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Power caps Thinkin of geting one





Going to get a power Cap due to bass notes in the car not being solid and Dithering away. was speaking to a bloke whos in university yesturday and is going electronics and he sed the reason why its dithering away is because the power is not geting to the amp or theres not enough of it. so the sound deteriorates as the bass note kicks.

Ive also noticed when im playing a song And its just bass at first the kicks are ok then once trebble comes in the bass notes drop in sound and quality so yet another power problem of the amp not being able to draw enough power for the bass notes.

i was advised to buy a power Cap they sed even a 1 farad would Supply enough its not so much how many farads it is but how long it can hold its charge for while its geting used.

He also said it would stop my lights from dimming.

It all makes sense when the equations where explained. plus everyone at PVS who had a decent sound system in the car for bass notes had at least one power cap per amp and they were all 1.5 farad but expensive brands.

Anyone got a power cap? and anyone know of any decent places to buy one from?
 


no no no no no no no no no !!!!

the problem is your Alternator not the need for a cap

all power for your system is supplied by the alternator when the car is running so you need a better alternator a higher rated one and also a faster one but a cap isnt the answer really its a cheat basically for those that cant be arsed to sort it the right way
 


Alternators: As we said on the charging system basics page, the alternator supplies all of the power to all of the electrical accessories (amplifiers, lights, power windows, power seats...) as long as the engine is running. Upgrading the alternator is generally the most cost effective way to add more performance to your system. In the next few paragraphs Ill attempt to explain why other remedies may not solve your problem and may even make it worse.

Many people want to know when they should replace their alternator. The short answer is... when it fails. If you just want the battery to remain charged and your present alternator is keeping it charged, its doing its job. If you want a system to be as close to perfect as possible and money is no object, replace your alternator when you install the amplifiers.

Extra batteries: Extra batteries are great if you want to listen to your system with the engine off. While the alternator is charging, the extra batteries will only draw current which could otherwise be going to your amplifiers. For proof, all you have to do is measure the voltage while the engine is running. It should be approximately 13.5-14.4 volts DC. Then turn the engine off and measure the battery voltage again. Now itll be around 12-12.5 volts. Whenever the voltage at the battery is up around 14 volts, there is current flowing into the battery.

One Farad capacitors: Large, one Farad, capacitors only help to maintain the charging voltage for a tiny fraction of a second under high current demand situations. They do a fine job of filling small dips in voltage and may help reduce your lights from dimming but they wont really solve your current supply problems if your alternator cant keep up.

NOTE: Capacitors DO NOT increase the charging systems voltage.
 


Quote: Originally posted by McBunny on 11 July 2005

Alternators: As we said on the charging system basics page, the alternator supplies all of the power to all of the electrical accessories (amplifiers, lights, power windows, power seats...) as long as the engine is running. Upgrading the alternator is generally the most cost effective way to add more performance to your system. In the next few paragraphs Ill attempt to explain why other remedies may not solve your problem and may even make it worse.

Many people want to know when they should replace their alternator. The short answer is... when it fails. If you just want the battery to remain charged and your present alternator is keeping it charged, its doing its job. If you want a system to be as close to perfect as possible and money is no object, replace your alternator when you install the amplifiers.

Extra batteries: Extra batteries are great if you want to listen to your system with the engine off. While the alternator is charging, the extra batteries will only draw current which could otherwise be going to your amplifiers. For proof, all you have to do is measure the voltage while the engine is running. It should be approximately 13.5-14.4 volts DC. Then turn the engine off and measure the battery voltage again. Now itll be around 12-12.5 volts. Whenever the voltage at the battery is up around 14 volts, there is current flowing into the battery.

One Farad capacitors: Large, one Farad, capacitors only help to maintain the charging voltage for a tiny fraction of a second under high current demand situations. They do a fine job of filling small dips in voltage and may help reduce your lights from dimming but they wont really solve your current supply problems if your alternator cant keep up.

