New Cougar Forum banner

Another battery or capacitors

1K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  EternalOne 
#1 ·
Hey guys.
I am getting a Plasmaglow 7 color led underbody kit and 7 color led wheel well kit. I already have a JL Audio 500/1 monoblock and two JL Audio 12 W3v2 subwoofers. These powerful subs are hurting my battery. If I hit the bass too hard i can actually turn off the lights(yeah it drains that much) The car actually shut off one day because of loss of power. Adding these lights plus future light products with be too much for my stock battery. I can't decide on getting another battery or a capacitor. The problem with the battery is i don't know if the stock alternator will be able to charge both batteries or at least how to do it if possible. For the capacitor I was looking at a 10 farad 24 volt audiobahn block capacitor. I have no clue what the heck a farad is. All i know is that it is on sale for 800 bucks less then what it normally runs for. Can you all help me.
 
#2 ·
10 farads
Holy ****!

If i remember right i think the rule of thumb is 1 farad per ever 1000 watts. The audio guru's here will correct me if i'm wrong. But if your sucking that much juice on just one hit of the sub i would think upgrading your alternator to a higher output would be a good idea as well.
 
#3 ·
yeah, your right brian, on the rating of the cap. if i were you, and had the money to buy an audiobahn 10 farad cap, then i would just use the money to replace your alternator (the ford ones arent all that good in the first place), and get another battery. a lot of people havent had problems with their alternator, so maybe you dont need to replace it. but either way, the stock one, or an after market one should be able to charge a 2nd battery as well. when your jumping someone elses car, its able to charge that one isnt it? (well, yeah, there is the fact that their alternator is working too, but still, the stock one should be able to do the job.)

but that 10 farad cap is a little accessive i think. you probably dont need any more than 2 caps, and if you are going to get 2, i would just get a new battery.
 
#4 ·
if i were you i would get a CCA test done on your battery, check the levels in it..sounds like your alternator is fubar'd though..when your battery is being tested check the wires on your alternator too...they may be corroded or loose and not charging your battery properly...when your driving your car and crankin the tunes they should be drawing off your alt not your battery...only thing your battery does is start your car and run the accessories when the car is off...other then that it is all on your alt..i would double check to make sure the battery is good though and check all you wires ESPcially the grounds and then i would definately get a cap one Farad would be fine but if you want to upgrade later you would be okay with a 2 Farad as well...upgrading your battery is never a bad idea...it can only help...
 
#6 ·
100 Farad...that would take up the whole trunk...i saw a ten farad once and it was the size of a case of beer...my gawd man...what on earth are you powering with that??with that much power and your still getting dimming i would check your grounds again..as for anything special with caps...there is pretty much no difference between a cap made by pyramid and one made by stinger...it is all the same maybe slight resistance variances...if it 1 farad then they will all be the same..just get one in your price range and if you want a digital one then get a digital one..they will all pretty much last the same length of time...
 
#7 ·
Guys, guys, guys...

Adding an extra battery or cap will only INCREASE the load on your alternator, thus robbing you of power that you already do not have. Extra batteries and caps should only be added to an automotive setup AFTER the alternator has been replaced with a High Output equivlent.

When I was in college one of my EE classes did a demostration of this. Took a bicycle and hooked it up to an alternator, which was hooked to a lightbulb. Peddle the bike and the bulb lit up without a problem.

Then we added a battery to the system. Took us peddling twice as hard to get the same output on the lightbulb.

Added a cap, and the result was even MORE peddling to get the SAME light we started with.

Now, the original poster has an alternator problem. The JL amps are HCCA amps, drawing enormous amounts of power. I would say you'd need at least a 200amp, if not 300amp alt to handle the system, and the LED kit. Do not waste your money on extra batteries or caps, since you will simply lower the life of your alt in the process. Once you've upgraded your alternator, you can purchase isolators to build seperate battery systems for the car and the system/extras. This makes sure that the car always has enough power in the front battery to start the car/keep it running, and any extra power is thrown to the rear setup to charge the rear batteries. This is the proper way of setting up a car audio system.

One more thing: Be very careful w/ caps. Crossing the poles can cause the cap to explode, and take out the entire rear of your car, or your arms, etc. Caps are very dangerous and should not be installed by non-certified persons.

