CBRF4i Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 No duh the alternator is the problem, they don't make anything that big for beetles. 95 amps, but half of them are junk. c400 polk amp. its a 400 watt amp, but on the outside of the amp it says 975watt* the point is, is that they work. my point is that they are not needed if you install your equipment on an already solid base. and they might help keep your lights from dimming, but your electrical system is still suffering elsewhere. I could get all into the mechanics of how a cap works but with a little research people should be able to figure it out for themselves. All a cap serves as is a band aid for dimming lights and are only a necessity when running huge amounts of power. Most of the time, upgrading the big 3 and maybe a better battery will cure all your problems without having to use a cap. and sorry to say dude. . . no way does your polk amp push 975 watts. and since Audiobahn amps are rated at 14.5 volts, i seriously doubt your getting 800watts from that thing either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrorocketeer Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Did you like read what I wrote at all???? it isn't 975, thats what it says on the amp, its rated and tested at 400) My electrical system was totally redone, when I restored the car. There isn't anything wrong with it. The alternator is the problem....like I said. 45amps.... I fixed my problem with a 50$ cap instead of a 250$+ alternator that might, might, have solved my problem. END OF STORY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBRF4i Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Did you like read what I wrote at all???? it isn't 975, thats what it says on the amp, its rated and tested at 400) My electrical system was totally redone, when I restored the car. There isn't anything wrong with it. The alternator is the problem....like I said. 45amps.... I fixed my problem with a 50$ cap instead of a 250$+ alternator that might, might, have solved my problem. END OF STORY. yea i read what you typed . . . 1 - 945 watt polk amp (actual rating) + your basically saying that your electrical system is crippled and you installed a cap to band aid the problem. . i guess you proved my point for me. your cap isnt working as well as you think it is. A cap will hold a charge to the max voltage that your car can produce. So lets say you can achieve a steady 13.4volts (considering you only have a 45 amp alt). Your cap stores 1 farad of electrons with about a 2.3 ms release. That means its basically drained in 2.3 ms and once again has to pull from your battery to restore electrons back into the cap to provide power for your amp once again. So essentially all your doing is regulating an already low draw of current to your amp so that your lights dont dimm. . . yet, your electrical system doesnt hold a stready 13.8-14 volts where a car should be running at idle and down the pipe, your electrical system is still suffering elsewhere. yea i guess caps work. . i mean, they dont really help fix the problem. . but they work right :sorcerer: the other END OF STORY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrorocketeer Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 A capicitor is not a fix-all or a band-aid for power problems. The use of a big cap in a car audio system is to help supply power to an amplifier quicker than a batter can. By design a car battery can not deliver power as "quick" as some music demands. The result is bass notes that sound sloppy or "slow". it will also tighten up the bass as noted above... also why they call them "stiffening caps" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBRF4i Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 it will also tighten up the bass as noted above... also why they call them "stiffening caps" Yea, it will tighten up the bass. . . for that one split 2.3ms. Then when its gone there is NO WAY POSSIBLE for that cap to "tighten bass" as your post suggested. Once electrons are gone there is no way for a cap to produce or generate energy because it is only a simple capacitor, it dont hold charge like a battery and there is no energy in a cap until its charged. . . Lets go to basics. . A cap will smooth the demand curve for the current on the altenator. . and in theory maybe even extending the alts life span. YAY. . . sound good ? Well nor really. Because in turn all its doing is just masking the more obvious signs of a weak charging system. . >>>>>like dimming lights when the bass hits.<<<<< It will also reduce propagation delays in current supply for BREIF spiked demands by the amp. This is where you have mistaken a cap for being able to "tighten bass". But take this into consideration. A cap CAN assist with this IF the rest of the charging system is up to par. If you can store electrons to the cap fast enough. . .then it bassically wont help with crap. So in the end, i guess it was better after all to just fix your electrical system so that there was no need for the Band aid in the first place. I guess i am defending my point to an extent, and im not trying to come off cocky at all. . .but you challenged what i said and by having this little discussion i hope something sinks in and you see where you are wrong about caps. You follow the common misconceptions about them. If your happy ghetto rigging your electrical system with a cap to cover up the flaws. .. then thats fine, its your car. But im a big fan of "If its worth doing, its worth doing wright the first time". Cutting corners is for the nuborz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.