How many capacitor do i need?

Question

ok so heres the deal.i have a 12' Fusion encounter and a encounter amp to power that.i also have a 15' encounter powerd by a PowerPlant amp.the 12' is 300w rms max and the 15' is 500w rms max.how many capacitor's will i need to power this system?

i have 1 battery, 2 amp's, 2 subs,2 wireing kits installed.can you help? thanks

Answer 1

Capacitors work and they do what they claim to do , that is release stored energy when the electrical potential of the vehicles charging system(battery&alternator) drops below the potential of the energy stored in the capacitor. Amps draw the most current when the bass hits, Capacitors release stored energy durring these bass hits when the vehicles charging system cannot keep up with the amps demand. Capacitors are used to solve current draw issues on all sorts of electrical equipment and have been proven time and time again. Anybody that tells you a Cap does not work has no idea what they are talking about and needs to open a book.

If your lights dim when the bass hits you are consuming more power than is available. A capacitor will help solve this issue and provide you the additional current your amps need durring large bass hits. A 1.5 Farad cap will work great for your system.



BUT, Capacitors only benifit you when the engine is running because they need the alternator to "fill" the cap between bass hits, AND  If your system continously draw more electrical current than your vehicle can provide a Capacitor is of no benifit because it cannot "fill".

Batteries are the only thing that will benifit you when the car is not running. If you want to extend your play time with the engine off a battery is the only thing that will help.

Answer 2

caps are useless

u can use 1 cap , 1 farad (misspelled? watever....)

wait, y do u have multiple wiring kits? y not just 1?

Answer 3

never use a cap....

always upgrade i your electrical system in this order:

1. the big 3

2. good battery (optima or kenetik)

3. rebuild your alt, or buy a HO alt (if still needed)

4. add more batteries (if still needed)

realistically, with only 800w, the big 3 and a good bat is all you should need.

as philip said caps do work....but you have an already struggling electrical system, why would you expect it to supply power to a cap? you will never see a true competitor using caps. you always want on-hand stored power. and the price of a cap that will give short brusts to power you may as well up grade you system properly probably for less. you can spend your money on something that will power up your amp some time, or something that will power you entire car all the time.

go to http://caraudio.com and do a little research on caps...then go from there.

Answer 4

The other guy is rite CAPS ARE USELESS. They are only there for looks. I recommend that you upgrade your BIG 3 and maybe even get a new battery with more CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). This is all you need for your system to work fine. Also you don't really need the 15 if you have the 12. My advise would be to sell the 15 and get another 12 just like the other one. You can run one amp with one wiring kit and be fine. save your battery some life and don't fry your alternator. get another 12 and you'll be fine. Good luck