E1
 
#8 ·
I was told by one of the kids in the stereo shop that to run the 2 1200w amps that I'm going to need, that I will need a 2nd battery, a new high output alternator that runs around $2000 OR else a 25 farad cap for each amp, which he said is around the $2000 range as well. Who's gonna be with me and call :bs: ?
 
#9 ·
$2000 for a high output alt? That seems a bit overpriced. You can get your stock alt rewound to a higher output for much much much cheaper than that.
I think a 2nd battery isn't a bad idea especially if your running a high watt system and some other electrical goodies.
Is there even a manufacturer out there that makes a 25 farad cap?
 
#11 ·
To use a second battery you'll need an isolator that allows enough amps through to the rear power system. This is the BEST solution, along with a HO alternator. Btw, amp wattage makes NO difference on how much power you need, its all amperage. So, check the amps and check the fuse sizes. Now, add up your fuse amps, and this is the MAX your system will draw.

Here is my setup for example:

2 Orion HCCA 9002 w/ 2 40amp fuses each
1 Orion HCCA 5004 w/ 1 40amp fuse

So, my stereo draws a max of 200 amps (which is a LOT). Now, take the base alternator size (75? 90? I forgot) and add your results to that. So for me I need at least a 300amp alternator to power my stereo and car properly, with power to spare to charge the batteries.

For a 300amp alternator, you're looking at around $1500-$2000, so that is not off. And you cannot rewind a stock alternator to put out 300amps, it just won't do it. You need to look into Stinger alternators, or the like at this point.

And I will repeat, do not go the cap route. Without a HO alt and batteries the caps are useless. There are new batteries out there called PowerCaps that can discharge as quickly as a cap, but power the car just like a normal battery, although I have not yet tested these on my soundboard.

E1
 
#12 ·
Wow, i always thought a stock alt could be rewound to produce a higher output. Guess not. You learn something new everyday.
 
#13 ·
Oh, sorry. Don't get me wrong, you CAN rewind a stock alt to get higher numbers. But, the numbers that are produced are not enough to power a competition stereo. Taking a stock alt from 75 or 90 amps and up'ing it to 150 does me no good, since my amps draw more current than that. That is the reason for going with a true HO alt.

E1
 
#14 ·
Lol, okay, that makes even more sense. Thanks.
 
#15 ·
Originally posted by: EternalOne
To use a second battery you'll need an isolator that allows enough amps through to the rear power system. This is the BEST solution, along with a HO alternator. Btw, amp wattage makes NO difference on how much power you need, its all amperage. So, check the amps and check the fuse sizes. Now, add up your fuse amps, and this is the MAX your system will draw.

Here is my setup for example:

2 Orion HCCA 9002 w/ 2 40amp fuses each
1 Orion HCCA 5004 w/ 1 40amp fuse

So, my stereo draws a max of 200 amps (which is a LOT). Now, take the base alternator size (75? 90? I forgot) and add your results to that. So for me I need at least a 300amp alternator to power my stereo and car properly, with power to spare to charge the batteries.

For a 300amp alternator, you're looking at around $1500-$2000, so that is not off. And you cannot rewind a stock alternator to put out 300amps, it just won't do it. You need to look into Stinger alternators, or the like at this point.

And I will repeat, do not go the cap route. Without a HO alt and batteries the caps are useless. There are new batteries out there called PowerCaps that can discharge as quickly as a cap, but power the car just like a normal battery, although I have not yet tested these on my soundboard.

E1
just remember, ull NEVER get 300 amps of power at low rpms, ud havta be up in the 5g's to get that power. i wouldnt doubt ud only get 75 from start. i got a 250 and im only gettint arond 75 from start.
 
#16 ·
just remember, ull NEVER get 300 amps of power at low rpms, ud havta be up in the 5g's to get that power. i wouldnt doubt ud only get 75 from start. i got a 250 and im only gettint arond 75 from start.
A good HO alternator will produce higher amperage at lower RPMs, but you're right, you will not get the max from idle. Which is why I still recommend a battery isolator and an extra battery bank, if you're going big. But you'll notice I also rounded up a bit on power, so there is some to spare, as well as the fact that you generally don't ride around w/ your stereo pushing 100% -- at least I don't because I can't see straight when its that loud.

E1
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top