Capacitator?

Question

Im planning on powering about 600 watts in my 05 ford ranger edge (75w x 4 plus 300 watts for my sub). Do I need a capacitator to ease the stress on my electrical system? I have A/C but not seat warmers or anything like that. I need to figure this out so I am not throwing away money for something I don't need. Thanx!

Answer 1

For that small of an amp i say it would be a waste to put in a capacitor

Answer 2

best bet is to alway put a cap in... better safe than have all your lights fade in and out everytime your subs hit!!

Answer 3

No 600 watts isnt really that much power honestly.  You don't need a cap for that.. Save you money!!!

Answer 4

if you are having charging system issues you need to FIRST upgrade the alternator (high output model or two alternators), and if that does not do it you can upgrade all of the wiring in the charging system to 4gauge wire, and if you still have an issue then you add a high current car audio power cell (Kinetik makes the best ones in my opinion, better than a battery and /or a capacitor)

Answer 5

Although there is no hard core evidence in favor for or against capacitors - I say if you are concerned...get one.

They are not to protect against dimming headlights (although they have the ability to reduce it a bit when hooked up to sub amps)

Caps are used to provide a clean and stable voltage supply to your amp in times of need. It is for short bursts of energy consumption that your car's electrical system may have not had available temporarily.

It is not a battery...It is not a fix for existing problems either.

If your alternator is healthy - and your battery is good - adding a cap is a good idea to stave off any future problems from wear and tear that Ford didn't design into their electrical system (like your amps.)

T K O

http://www.crappyinstall.com

Answer 6

If you know you're not going to add any more amplifiers, a 600 watt system shouldn't over draw on your system.  Find out what the output of your alternator is to be sure.  But, I'd imagine you should be ok.  So to add a capacitor to that system should be just fine.  Make sure you get a quality built capacitor and not a cheap POS.