RalliartJP

So I have a 2004 Lancer Ralliart. I am running a Kenwood head unit and I also have a JL Audio 10w6v2 with a JL Audio 500/1v2. I have upgraded rear Polk Audio speakers. My question is my headlights dim alittle bit when the volume and bass are all the way up. Does anyone have a similar set up with a installed cap that helped the headlights? From the research ive done most sites are saying that caps help certain cars, its trial and error. So will a cap help or do I need a high output alternator? And if so which cap or alternator do you recommend?

GearDownSon

iTrader: (11)

I ran a cap. Seemed to help a bit. I wanna say it was Audio bahn.

I was running a hifonics brutis with it but my car got broken into an amp stolen.
Ill let ya have it cheap if ya want it. The actual cylinder is kinda rough but it has a digital readout.

onewickedninelv

iTrader: (6)

I've been out of the car audio scene for a while but from what I remember, having a high output alternator and a cap helps. From the factory, cars aren't designed to handle the extra load a high end/output stereo system demands. So a high output alt. helps deliver the juice your system needs while the car is running and a cap, which stores energy and used in short bursts, like when the bass hits. And I believe the cap is sized/rated for the size of your subwoofer amp (watts). ex. amp is 500watts=1mfd. cap.

Ralliartimus

iTrader: (1)

If you haven't done the "big 3" upgrade, I would try that first. But if that does not help then adding a cap should help.

HuMmInGBiRd

iTrader: (2)

i was always told that caps are gimmicks and don't really help. i just went with an higher output alternator and battery. helped with the lights dimming.

roblaza

iTrader: (22)

Caps help a lot. I was sponsored by a local shop when I had my mini truck. I had a pretty decent sized setup and my lights and voltage dropped a lot, till I started running caps in my setup. Now I run one with every system I have, no matter how small.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

sorry i'm a noob when it comes to automotive sound systems, but electronics is my trade...obviously it would connect in parallel to the amplifier...so it's basically the same as having a second battery dedicated to the amp, but wouldn't that still require a bigger alternator, i mean it would help with the sound system, and keeping the power consistant, but what about the rest of the car?

GearDownSon

iTrader: (11)

It basically charges it beforehand. When a huge bass note hits it draws from the cap instead of the alternator. When its not hitting it recharges

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

Ok, makes sense, so it keeps audio levels consistent, and keep heavy bass notes from flickering your lights, but while it's recharging, and even when it's fully charged, the amp is still drawing current from the battery/alternator...if you had a large sound setup, i would think you would still want a better alternator/bigger battery, as enough draw would still cause a constant dimming, rather than a fluctuating dimming effect...no?

i'm an Avionics Systems tech, lol, i know when your car is barely generating the power it needs to operate it won't fall from the sky, but in terms of optimal performance, in my mind, you should still have a bigger generator if you're drawing more power than the system was intended for...lol, i never really thought it through, but i've never had a high output stereo either...thanks for the info GDS...

so the answer to the OP's question is both

GearDownSon

iTrader: (11)

Your right it is another load on the system but when its recharging it draws less power than a power hungry amp.

edbighead

Wow, all accounts on the capacitor being necessary are false. A cap discharges its self in less than a millisecond and takes a second to "recharge" if you are beating on your amp it will not recharge in time to help anything. The only thing you can do to remedy the "dimming" lights problem is to get a bigger case alt. The stock mitsubishi cases are not large enough to handle any extra rectifiers and are notourious for holding in heat which immediately effects teh output of the alt. All and I do mean all of the aftermarket high output alts in "stock" cases suffer from this. you might see a 20 to 30 amp output rise but it won't last once the car heats up. thats why they try to trick the internal voltage regulator with a smaller belt pulley. the thinking is spin it faster at slower rpm;s and itll put out more. wrong. If you really want to do anything get a bigger case upgrade from reputable places like mechman.com or try to get dominik irraggi to come back and make some. You don't have to believe me if you perfer to watch those cool blinking led lights in the cap. you can also check this by putting a decent multimeter to the output on the cap and burp the system. itll definately drop or die.

Silverbolth

iTrader: (1)

Caps are only a band-aid on an open wound.... It won't solve the problem, it'll only hide it...
Try the "big 3" upgrade and if that doesn't solve your dimming light, buy a bigger amp alt.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

edbighead, your explanation of how a capacitor works is kinda, vague...a capacitor charges and discharges in the same amount of time based on it's type and physical construction and the charge/discharge path, unless there is a switching circuit that would provide two seperate paths for charge and discharge...but if that were the case, why would it be made to charge slow, and discharge fast, that makes no sense...

but like i said before, it's not a solution to the dimming problem, but only another component of the system, as it should technically function the way it is intended to...which if i understand correctly is creating consistant load, for a varying output...the way you're talking about it, sounds like you're saying they don't work and do nothing...which is false...the same thing is often done with DC motors it's basically filtering DC ripple caused by a fluctuating load...

edbighead

Well yes I am saying they do nothing. In the car audio world its all about constants. You have to have a constant input voltage of 14.4vdc for the amplifier to work at its most efficent. thats why amps are rated at 14.4vdc and not at a given range. like 12.3vdc-14.4vdc. you will also note that amps will never be rated at just battery voltage. now. heres the thing. if your car is not keeping up in the charging area how do you expect the capacitor to stay charged as well? Yes they do keep the distortion or flucuations in the input voltage down or smooth out the flow, but only if they are being charged as fast as being discharged. take for instance my system. at 14.4vdc i am capable of reaching 22vac out of the amp. thats half volume for my setup. if i crank the volume which would in turn the amp would try and match that my input voltage to my amp drops to just battery and even lower as it draws past the 180 amps of the alt. and draws the battery down. it will actually shut the car and the system all teh way off. as it draws the voltage down in just a matter of a second to around 9vdc. the capaciator has no chance in hell of keeping up if even teh car can't keep up. not to mention most of the caps that say its a 24volt surge are just made up to get you to buy it. most car low end car audio can usually only handle up to 18volts before frying the boards. so its a cheap gimmick to get you to buy a 70 dollar "extra battery" that wont do anything.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

right, but if they're selling it as an extra battery, that wouldn't really be the case...i would see it as more of a filter, than an additional power source...not totally necessary, but still helpful...