Battery Dead! Amp / Cap

harpoon · 9th March 2010, 01:00 AM

Im having an issue with my car audio setup. My battery ran dead after pounding my amp & sub for a couple hour car ride. I have a 500 watt Alpine mono channel with a capacitor. Now could this be caused by not having a big enough capacitor or Ive also heard I need a bigger Alternator.

Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks

ZippyTs · 9th March 2010, 01:29 AM

What kind of car are you running? You should not be running into battery drain with only 500W. Also Caps do not help you in this situation they are for instant bass hit and nothing more. Have you went and made sure it is not a bad battery or alternator? That would be more likely the culprit.

DigitalJunkie · 9th March 2010, 01:31 AM

Sounds like you need a larger alternator to me.

ppia600 · 9th March 2010, 01:31 AM

You can kill the alternator and battery with too much power draw but 500watts rms shouldn't do that with the car driving. Any capacitor will help preserve the electrical system. A more powerful alternator will help as well. You might want to get your battery and alternator checked out, a 500watt amp shouldn't kill anything unless you have a really wimpy alternator and battery. What vehicle do you have? Also, what cca battery and what is your alternator current output capability?

Perry Babin · 9th March 2010, 03:32 AM

The first thing you should do is to confirm that the alternator is charging. After charging the battery, turn the headlights on for about a minute then measure the DC voltage across the battery terminals. Then start the engine and measure it again.

Engine off voltage?

Engine running voltage?

camelia123 · 10th March 2010, 12:57 AM

To determine which battery charger is the best one for the sort of battery you have, there are some things you must know. First of all, find out what kind of battery is in your motor vehicle, and find out how much storage capacity it has. Because your car battery is typically just utilized when starting your automobile, for lighting, and for your music system when your car isn't operating, and the battery recharges when the car is running, you may not think that storage capacity is that important.

beaner · 10th March 2010, 02:15 AM

I had the same problem. Removed the cap from the car seemed to fix it. From what I could gather, because of the cap taking the charge from the alternator due to the amp constantly pulling the quik power draws from the cap was causing the battery not to receive it's optimal charge. I'd removed the cap altogether and upgrade the alternator or add a 2nd battery.

kyheng · 10th March 2010, 04:19 AM

Unless you can get an ultra low ESR cap, else it won't help at all. A normal car battery can last you for 30-60 minutes only, if you still want to start your car back. Your monoblock won't draw 50amp.....

harpoon · 7th April 2010, 09:14 PM

well the culprit was in fact my battery, after all of the troubleshooting. Thanks for the help all.

9th March 2010, 01:00 AM	#1
harpoon diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2010	Battery Dead! Amp / Cap Im having an issue with my car audio setup. My battery ran dead after pounding my amp & sub for a couple hour car ride. I have a 500 watt Alpine mono channel with a capacitor. Now could this be caused by not having a big enough capacitor or Ive also heard I need a bigger Alternator. Anyone have suggestions? Thanks

9th March 2010, 01:31 AM	#4
ppia600 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Louis y ana	You can kill the alternator and battery with too much power draw but 500watts rms shouldn't do that with the car driving. Any capacitor will help preserve the electrical system. A more powerful alternator will help as well. You might want to get your battery and alternator checked out, a 500watt amp shouldn't kill anything unless you have a really wimpy alternator and battery. What vehicle do you have? Also, what cca battery and what is your alternator current output capability? __________________ Don't worry... you can always turn the gain down!

9th March 2010, 03:32 AM	#5
Perry Babin diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Louisiana	The first thing you should do is to confirm that the alternator is charging. After charging the battery, turn the headlights on for about a minute then measure the DC voltage across the battery terminals. Then start the engine and measure it again. Engine off voltage? Engine running voltage? __________________ Links >> Basic Car Audio Amp Repair * Basic Car Audio Electronics * New Site * Basic Switching Power Supply Design * Basic Computer Skills << Links

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9th March 2010, 01:29 AM	#2
ZippyTs diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, Ca	What kind of car are you running? You should not be running into battery drain with only 500W. Also Caps do not help you in this situation they are for instant bass hit and nothing more. Have you went and made sure it is not a bad battery or alternator? That would be more likely the culprit.

9th March 2010, 01:31 AM	#3
DigitalJunkie diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Portland,Oregon Blog Entries: 4	Sounds like you need a larger alternator to me.

10th March 2010, 12:57 AM	#6
camelia123 diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: dallas, texas, usa	To determine which battery charger is the best one for the sort of battery you have, there are some things you must know. First of all, find out what kind of battery is in your motor vehicle, and find out how much storage capacity it has. Because your car battery is typically just utilized when starting your automobile, for lighting, and for your music system when your car isn't operating, and the battery recharges when the car is running, you may not think that storage capacity is that important.

10th March 2010, 02:15 AM	#7
beaner diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Powell River, BC	I had the same problem. Removed the cap from the car seemed to fix it. From what I could gather, because of the cap taking the charge from the alternator due to the amp constantly pulling the quik power draws from the cap was causing the battery not to receive it's optimal charge. I'd removed the cap altogether and upgrade the alternator or add a 2nd battery.

10th March 2010, 04:19 AM	#8
kyheng diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2009	Unless you can get an ultra low ESR cap, else it won't help at all. A normal car battery can last you for 30-60 minutes only, if you still want to start your car back. Your monoblock won't draw 50amp.....

7th April 2010, 09:14 PM	#9
harpoon diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2010	well the culprit was in fact my battery, after all of the troubleshooting. Thanks for the help all.

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