When do you need a big capacitor on your power?

[groover1234]

Hi folks,

At what point do you need to stick a 1+ farad capacitor on your power coming from the battery? Is there a general guide that can be applied to ascertain whether it is required?

~groover

[troystg]

A stiffening cap "near" the amps is ALWAYS a good idea.

Generally 1Fd is plenty, and in the "rear" of the vehicle or as close to the amps as possible.

Makes no sense th have the cap under a seat and then a long run of cable to the trunk.

[groover1234]

haha sorry, my question isn't the physical location of the capacitor, moreover when do I actually need one? when a certain amperage is reached?

[troystg]

Originally posted by groover1234
haha sorry, my question isn't the physical location of the capacitor, moreover when do I actually need one? when a certain amperage is reached?

Answered in the first line.... ALWAYS. No ands, ifs or buts (hee hee, I said buts )

I like big buts... is the way the song goes...

[bega_83]

Good question.... if you have an amp in your car (i assume u do) you could always use some extra power. The more the better...

[built]

perhaps this would help.
read topic 46...

http://www.bcae1.com

[groover1234]

perhaps this would help.

Thank you. I understand the purpose of a capacitor much better now but I feel as if it is not going to make that much difference.

Why on earth would someone 'fess up' to wasting that much money on 'snake oil'. I've yet to see a capacitor make an audible difference.

I'm wondering whether a big 2 farad capacitor could compensate for a thinner wire such as 4 or even 8 guage. From reading that article it sounds like this is not the case.

[djQUAN]

I'm using two 1 Farad caps on my system and I can definitely say it's not snake oil.

why two? I have about 1600 watts RMS total and one was not enough. one cap would most probably suffice for simple one or two amp systems.

[troystg]

Rule of thumb is 1 Fd for every 1000 watts.

It is NOT snake oil, if you can't hear or tell a difference with a local supply cap near the amps you have bigger issues that the money spent on the cap(s).

[Perry Babin]

I've talked to a lot of people who purchased capacitors and virtually all were dissapointed because they could hear no difference. I've never seen an installation where the capacitor made a difference. Richard Clark did a thorough, controlled test that showed that a capacitor actually reduced the alternator's ability to recover after a large drain. There was absolutely no benefit to having the capacitor.

If a capacitor actually did something for an audio system playing music, manufacturers would demo a system with an A/B comparison. To my knowledge, none have.

The only time that a capacitor 'may' be of use is in a competition system where all you need is a 'burp'.

Instead of spending money on a capacitor, people should spend their money on a new alternator.