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High Amp Alt vs. Bigger Cap

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adidasdude1061

adidasdude1061

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So, I have stock alt. with Alt boost and rewire. the amp has 40x4 fuses. I don't seem to have any problems with the alternator at all. Does it make since for me to get it boosted to 160 amps? Or does it make more since to just get a bigger cap? I have 2 farad right now. The lights do dim.
 


A higher amperage alternator is ALWAYS better than a capacitor. As well as running both your amp's power and ground wires straight back to the battery itself.
 
you should be good as you are...2 12" L7s on a 1000w kicker amp, my lights barely, barely dim...i have a cap, NO alt. re-wire or boost, i do have a brand new battery from autozone that costed $119....but if u still wanna upgrade i'd say go with a good battery if yours has some age on it..... but dang dude ur already running 2 caps? wtf u beatin' with?
 
Went with the rebuilding option - 160 amp now, and am more then happy with my setup. Speakers don't cut out, no dimming at all, Overall greatness achieved:th_laugh-lol3:
 


i will be the first one here to post it. DO NOT USE A CAPACITOR. they are useless. but a small bettery instead. either a powermaster, optima, or a kinetik.
 


gtpinsc said:
a capacitor is fine for minor powerloss
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yeah only if you have a 3 watt amp for your tweeters or something. 9 times out of 10 it will hurt the performance of you audio system. caps raise your ESR to a unsafe level. get a extra battery.
 
the light dimming is essentially caused by the difference in voltage between the battery and the alternator. Alternator is about 14 volts battery is 12 volts...so all electronics run @ 14 volts when the car is running, but when you consume all the current the alternator has to offer then if falls back on the battery which has plenty of reserve power, but at a lower voltage so you get light dimming on hard bass notes (notice your lights do not dim as bad with the car off?)... Caps don't make power, but they do help buffer out the light dimming issues. If you simply don't have enough power than a bigger alternator is always better. But bigger alternators don't last nearly as long as the originals....More batteries will only give you longer reserve power for 'key off' listening time, when the car is running those batteries create an additional load on the alternator making your problems worse. Do not add more batteries to an over-taxed system.
 
true but very false at the same time. adding extra batteries will help with the car off but also give oyu more reserve power. basically once you extra batteries are fullt charged it will take longer for your lights to dim. i have 3 extra batteries (4 total) in my truck and my lights do not dim at all. i am also running a stock 130amp alt. adding extra batteries will help drastically.
 
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reinke said:
true but very false at the same time. adding extra batteries will help with the car off but also give oyu more reserve power. basically once you extra batteries are fullt charged it will take longer for your lights to dim. i have 7 extra batteries (8 total) in my truck and my lights do not dim at all. i am also running a stock 130amp alt. adding extra batteries will help drastically.
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taken from Car Electronic Basics

Many people are under the impression that adding a second battery will cure their electrical problems. If one battery is good then two must be better. Right? Wrong. Remember that the function of a battery is to start the vehicle and to provide power when the vehicle is not running. The only thing a second battery will help you with is "parking lot" listening time. Basically it will provide you the additional capacity to run your stereo longer without starting the vehicle. After the vehicle is started the second battery becomes another load on an already overworked alternator.
 
well i am telling you from over 10 years of car audo experience that statement is false. my voltage sat at 13.6 idle before i added any batteries. after i finished adding all my batt's my truck now idles's at 14.7. when i rev to 2000rpm when i compete for 30 seconds full tilt non stop the whole time my voltage does not drop below 13.8 now. adding batteries will help you voltage PERIOD. go to stevemeadedesigns.com and ask around.
 


yeah a second battery is great but its not something you would Really need! just depends what kind of audio you are running, my kicker system is fine with a cheap cap.
 
reinke said:
well i am telling you from over 10 years of car audo experience that statement is false. my voltage sat at 13.6 idle before i added any batteries. after i finished adding all my batt's my truck now idles's at 14.7. when i rev to 2000rpm when i compete for 30 seconds full tilt non stop the whole time my voltage does not drop below 13.8 now. adding batteries will help you voltage PERIOD. go to stevemeadedesigns.com and ask around.
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I agree, more batteries = more current. The big problem is you will overwork your alternator and it wont last very long trying to charge up all those batteries. It may seem like its helping but remember batteries store power, they do not make it. If you dont run a H/O alternator you wont be able to keep your alternator running for more than 5-6 months at a time...I was an installer myself for over 5 years and even did a 4 month mobile electronics course. Anybody who went ahead and added a second or third battery always ended up with dead alternators, especially GM alternators which are flaky to begin with. Not to mention a regular battery weighs a good 40-50 pounds...not good for the gas millage


In your situation with audio competitions I think more batteries is best for you, because you will get a **** load of current out of them for that 30 second blast. For the average person another battery is just not at all necessary for a simple light dimming issue. Run up to a 2F cap (which will discharge high current very quickly for a short period of time, much faster than a battery can), if you still have issues, step up your alternator output a bit.
 
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i did a 4 guage wire off the charge of the alt. very securely to the battery , 4 guage to the back and a optima blue top to all my stuff and no light dimming and my sub amp is fused at 120 amps and my 2 amps on my mids are fused at i think 15 a piece . But always do a bigger alt over a cap , cap is a high discharge and a high recharge device
 
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