ripple from the battery. They are helpfull. It's always a good idea to invest in one if you have the money...it helps the amp get the current it needs without less hesitation.

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Andrew Weitzel

MECP First Class Installer

I guess a good question would be, will a Cap save my alternator if the demands on it are too high

No it will not. If you think about if your system is demanding too much power from your alternator, if you add a cap your alt. now has to power your system and fill your cap. A cap is not a large resivour of power it is made to supply the amp with short burst of power for demanding bass. Depening on the amperage of your alternator you shouldn't have to add anything. I have a 600 watt soundstream amp and a 700 watt soundstream cheater amp with a 105 amp stock alt. I just slapped an optima yellow top in there and I am doing just fine. With a secondary battery your system is supplied with a larger pool of power for a longer period of time. It will also help to keep your lights from dimming and all of that good stuff. I would also suggest running a second wire (4 ga.) from your alt. to your battery and a second wire from your battery to ground. This will help get the juice moving faster. The factory wires are small and not made to push that much power through. I just drive around for awhile not bumping as to recharge my battery. For your wire I would look at a four gauge kit. Happy trails

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J. Mike Perkins

“My main concern is will my alternation be able to handle the draw from the system (should I invest in a cap).”

To answer your questions we have to consider a few things. First you have calculate the current draw from your amp. To calculate this you need to multiply the number of channels by the RMS watt per channel. Since you have two amps you need to add both of them together to arrive at a grand total. Double it, then divide by 13.8, which is the average number of volts an alternator produces. The result is your system’s approximate current draw in amperes.

To calculate if your alternator can handle your current system, you would then take your alternator amp rating and multiply by 40%. This will give you an idea of your electrical system’s reserve capacity. I believe your Civic has an alternator rate at 50 amps, I am not sure don’t quote me on it, but find out for yourself. Multiply 50 x 0.4 = 20, 20 amps is what is left to power your sound system. I am confidence you are within the limit with your current system set up. Do the math yourself to find out.   

Do you need a capacitor? I would suggest you invest in one down the road. A capacitor stores current for release when the amp needs short quick supply of energy during a musical burst in a song. The capacitor does a better job of supplying short bursts of current than your alternator can. The current doesn’t have to overcome the internal resistance of the alternator and the battery or travel 15 feet of wire to get to the amp.
With older cars, engineers never incorporate the design of an extra load of an amplifier. They designed the electrical system to supply the car’s components with enough power to operate properly and keep the battery charged. So, you need to do the math and make sure you will have enough reserves capacity or else you will need to up grade your alternator to a higher output. Further more, when you have this extra load on the alternator it will shorten the life of it. With the capacitor it elevate some of this strain that is put on by the amps. I hope this sort of answers your questions.


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Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

As for your wire gauge I would recommend you to use a 4 gauge. Here is the link for it. Take a look for yourself.   Recommended Power and Ground Cable Sizes

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Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

New Problem... I am trying to run the speaker wires and I cant get the floor runners up (I actually managed to break part of it).  Is there a trick to this... I already fished one cable under the carpet with a coat hanger but I dont want to do that for my RCA's ... any advice?

Cipro,

Used a flat head tip screwdriver if you don’t have an upholstery tool like this. They are just clips that are holding it together. Run your screwdriver along the edge and pop them up. The clips are about a foot a part. I usually take the passenger seats out if I got time. It makes the job a lot easier to do. The seat can be easily taken out, just four bolts.



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Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.