Alright, after tons of searching and reading up on the subject install, I still have a question about installing a capacitor. I've heard in the past that a capacitor will help protect the stock electrical system. With the added current being drawn from the after market amp, will this damage the electrical system in the car? Specifically, will this damage the alternator

Does a capacitor actually help protect anything?

I know the capacitor will store electrical charge, and then discharge when requested which will allow the sub to hit harder. Is this the capacitor's only function?

 

no... a cap is ecsentially uselless unless you get like 3 7 farrad caps. the best thing you can do is get a second batter and tie into your stock system and the alternate will charge it also.

 

caps are kinda a waste on money there are other things you can do that are a lot cheaper then getting a cap

 

Sweet, not really worried about "performance" gains with the cap, just wondering if it was needed to protect the electrical system. I'll pass.

Thanks for the replies

 

there is no performance gain with a cap

 

Making the sub hit harder isn't a performance gain?

 

they are really useless unless you are running a ton of power
i was running 4000 watts, and i would get like bulb out warning and dimming lights and all kinds of stuff when it hit.. a 6.5 farad cap fixed that

 

my opinion differs from everyone else. a cap is essential with any aftermarket system pushing more than 1000 watts. im talking real watts not some bullsh!t flea market amp claiming 3000 watts. with every 1000 watts you need 1 farad. i have a 1000 watt rocksford fosgate amp and my headlights and interior lights dim when the bass hits, so i got a 1 farad cap (also rocksford fosgate) and now i have no problems. a4's dont have big alternators and running an aftermarket system will slowly kill it. i've seen it happen so many times (worked at best buy installing systems)


also i dont see how running a second battery would help more than a capacitor, since while the car is running the alternator is doing all the work not the battery. the battery is only used when starting the car and when the engine is off. so the only thing adding a second battery would do is give you more time to listen to your music in the parking lot. and caps are cheap. if you want to get it cheaper, throw one of the guys in the audio department of best buy 40 bucks and he will most likely just give it to u

 

This is more along the line of what I've been told in the past. The alternator will suffer with added load of the system. I'll only be running a 400 watt amp power a single 12" sub, nothing huge. I had this system installed on my last vehicle (91 caddi brougham), and I'm sure this is the reason the alternator failed. Furthermore, the system didn't dim the lights or anything of that nature even though the alternator was obviously being over worked.

I've seen 1 fared caps at local pawn shops and cash converters (anyone heard of cash converters) for around 34 bucks... cheaper than a new alternator.

 

if your headlights dim when bass hits upgrading the ground wires on your cars battery usally takes care of it (like 10-20 dollars)you have no more power then you have ground. a cap does nothing more then smooth the ac ripple that is caused by the alternator (also known as alternator whine with full range amps) im not saying a cap is going to do nothing but there are other things that can be done which does not give the battery alternator more to charge and a cap will drop voltage with a constant bass note where bigger ground wire will not. and upgrading your ground is cheaper and you don't have a bomb in the trunk that can explod if it is shorted out in ancident. i had a cap in my civic where a bigger or better battery was not an opition (opitima yellow top) and the upgraded alternator could not keep up with my fosgate bd1000 and my ppi 4 channel and my headlights still dimmed till i spent 20 dollars got 2 feet of 0 gauge ground wire andtwo 0 gauge connectors and upgraded the ground on the battery afterwards my headlights no longer dimmed. so after that every car that i installed a decent sized systemin (200 watts and up)i would just add another ground to the battery since with an amp kityou usallay have a couple of feet left and i never had headlights dimming on and car i did that to, so start with that then move on to a cap.