NOTE: Capacitors DO NOT increase the charging systems voltage.
Its only a small engine putting a bigger alternator in the car is more stress on the engine and also really crap petrol consumption as well.

The Capacitor will Smooth the current supply out because at the moment the first beat is powerful but then after that the rest of the beats are not. if something is there to give a constant burst of power everytime while the charge is still goin into the battery then it will draw its power from the capacitor. If you buy a good capacitor it will be able to hold its charge for more seconds.

the equation is something like time X current. the amount of time you want the beat to last say 3 seconds by the amount of current it will be taking at the most about 40 amps i would say. Its something like that im still awaiting the papers on it.

capacitors Charge instantly and discharge almost instantly depending on how long of a time the capacitor can supply the power thats why you buy the better brands i need to ave a look on google or sommet to get the equation.
 


Quote: Originally posted by craig20102010 on 11 July 2005
Quote: Originally posted by McBunny on 11 July 2005Alternators: As we said on the charging system basics page, the alternator supplies all of the power to all of the electrical accessories (amplifiers, lights, power windows, power seats...) as long as the engine is running. Upgrading the alternator is generally the most cost effective way to add more performance to your system. In the next few paragraphs Ill attempt to explain why other remedies may not solve your problem and may even make it worse.

Many people want to know when they should replace their alternator. The short answer is... when it fails. If you just want the battery to remain charged and your present alternator is keeping it charged, its doing its job. If you want a system to be as close to perfect as possible and money is no object, replace your alternator when you install the amplifiers.

Extra batteries: Extra batteries are great if you want to listen to your system with the engine off. While the alternator is charging, the extra batteries will only draw current which could otherwise be going to your amplifiers. For proof, all you have to do is measure the voltage while the engine is running. It should be approximately 13.5-14.4 volts DC. Then turn the engine off and measure the battery voltage again. Now itll be around 12-12.5 volts. Whenever the voltage at the battery is up around 14 volts, there is current flowing into the battery.

One Farad capacitors: Large, one Farad, capacitors only help to maintain the charging voltage for a tiny fraction of a second under high current demand situations. They do a fine job of filling small dips in voltage and may help reduce your lights from dimming but they wont really solve your current supply problems if your alternator cant keep up.

NOTE: Capacitors DO NOT increase the charging systems voltage. [/QUOTE]Its only a small engine putting a bigger alternator in the car is more stress on the engine and also really crap petrol consumption as well. The Capacitor will Smooth the current supply out because at the moment the first beat is powerful but then after that the rest of the beats are not. if something is there to give a constant burst of power everytime while the charge is still goin into the battery then it will draw its power from the capacitor. If you buy a good capacitor it will be able to hold its charge for more seconds. the equation is something like time X current. the amount of time you want the beat to last say 3 seconds by the amount of current it will be taking at the most about 40 amps i would say. Its something like that im still awaiting the papers on it. capacitors Charge instantly and discharge almost instantly depending on how long of a time the capacitor can supply the power thats why you buy the better brands i need to ave a look on google or sommet to get the equation.




lol the alternator does not put more stress on the engine they take the same amount of grunt from the belt to get them to move

http://www.bcae1.com/charging.htmread this
 


does it actually say in there anywhere taht putting a bigger alternator in the car will not put more stress on the engine. If its a bigger alternator then that means more coils meaning more weight in the alternator its self meaning more stress on the engine to turn it.
 


craig, mike is right, the power cap does nothing for the system, it stores power up for the 1st blast of bass, but what happens once that power surge has been used? it has to store the power back up again, when the music is playing, this will have a more detrimental effect on the lights, music etc etc

alternator is the big one, cange that for a diesel unit and see a marked improvement, change it for an even bigger one, and notice more improvement again

save your money, do not buy a cap
 


Quote: Originally posted by Bryan on 11 July 2005

craig, mike is right, the power cap does nothing for the system, it stores power up for the 1st blast of bass, but what happens once that power surge has been used? it has to store the power back up again, when the music is playing, this will have a more detrimental effect on the lights, music etc etc

