Capacitor/Battery?
 

New to this game...

What does a capacitor do and what would be the point of running amps on a separate battery in my trunk other than that off my 140volt alternator?

I only have a 5 channel MTX amp putting out 470watts tops on my subchannel to my MAW-12 Sub in a ported box. What would having a capacitor do, how would it help if at all, or when would I need one if I decided to run a separate amp to run just the sub with more wattage down the road. I'd upgrade my sub btw at that time.

Thanks for your help in advance.

you meant 140amp alternator lol. a cap is just a bandaid for bad installs in my opinion. if you do the Big 3 and a good battery you should be fine. btw a cap doesnt do nothing on multichannel amps only sub amps

In my opinion, I think I'm good with battery alternator and wiring etc...I'm getting terrific sound and great volume from the MAW-12.

I'd like to go bigger next season so I'd like to install a subamp to a good 15. So what then will the capacitor do, and at what point would I need to get a separate battery?

Next season I'm thinking of going to a 1000-1500 watt amp, and an IXL 15 from MACH 5 or something to that effect. Was also looking at 2 IXL 12'S from MACH 5.

At what point do you know you need a battery and a capacitor, when your car battery drains playing tunes after only a few minutes with the car not running? What again will the capacitor do in respect to the subamp?

with 1000 to 1500watts rms a second battery is still not necessary. i run around 1200watts rms on stock alt. and a maximum FX battery. so far i play it at half volume for 4 hours and the van still start with not prob.

i have a cap ( ssshhh lol ) its a 1.5farad and really i tryed it without and with it. no difference. i still lose 1volt at full volume.

did you do the big 3 upgrade?? cause this will help lots with bigger power. and a cap is suppose to regulate the voltage to the amp. ( witch i can clearly see that it does not lmao ) its false advertisement i think. saying a bunch of bull to sell overpriced caps. and yes a second battery will be alot better than a cap. but you need the alternator power to push 2 batterys. and a silinoid so it doesnt drain the front battery when the voltage drops to low

We use capacitors to allow the sub amp to draw current from it's source and not steal from the other amp(s).
Of course, we encourage the big 3, alternator upgrades and proper wiring for proper power draw.

I had to install a capacitor in my Jeep to help pick up some of the drain on my battery when using my Alpine IVA D310 head unit connected to 2 Alpine Type R 12" subs. Powering my subs I have an Audiobaun 2000watt mono block @ 1ohm stable
subs are wired at 4 ohms this lets the mono block run cooler. I'm also running a pair of Alpine Type R 6" x 9" and a pair of Alpine Type R 6 1/2" coaxials powered by Alpine V12 F507 4 channel.
The big differance the capacitor made when I turned up the volume. Befor the "cap" my headlight would flash to the music I was playing, due to the hugh amount of battery drain, even with the Jeep running. The "cap" solved the problem because, when properly charged and connected, the "cap" pick up the sudden power drop from the battery by providing extra power to the system when used at higher volumes thus leaving enough battery power to stop my headlights from flashing
Hope this helps you understand the purpose of a capcitor and please note that capcitors come in different sizes, including 1/2, 1 and 2 farads. The more Farads the capacitor is able to release when needed, the lower the battery drain.

Thanks for the help guy's, I really appreciate it. Last thing I need is some installer telling me I need this and that when I don't. I think I'll probably go the capacitor, and not an extra battery route when I upgrade to bigger amp and a bigger sub or subs if it stops my lights from flashing because it's doing that now with a 900 watt 5channel MTX amp hooked up to 6.5 inch infinity components, 6x9's and a MAW-12 in a ported box. I also find, I can run the stereo for about an hour at most, and then I run into trouble with starting up. The battery is only a year old, AC Delco for my 95 Impala SS.

BTW what is the "Big Three Upgrade?" I tried doing a search but nothing came up. You've got my curiousity going now....

Glad I could help. have fun with your upgrade.

i hope your vehicle is as easy as mine lol. i have space to shove my arms under the hood. just for safety.... dont remove the existing wires. add on to it, cause if something comes loose. well there goes your power and on the side of the road you go