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yeah a cap is useless except for covering up an electrical problem like dimming lights. you still have a power shortage, but the cap makes you feel better by reducing the dimming. but the cap also uses energy to constantly charge itself, so technically its an even bigger draw on the electrical system than if you didnt have one.you need to fix the problem which is get a bigger alternator. a DC-DC up converter is much more effective in that it takes in a lower volt signal and outputs a constant higher volt signal. they make ballasts like this for halogen headlamps to output a constant 14.5v and eliminate dimming no matter how many accessories you use. upgrading the alternator on these cars is also a pain, since we have the ELD which detects voltage and adjusts it based on electrical load. since nobody wires their amps properly, the eld never sees that an amp is installed and will just shut off the new alternators output thinking there is no need for it.that and larger alternators put a bigger strain on the engine. the easiest solution is try to stick with lower powered amp or no amp at all. our cars are small economy size and the alternator puts out 70amps on a good day-barely enough to run all the cars stock electrical systems.

 
Rep Power: 209

Interesting article. Some truth, some assumptions I would question. I find it interesting he says "Please do not read every stinking post as valid." but at the same time he want us to believe everything he says. He also plays games with statements like "How many 1 Farad Capacitors do you think the Boston Pops, Aerosmith, or Snoop dog use in the recording studio?". I would say the same number of recording studios that run off of an alternator and 12volt battery. Also the statement "the marketing geek was unable to quantify any of the conditions that resulted in the voltage being HELD at 14.2V and the 'improved' sound quality" is misleading, if you really want to debate the issue, talk to the engineers not the marketing department.

I'm not saying caps are good or bad. You have to understand your system and what they will and won't do for you.

 
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He is right though, the cap does look BA in the trunk, especially with the voltmeter and the flashing blue light when it discharges . Whether it does anything or not, I don't know for sure, because I never had a system without one, but I run an 2400 watt system with a stock battery and a 2 farad cap and have never had dimming problems. The only noticable difference I've seen with anything I've put in is a voltage rise by .1 volts at my cap with electric130s "big 3" ground kit. Also, my 2 farad cap only cost me $30 on amazon, idk why this guy thinks they all cost $100.

 
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Quick chime in here, in my past experience I had an amp that would overheat and shut off a lot when playing very loud. I used to put my seats down and blast my AC in an attempt to prevent the overheat. One day a friend of mine gave me a 1 farad cap. No more overheats. No more shut downs. No wiring change other than the cap being in the circuit.

Did not notice a shorter battery life, nor any alternator issues.

Removed the system a few years ago though, so I cant do any measurements or experiments.