i have an audiobahn aw1000x dual coiled sub in a sealed box...being pushed from a bazooka el 1500 amplifier mono supposedly putting out 500 watts into 2ohms.
i have a generic 1 farad capacitor inline. battery---90 amp breaker------>cap----> amp. the ground from the amp is grounded at the point where the cap is grounded not to the cap itself. when the bass hits the lights dim slightly. i read all the time that upgrading the alternator is the key but that a cap should help. this is in a 2001 mustang with factory alternator i think it is 130amp and im using 8 gauge power and ground wire.
at one time i did short the two posts on the cap by accident but just a quick spark not a long term shorting maybe ruining the capicitor?? maybe i should upgrade the ground wire?
what do you guys think the problem might be.
You should be using 4 gauge power and ground cables, not 8 gauge, especially going to and from the capacitor. Though I don't think this by itself will fix your problem it's alway worth a try.
Also try removing the cap and just running the system without the cap at all, and see how much the lights dim. If they dim the same amount as when you had the cap hooked up then I'd say you've got something wrong with your cap cuz it's not doing anything.
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Ethan
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"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success"
Donate to the12volt.comthats whats i was thinking...cause i was running 2 100watt amps with this cap before 1 amp without the lights would dim then added the cap and it stopped....i sparked the cap and then added the second amp and the lights dimmed slightly...now putting in a whole new system of the 500 watt amp and sub they seem to be getting worse ..but i think the cap might have crapped out on me...its a generic black cap from ebay at 30 bucks ..oh well live and learn.
any suggestions on a replacment? BATCAP ANY GOOD?
Any cap from one of the major companies that makes amp accessories and wiring will do just fine (RF, stinger, streetwires, scosche, monster cable, phoenix gold, etc.). Also there's a site
www.knukonceptz.com that makes some really nice amp wiring for really good prices. I have not used their caps before but have no reason to suspect they're not of the same high quality as their cables are.
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Ethan
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"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success"
Donate to the12volt.comok had the system tested tonight..fluke volt meter....at the alt...battery ...cap and amp at idle with the lights on i get between 13.4 and 13.7 volts..then with the system at blast i get at the alt batt amp and cap 12.9 to 13.2 volts with the bass hitting.only does it at full blast of the stereo and leads me to believe that either the wire is too small or the cap needs to be unpgraded. i will first try the wire upgrade to 4 ga. then if all else fails a cap upgrade as well.