Should I get a capacitor?

Question

Alright, well I have a kicker zx1000.1 amp and 2 Kicker 10" L5's. My vehicle is a 96 Ford Probe SE, with an 80 amp. alternator. I usually have my amps gain at just half way with all the bass boosts off and everything because i feel that's all it needs to be, it's loud enough...but on some songs with a lot of bass they will just suck my battery meter down until i have to turn the song down so the battery can recharge a little. Im wondering what could I get to fix this problem, because i think a bigger alternator is out of the question, i cant find any bigger ones for my car and i am looking for a way to help out my battery and the current alternator...any suggestions?

Answer 1

Ultimately, all the power for your car audio system needs to come from your alternator. If your alternator simply isn't up to the job, then no amount of extra capacitors or extra batteries are going to solve the problem.



I don't have a problem with the use of power supply capacitors, for the purpose which they were designed. I don't agree that they put a significant additional load on the alternator; they're very efficient devices. But if your alternator is consistently overloaded, then a capacitor won't help. Capacitors shouldn't be marketed or sold as a way to take the strain off an undersized charging system.



Upgrading the "Big 3" wiring may help a bit. The Big 3 consists of three primary wires in the charging system: the wire between the alternator's positive output and the positive battery terminal, the wire between the negative battery terminal and the vehicle chassis, and the wire between the engine block and the chassis (as this is the alternator's ground connection in most vehicles). Your stock wires are probably undersized, and you may be losing some voltage because of this. But while upgrading the wires may reduce the amount of voltage drop on this part of the system, it won't make your alternator produce more current.



You have two choices: increase the current supply, or decrease the current demand. Increasing the current supply means an alternator upgrade, because the alternator is the ultimate source of all current. Decreasing the current demand means making your audio system more efficient, so that you can get the same output level with less power draw from the charging system.



If your subs are currently in a sealed box, you might look into having a ported box designed and built for them. This helps with deep bass extension, so that some lower frequency sounds will be louder, without using more amplifier power. A ported box will have to be larger than a sealed box, though; and it would probably have to be custom made for the square L5 subwoofer.

Answer 2

Sorry to say that a cap won't help...



Your problem is that your car just can't supply enough current to your system. This is your alternators job but, as you pointed out, your alternator is only 80A. The only way to increase the amount of electrical power your car generates is by upgrading your alternator.



I suggest looking a little harder for an alternator or possibly a dual alternator setup. If all else fails you could get your current alternator rewired. That can increase the output of it significantly if done correctly.



There are two other possibilities for upgrading your car's electrical system. The first would be to upgrade your car's "big 3". This is upgrading three important wires in your car. The other upgrade is to upgrade your battery to a deep cycle one. That will help in the way that it will be able to completely drain and then recharge without damage. If you do that with your current battery it will die rather quickly.



If you do not upgrade your car's electrical system you will end up replacing it in the end anyways. Your battery will eventually die from being drained too much and your alternator could fail as well.



Like said before, a cap is an energy storing device. If you do not have any energy to store in it, from in inadequate charging system it will do you no good. It will actually put more strain on your charging system because it is just another load your charging system needs to keep charged.



A second battery will do you no good. It will only help if you want to listen to your system with your car off. It will also put more of a strain on your alternator because now your alternator has to charge two batteries instead of just one.



Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

How can you say caps are useless?? If you have a 1/2 farad cap trying to supply a 2000 watt stereo then yea they are usless. But for most applications they will do the job. A capacitor acts like a second battery, it stores energy when there isnt bass playing and then unloads it's load when there is a demand for it (like when the sub hits hard). This takes some of the strain away from the battery since the battery isnt supplying all of the power all at once to the amp.



Now back to your question, your 80 amp alternator just wont cut it for the system you are running. Your alternator can only produce (80amp x 12 volts = 960watts) 960 watts, this is not including all of the accessories that your car will need for it to function properly (ignition, lights, gauges, etc). So lets say your car uses 60 watts just to idle, this means that you only have 900 watts on tap, so when your system is up at the loudest volume then it is drawing close to if not more than 1100 watts (including speakers and HU) so your alternator can not keep up with charging the battery since it can only supply 900watts. That is why your battery keeps draining and cant recharge fast enough.



Your best and most logical fix is to add another battery in the trunk, dosent have to be an optima or an expensive deep cell battery, Just a regular battery from an auto parts store. You will need an isolator so your alt can switch between which battery it will need to charge. The second battery will act as a giant capacitor. If that isnt an option for you then you would want to get a 20 farad cap or one even bigger, which will most likely cost you more than getting a second battery. To completely solve your problem you will HAVE to get a bigger alt, atleast 100amps. With some searching around on the net im sure you will find some info on what other car alt's you can get to fit in your car.

Answer 4

A stiffening cap will help with transient bursts, but it doesn't hold enough power to keep your battery from being drained. It is not part of the car's charging system, it is a very short-term crutch for the audio system. Perhaps you can add an additional battery to your car with an isolator so it charges off the alternator, but only powers the sound system. This may cost almost as much as a higher powered alternator, with extra wiring and labor costs. Here's another idea to kick around: unless you compete in soundsystem dragraces, you have enough sound without draining the battery .

Answer 5

No sir... your cars battery has wayyy more power than that theres not even a point to put a capacitor on there

The general rule is around 1000 watts RMS is where you should put a capacitor on it, but with a cap you have to be caredful theres a couple Ground rules for caps

#1 ONLY buy namebrand, most caps just look fancy and honestly do nothing!

#2 You want to look for as low an ESR as you can find...

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/...

#3 Place it as close to your amplifier input as possible, you want to lose as little power in the wire as possible



PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU JUST TO PUT A CAP ON IT KNOW NOTHING!

Also realize a capacitor is only a storage device... how does it take the strain off the battery when every time it hits, it needs to recharge it takes as much power as it uses but the aspect is its another resovoir in case the batter doesnt have the power to hit it will give it the nessecasry power from its resovior

Answer 6

rather a capacitor holds a value. So whilst the fan is grew to become on the capacitor says value the electrons. this is how the motor is conscious whilst to tutor on. the human beings here have studied extra electronics then I, and would have a extra proper answer.

Answer 7

well if you cant do a new higher out put alternator get a yellow top battery caps really do the job but there ok to have and yes do the big 3 upgrade thos are really your only options

Answer 8

NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!



Caps are completely useless! All they will do is put more of a strain on your alt., causing it to die faster!



What you need to do, is purchase an HO alt. that will fit your Ford, and do a big 3 Upgrade.



This will allow your new alt. to continuously keep your battery supplied with power, and thus having no more power issues.

Answer 9

it should do the trick, you might have to shop around to find one to fix your need, they come in different capacity's., and it will solve the problem, before i got mine, my head lights would dim With every bass hit...it sucked, i got pulled over for my lights dimming and un dimming, whatever..