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^Yup, and that's why they refer to the HC600 as the "Cap Killer" and they are great lil batteries for tight spaces

capacitors and batteries still don't replace the need for an adequate alternator.

^ Very true... without the power to supply, you're not doing one bit of good.

Damn man, so u guys are telling me that capacitors are bad? I have a 1.2 on my system now... And I'm using a stock alternator... What should I do? Remove it?

Wattage wrote:Damn man, so u guys are telling me that capacitors are bad? I have a 1.2 on my system now... And I'm using a stock alternator... What should I do? Remove it?

Were you having dimming problems before putting the capacitor on? Or did you just do the cap when you installed everything else? And What Vehicle?
Reason I ask, is because in many cases a small cap on a vehicle that has large enough stock power, tied with smaller wattage amp(s) (under 750w rms) may be a cheaper solution for most that don't want to dump a bunch more money into their vehicle...
Example: Most GMs have a 105amp alternator and only use about 70-75% of that for normal operation, that leaves you an extra 25-30 amps unused by the alternator... now lets say that you have a 500w rms amp that has 2) 20 amp fuses (40w total)... so that's your maximum draw, so if you wanted to make sure that you had the extra lil reserve for when you're operating everything (wipers, heater, defroster, stereo) then you may want to add a capacitor as a cheaper solution for the extra 5-10 amps that you "might" need... see how it works as a bandaid...
But definately not a solution for big power draw.

cargodz wrote:Were you having dimming problems before putting the capacitor on? Or did you just do the cap when you installed everything else? And What Vehicle?
Reason I ask, is because in many cases a small cap on a vehicle that has large enough stock power, tied with smaller wattage amp(s) (under 750w rms) may be a cheaper solution for most that don't want to dump a bunch more money into their vehicle...
Example: Most GMs have a 105amp alternator and only use about 70-75% of that for normal operation, that leaves you an extra 25-30 amps unused by the alternator... now lets say that you have a 500w rms amp that has 2) 20 amp fuses (40w total)... so that's your maximum draw, so if you wanted to make sure that you had the extra lil reserve for when you're operating everything (wipers, heater, defroster, stereo) then you may want to add a capacitor as a cheaper solution for the extra 5-10 amps that you "might" need... see how it works as a bandaid...
But definately not a solution for big power draw.

Yeah, when I installed my system.... I put everything in including the capcitor... My amp is 1440 Watts... I drive a 1998 Dodge neon, but will be upgrading to a 2001 Camaro... So what should I do? Im so lost lol.

Well your Neon should have an 83 amp alternator stock and the Camaro will have a 105 amp stock alt... Now you say that you are running 1440 watts, so I imagine that it's a Power Acoustik amp and the 1440 is Max Wattage and no where near the rms value (always ignore Max)... so you are pushing closer to 700w rms maybe @ 2ohm... so in essence the cap is doing exactly as I described above, but definately putting an added strain on that lil 83 amp alt as it only has maybe an extra 20 amps to play with... Now the Camaro on the other hand will fit your system much better and without the cap... And if you plan on upgrading further to bigger and better then you will want to start looking into saving up for a high output alternator as well :)

cargodz wrote:Well your Neon should have an 83 amp alternator stock and the Camaro will have a 105 amp stock alt... Now you say that you are running 1440 watts, so I imagine that it's a Power Acoustik amp and the 1440 is Max Wattage and no where near the rms value (always ignore Max)... so you are pushing closer to 700w rms maybe @ 2ohm... so in essence the cap is doing exactly as I described above, but definately putting an added strain on that lil 83 amp alt as it only has maybe an extra 20 amps to play with... Now the Camaro on the other hand will fit your system much better and without the cap... And if you plan on upgrading further to bigger and better then you will want to start looking into saving up for a high output alternator as well :)

Thanks bro, I will defiantly look into that... How much do the alternator run for?

Depends on the size of upgrade you get... I get all of mine through Nate at Excessive Amperage: http://www.excessiveamperage.com/. :)

Good deal, thanks bro! :)