power caps

[JACKO CUP 172!]

hi all. i have just been offered a kicker power cap 1farrad with digital display.think it is a couple of years old??how much do these go for 2nd hand??

jacko

 

[MT AUDIO]

why buy it?

 

[JACKO CUP 172!]

because i have just put my sub bk in me motor and when it is on flat out the lights dim and alsorts. just thinking of my poor lil alternator.lol

 

[bmh.01]

Power caps don't work, get an uprated battery. Then if it still flickers you need to be looking at an uprated alternator.

 

[JACKO CUP 172!]

i thought they were supposed to be good???

 

[jjoe90]

i would of thought they work, just because they are like a second battery, or thats how i think of them
when you need that little extra power insead of straining the battery it goes off the cap, seems usefull to me, aint got one tho lol,

also if youconnect a neon to them when the bass kicks in tey light up to the beat lol, mate did it looked funky

 

[Vish]

I thought about getting a powercap cos my sub kept cutting out, but decided just to uprate my battery. 40A to 60A battery made all the difference on mine. Never cut out since and aren't batteries cheaper??

 

[MOFO]

put a 2nd battery in the boot for it lol,

 

[MT AUDIO]

i would of thought they work, just because they are like a second battery, or thats how i think of them
when you need that little extra power insead of straining the battery it goes off the cap, seems usefull to me, aint got one tho lol,

also if youconnect a neon to them when the bass kicks in tey light up to the beat lol, mate did it looked funky

it does not act as a 2nd battery,the idea is that it regulates the voltage of the power going to the amp,thats all and doesnt do that well!as said.bigger battery.bigger alternator

 

[Dink]

bigger cabling would be my first port of call.

 

[Djw John]

Yeah Id spend my money in other ways.

Upgrade the battery and alternater cabling first, then the batt if needed and then the alt if still needed

 

[Djw Dave]

I had one in mines, maybe very little diffrence IMO, looked cool.

Cost me £20 Second hand.

 

[GordonD]

A super cap can eliminate destortion if the problem is that the amp is at the end of a long cable that has too much resistance in it. But it can't eliminate the sort of problem you're talking about of the lights dimming.

Let me think of an equivalent you might understand if you not really electrically savvy. Its like the accelerator pump on a carby. It supplies that bit extra juice immediately when you hit the throttle that lets the car respond immediately. But if the problem is the main fuel pump can't pump petrol fast enough at full throttle an accelerator pump isn't going to do any good.

 

[Dink]

sorry but a cap can't help voltdrop across the supply cable.

most distortion that people get is clipping hich is here the output voltage is trying to be higher than the voltage rails that supply the output fets inside the amp.

+ when the voltage drops the cap supplysa power to all electrical items in your car not just your amp

 

[G9TUS]

how much generally are the more powerfull batteries, is there any draw backs in having one??