• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

post where you put your capacitor if you have one !!!!

Doug 97 gtp

Doug 97 gtp

New member
i was originally going to screw the capacitor to the back of my box but then i was thinking of some way to mount is where the rear pass thrugh hole is at. just kinda curious to see where people put their capaqcitors
 


The power cap should be within 2ft of the amplifier, normally. I strongly recommend dropping the power cap, as its nothing but a way of stabilizing the power drain. What you should do is get a second battery specifically for car audio. Run the power wire from the (+) POS of the main battery to the (+) POS terminal of the 2nd battery. Ground 2nd batt directly to frame. Run amp power wire from 2nd batt power terminal and ground separately from the second battery directly to the frame as well. (Dont forget FUSES! one within 6" of each (+) terminal minimum.) This increases the available power to the system and minimizes impact on your car's charging system.

The easiest and one of the most commonly overlooked problems with having subs and other high drain items is the car's stock charging system. Not upgrading that is where 99% of your power issues will come from.
Upgrade the stock wire from the alternator to the battery, and the front battery's ground needs an upgrade as well, otherwise its nothing but a bottleneck in the charging system. Use the same gauge wire that you are using for your power wire to your amplifier. I recommend having a ground both to the frame and to the engine block as well.
 
ok you guys should reread the post i know what a capacitor is and i know i should get a second batter but i dont have the money for that right now plus there is no problem.
 
Within 2ft of the amp is best. Back of the box is perfect just in case the box slides a bit. Where is your amp mounted? Personally, even though i dislike them, all caps i use get mounted exactly 6" away from the amplifier and usually on a carpeted piece of wood directly behind the back seat. gives it a nice place to sit where the cap and the amp wont be vibrated to death, and is a really nice looking way to hide the wires without pulling up carpeting in the trunk.
 
Last edited:
I have mine mount on the rear speaker deck right by the rear pass thru just enough so i could see the meter and led flash :th_thumbsup-wink: Just for a little "show off"
 


USFrozen said:
Within 2ft of the amp is best. Back of the box is perfect just in case the box slides a bit. Where is your amp mounted? Personally, even though i dislike them, all caps i use get mounted exactly 6" away from the amplifier and usually on a carpeted piece of wood directly behind the back seat. gives it a nice place to sit where the cap and the amp wont be vibrated to death, and is a really nice looking way to hide the wires without pulling up carpeting in the trunk.
Click to expand...
i originally placed it on the back of the box along wiht my amp but i was kinda just thinking of a cool place to put it.
 
It can be a tough subject. But generally speaking, if you bought a reasonably made amp then it already has enough caps built into the power supply for it's needs. No need to be redundant.

If people REALLY need something, here's a 1 FARAD cap. Use 4 of them for 12.5V which is ~where you're charging state takes place, usually a bit higher though. You can hide these guys too. *shrug*

105CKR050M by ILLINOIS CAPACITOR - Buy or Repair at PLCCenter - PLCCenter.com

Their original use was in a sound quality competition. Power regulation wasn't able to respond as quickly due to design and they would add capacitors to the lighting circuits just in case because a lot of "sound quality" competitions is based on maintaining safety and OEM specifications while adding the "experience" to the vehicle. These days, power regulation is built into the alternators and the system is able to handle power spikes much more efficiently.

Dimming lights and other occurrences are typically due to poor grounding points.
 
Last edited:
uhm I got a 12x16x8 inch battery where you wanna put a cap, get a batt, do big three, and if you need filtering I would use a cap.
 


JT....my caps were only 5 cents and give him 4 Farads :D

They're also the size of dimes :)

Eye win? Why the extra battery? My amps run off my alternator :>
 


uhm those wont work the same, storage capacity will be very small, thus creating more strain on the electrical system. This is why you either do big three first, add small batt, add larger batt if you have to, or just big ass alternator.
 
jteske88 said:
extra batt be for the power i draw, 2500 rms broham and 4 channel.
Click to expand...

Sine waves or music? I think this is where different trains of thought still solve the same problem ;)

But it seems we do agree that caps are a bad idea ;P I guess at some point there aren't many options. One of the bigger problems with caps being their lack of capacity. Caps are only good for a fraction of a second.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top