infiltrator

putting 2 amps in my truck powering subs/ new speakers. with the current system (which is weak) if i turn it up full blast the lights dim out slightly to the beat of the music ...

what im scared of is them overpowering my battery... not sure what will happen...

what i was thinking of is i saw a new commercial for a new "titanium" (i think) battery (its the commercial with the 2 dudes sitting on the battery talking about how we need more power to do things like power tv's cell phone plug-ins... etc..

should i do that? i already have like a duramax (battery...)

pepsibluefloat

a new batter could help, but you may need a new alternator. When u get the amps that could help too. Also get a capacitor with the amps. I'm not to knowledgeable about car stereos, but i think capacitors sorta store energy to take stress off the battery during the hard hitting (beats?)

diverjeff200

[SIZE="3"]Hey:

I'm driving two 750 watt dual voice coil Alpine subs with a hifonics 1500 watt mono amp. I also have a 1 farad Rock Fos capacitor. If your using TWO amps to drive your subs WITHOUT a capacitor, your vehicle battery will probably fail rather quickly in addition to your altenator AND your amplifiers. Not enough juice can be just as bad as too much.

There are a couple of really good web forums with people who can advise you on the correct equipment beased on make, model, watts, amperes. I used one when designing my son's system.

Safety & blue skies,

DJ /SIZE]

infiltrator

so a 1 farad (have no clue what that is) capacitor should do the job? i looked and i guess they have one at circuit city.. whats a good brand or does it matter?
pricing??

how do i hook this up???

diverjeff200

Hey:

From "How Stuff Works" - In a way, a capacitor is a little like a battery. Although they work in completely different ways, capacitors and batteries both store electrical energy. If you have read How Batteries Work, then you know that a battery has two terminals. Inside the battery, chemical reactions produce electrons on one terminal and absorb electrons at the other terminal. The capacitor plays a crucial role in electronics -- it stores electrons for when they're needed most, dumping a huge charge instead of a steady flow. A capacitor is a much simpler device, and it cannot produce new electrons -- it only stores them. A 1 farad capacitor stores about the same energy as 1 fully charged 12 volt battery.

If you will Google "car audio forums" and you'll find what your looking for. Alsk the techs at Circuit City to recommend and draw a wiring schematic. A fellow at Best Buy drew one out for me on a sheet of notebook paoer. The tech's will usually help out with questions you may have (espicially if you buy something from them). Capacitors are pretty simple devicec, so IMHO, brand is not that important. I would though stay with known names like, Rockford Fosgate, Infinity, Sony, Memphis, etc.

If it were me, with two amps, depending on how you are going to wire the subs and your subs capabilities, I would have a capacitor per amp. My capacitor has an LED readout that shows the voltage.

There are many ways to wire these systems so be absolutely sure on your systems capabilities, needs and wiring before turning on the head unit. You can fry a $2000 sound system pretty easy with one mistake. Plus, your probably going to be using 1/0 to 4/0 primary wiring so make your connections good and tight and protect the wires from chafing and punctures and touching each other. Fuse EVERYTHING!!!

One more VERY IMPORTANT THING. Once you have everything wired don't just turn it on and start thumpin. Your amps will need to be tuned. By not tuning your amps you can cause serious and fatal damage to your subs. Impedance can be deadly heh heh.

Good luck,

DJ

TNRabbit

I personally don't think capacitors are worth the hype. As Bumpin' Yota will tell you, ONE good thump and they are drained, placing extra work on the alternator to try to provide power to the amp AND restore the capacitor. I upgraded my alternator from the standard 60 amp to 135 amp and STILL get the lights dimming when I drive my system hard. If I rev the engine to about 3200 rpms, that all stops. I'm currently running 2 amps, highs from a Kenwood 285 watt amp and 2x10" Infinity Perfect 10 Subs with a Kenwood 1000 (REAL) watt amp. I am using circuit breakers in lieu of fuses, and about 8 feet of 4 gauge wire from the battery to the distribution box, then about 18 inches of 8 gauge cable from the distribution block to the amps. Haven't had ANY problems with this setup and it will seriously CRANK.