Upgrade to 4 gauge wire, sluggish results?

Question

So I posted a question on here before http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080707091639AAe0sUM

After getting answers to my questions from you guys and some car audio professionals I know, I decided to upgrade my wire. I got the thick scosche 5 gauge wiring kit. I bought it and it was just long enough to run back to my capacitor. The installer said that it would be fine linking up to the cap and using the 8 gauge I had from before from the amp to the cap. Is this the right configuration? Should I have made the upgrade in the first place? I can tell a decrease in bass power actually, and my lights still dim a little bit.

Answer 1

get rid of the cap and the 8 gauge and use all 4 gauge...As long as the wire is all correctly installed there is no way you should be getting a decrease in power.

Answer 2

Two common mistakes that new audiophiles make:

1: The use of a capactior.

2: The idea that you need a 4 or 8 gauge wire unless you are running thousands of watts (RMS).

First of all, capacitors are literally USELESS in any car audio setup. Do an upgrade called the "big 3" it involves upgrading the gauge of the wires on your battery, such as your ground and power wires. Google it. The second stage is to upgrade your battery. Go to any car audio forum and ask an expert. That is what they'll tell you. Capacitors are just there to look flashy, and the pro's usually look down on systems with them.

Second.. i read your other question, and 8g wire is almost double the gauge you need to suffeciently power that amp. There are a few gauge/wattage calulators on google.

Even IF you needed 5 gauge, it would be useless when paired with an 8g wire (unless you are splitting a 5g to two amps, using 8g wires).

Answer 3

MrWakeup and Eskimo are correct here.  There are other problems that you may have other then the wiring you are using.

I could not see your previous question so I cannot tell what equipment you have.  Sometimes it doesn't take a lot of power to have headlight dimming problems.  In order to fix it there are three things that you can do to fix it: 1) upgrade the big 3 (http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/foru... 2) upgrade the battery to a deep cycle 3) upgrade your alternator.  Those will solve your problem if they are done correctly.  If you are not running a lot of power then simply doing the big 3 could fix your problem.  

What you could also try is taking out the cap.  Just hook the 4 gauge straight up to your amp, disregarding the cap altogether.  A cap will actually put more strain on your electrical system.  It is just another device the alternator has to supply power to.  So by taking it out you may fix your problem.  

A cap does have SOME uses but fixing headlight dimming is not one of them.  Try my recommendations and if that doesn't work ask again and we will give you some more ideas.

Good Luck!!!