alternator is the big one, cange that for a diesel unit and see a marked improvement, change it for an even bigger one, and notice more improvement again

save your money, do not buy a cap



Because a power cap charges instantly so between every beat even if its a fraction of a second that capacitor will be charged again. You buy a decent one that has a longer Charge hold and the continous beats shouldnt be a problem its not so much 1 farad or 2 farad or antyhing like that but how long it can hold that 1 farad for. Plus it will smooth out the power supply thats goin to the amp no spikes always a solid beat as there is always a clean power source there to provide it. the equation is somethng like Time x charge i would have to look it up to find out for you and for me self.

thats why Computers and all electrical equipment nearly has a Capacitor in it to smooth out the power supply. you can turn ur pc off at the mains and then press the button onthe front and for a split second it will turn on and back off again just because of the capacitors.

I also have a friend who upgraded his cabling system in his Saxo VTR to 4awg his lights didnt stop dimmin they got worse his system got louder but his lights dimmed more so his is also drawing to much power fm the battery
 


ill give you an idea, ive fitted hundreds of systems, maybe get an idea of what i used to do from that? not one has really benefitted from a power cap, extra batteries yes, bigger alternator yes, power cap no

the power cap in a car doesnt charge instantly, yes its reasonably quick, but it has to store much more power than a computer unit, it suffers through fast deep bass as it rarely fully charges

you seem hell bent on getting one, so id guess you are going to regardless, but do a search through the forum for power caps and youll see that myself, dink and mcbunny always says the same thing, all 3 have a pretty good knowledge of in car audio

take it how you want to
 


Quote: Originally posted by Bryan on 11 July 2005

ill give you an idea, ive fitted hundreds of systems, maybe get an idea of what i used to do from that? not one has really benefitted from a power cap, extra batteries yes, bigger alternator yes, power cap no

the power cap in a car doesnt charge instantly, yes its reasonably quick, but it has to store much more power than a computer unit, it suffers through fast deep bass as it rarely fully charges

you seem hell bent on getting one, so id guess you are going to regardless, but do a search through the forum for power caps and youll see that myself, dink and mcbunny always says the same thing, all 3 have a pretty good knowledge of in car audio

take it how you want to



well i wouldnt be posting if i was hell bent on getting one. im just trying to look at all possible solutions cheapest to most effective. long term and short term.
 
  silver valver/hybrid


look at it this way, the cap charges off the battery, and the battery is charged by the alternator, so if the alternator isnt up to the job then u can add as many caps as you want but itll never make any difference.
 
  Polo + Micra


Quote: Originally posted by craig20102010 on 11 July 2005
Quote: Originally posted by Bryan on 11 July 2005thats why Computers and all electrical equipment nearly has a Capacitor in it to smooth out the power supply. you can turn ur pc off at the mains and then press the button onthe front and for a split second it will turn on and back off again just because of the capacitors.


lmao, those caps are there for power factor correction but i wont go into that;)
 


Quote: Originally posted by Dink on 12 July 2005
Quote: Originally posted by craig20102010 on 11 July 2005
Quote: Originally posted by Bryan on 11 July 2005thats why Computers and all electrical equipment nearly has a Capacitor in it to smooth out the power supply. you can turn ur pc off at the mains and then press the button onthe front and for a split second it will turn on and back off again just because of the capacitors.


lmao, those caps are there for power factor correction but i wont go into that;)

dont, i dont know whit about computers, i can turn one on, and thats it
 
  Scenic mk1 (F3R)


what gauge is ya cabeling dude i had a simular problem and sorted it with 2 simple steps 1) 4 gauge power cable the bigger the cable the better in my experence 2) on my first car (fiesta) i put 2 gauge cable in and a bigger alt did the job sweet when i moved it all into the clio i only needed the cable the rest was fine when i was running the system at maximum rock "n" roll the lights never dimmed it never cut out woked a peach

hope this helps


Dan.
 


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