how do i know if i need a capacitor?

[94GTRoyalty]

i have a 12 inch cerwin vega sub, and an 800 watt amp. a friend warned me that if i dont have a capacitor my system will drain my battery. ive only had it on for a week, and there seems to be no real drainage. do i need one? maybe in the future?

[gtpinsc]

no you do not need a capacitor i used to run a memphis 1100 class d amp off fuse box under hood...capacitors are overrated if u do see any power loss simply upgrade to a nice marine battery

[94GTRoyalty]

alrite, thanks. can i run my system off my fuse box?

[BackInBlack]

No. Run a dedicated, fused power cable to the battery, and trigger the amplifier with the +12 output from your head unit.

[BADAZGTP]

The capacitor helps if your headlights dim or other electrical equipment is affected by the extra power pull from the amp. The capacitor pulls just enough to keep it's own voltager up. So if your headlights aren't dimming or you don't listen to it half the day without the car running, don't see where you would need one.

[archemedes]

a capacitor is an insurance policy, running a marine battery won't help unless you let it discharge (they deep cycle better) adding a second battery is just a different type of capacitor really. If you run out of power you need more amps output from the alternator

[gtpinsc]

alrite, thanks. can i run my system off my fuse box?

yes run at least a 100 amp fused power wire to the under hood fuse box...there is a power source there.theres one nut there run unscrew and connect it there and simply screw back on.u can run directly to battery but for the most part ppl run to box

[gtpinsc]

a capacitor is an insurance policy, running a marine battery won't help unless you let it discharge (they deep cycle better) adding a second battery is just a different type of capacitor really. If you run out of power you need more amps output from the alternator

my rpms stay high enuff to continuously keep alternator charging battery

[JCG's-GTP]

I would run one. I always have and prolly always will. It wont hurt anything lol. As for draining the battery with out it unless your running a massive setup thats not gonna happen. Even then a Cap wouldnt solve that problem.

[GXPimpin]

Now im not an expert on this so other members correct me if im wrong but me and my friends did a few systems in our high school rides so I know a little bit about it. I think some one already said this but it was explained to me like this.. a capacitor is basically storage for the extra power when it is needed ( i.e. a deep bass line) with out a cap you may see lights dimming with the bass . I would say try with/out for a week or 2 and see what happens if you notice dash lights dimming out during allot of the bass hits add one to your set up.

[Toofastgs]

A cap is a band aid for a poor electrical system.

[JCG's-GTP]

In reality most ppl are not going to go to the extreme measures of a high output alternator and extra batteries just so they don't have dimming lights. A bandaid, maybe but it does what it was made to do.

[gtpinsc]

Now im not an expert on this so other members correct me if im wrong but me and my friends did a few systems in our high school rides so I know a little bit about it. I think some one already said this but it was explained to me like this.. a capacitor is basically storage for the extra power when it is needed ( i.e. a deep bass line) with out a cap you may see lights dimming with the bass . I would say try with/out for a week or 2 and see what happens if you notice dash lights dimming out during allot of the bass hits add one to your set up.

correct

[cobraz]

In reality most ppl are not going to go to the extreme measures of a high output alternator and extra batteries just so they don't have dimming lights. A bandaid, maybe but it does what it was made to do.

Buy a capacitor, nothing short of 1.2 farads for the grandprix. it will save your electrical, and possibly your car. i am currently running 2400 watts and i need it. if under 500 watts, don't worry about it, over get it.