I need to get one very soon my headlight diming seems dangerous to me. So what kind of price am I looking at for a good Capaciter nothing to crazy? I got a 500 watt amp and 2 Alpine type S subs running in mono. I just don't want to walk in to the shop and get ripped off, I really have no idea about Capaciters. thanks alot boys, any info about caps would be appreciated aswell.

If your headlights are dimming due to the amplifier drawing more current the the alternator can put out then the capacitor won't help in the long run. You probably need a higher current alternator then stock. All the capacitor does is store electricity and release it later. If there isn't enough power to charge it with the amp running then it doesn't have any charge to release release under load.

erich

well the lights only dim when the subs go BOOM so I'm figuring the cap can store the power when its not going boom and use the stored power to feed the amp when it needs to go BOOM thus keeping my lights from flashing all the time.

you might have a bad alternator as well... . I had had may systems and that never happened to me untill my alternater started to crap out on me.... so your amp and subs is drawing power from the bat itself and it won't be long before that goes out... I would recomend getting your alt checked out... capacitor will help you if you have a good alternator...

well also the car has been stored for a month now so batt is some what discharged and the alternator is trying to charge it up, and i haven't drove the car with the system in it it is just sitting there idling could that be a factor aswell?

How do I check out my alternator???

You have been moved to our fabulous Car Audio/Entertainment/Security section moderated by Simmsled! Wahoo!

As to your problem, a capacitor will go a long way in helping maintain your voltage. Make sure the rest of your system is in good shape and bump to your heart's content.

I would recommend cleaning your battery terminals and then installing a 1 farad capacitor, that is if you have a good 8awg power cable and a good ground.

alright battery is relatively new only 8 months so there is no acid around the terminals at all.I've got the amp grounded to a bolt in my trunk area under the carpet.However my power wire is only 10awg but its good quality wire. also my amp instructions say to use a 60amp fuse on the power wire I got a blade fuse in right now rated at 30 amps(temporary) whats the best way to get 60 amps worth of fuse??? Use one of those huge blade fuse style, or use a bar style fuse like in old school cars???

not to sure about the alternator I got all receipts from the guy i got the car from and no sign of replacment alternator and the one in it now is nissan oem the cars got 162,000 KM on it so the alternator may be going!!!! oh no!!!

If your amp calls for a 60 amp fuse, then in my opinion you need to upgrade your power wire to an 8 gauge wire. I would go with the MAXI blade style fuse because they tend to be alot more reliable.

Ya-it sounds like you need a capacitor. No-the digital volt meter will not necessarily do anything for you except show how many volts-it's basically for show. A new battery won't do the trick-unless it's an Optima Yellow top($200-300) and those are for systems with 1000Watts + I'd say the best/cheapest way to stop lights from flickering/fading etc. is to get a cap-it will work! Trust me I had a 2400Watt system in my Xplorer!

O by the way all you need is a .5 farad (500Watts or less) unless your planing to upgrade you system in the future. Here are some caps on sale, shipping is $7 for your entire order (anything, except boxes).

http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio....html

Edit- Dude I just read more of the thread, your using 10gauge power and ground wire? 10gauge if for systems under 350Watts, now that is some of the problem. Imagine 500Watts trying to squeze through a wire that only allows 350Watts...It will cause stress on the battery/alt and not allow full power. But heres what you need to do, go get some 4gauge wire @walmart (they have amp kits) or Home Depot (less then $20) and then buy that .5farad cap at the zeb.com your system will stop flickering and will sound better than every.

you can get caps at a auto parts store for like 60 bucks. (auto Zone) they are just as good as the stinger ones with out the voltage meter. and the fancy paint and stickers. if you put a cap in, change your wire to 8 gauge or if you plan on putting a second or bigger amp in later then go with 4 gauge, just to save you some trouble later on. also when you go through the fire wall make sure you use a gromet or you will have a very large fire in your car.

The size of the cap should be determined by the power capability of the amp, and the ability of the alternator to charge the system. In some cars, you can go way over 1000w rms of power and not have lights dimming. I had an 88 Cavalier for my first car and it had a newer Delco battery with a 90amp alternator. The car had a 400w 4 channel PPI Art series amp and the last of the Alpine V12 Expert (1200w rms) amps. I only had slight dimming when I had the A/C on at idle, otherwise no dimming. When I got my Altma, I had that same system in there with the factory spec 80 amp alternator and a new Wal-Mart battery. I had moderate dimming even when I was driving. I put a Streetwires 1 farad cap in there and it solved the dimming problem.

If the lights are dimming enough for it to be scary on a 500w amp, I would suggest the 1 farad. It sounds like the electrical system is on the lower side of charging capability.

Just one more example that will make Nissan guys feel special. I installed, on an 87 Acura Integra 5sp, a 4 channel PPI amp (200w) with 8 awg powercable and hooked it up only to highs and mids (highs and mids take less current to run as opposed to subs). This car had a 70 amp alternator, which was brand new Acura installed, and a standard Acura battery (maybe a year old). This charging system could not keep the car running with enough power at idle when you would play the stereo at the louder side of normal listening levels. We needed to get a larger battery, and a 1 farad cap to run the system without problems.

I would put a 1 farad in and know that you would not have to worry about it, even if you put another amp in later. With a 1/2 farad, it is rated for up to 500w. That would be on the borderline of stressing out that cap and may not work.

If it is within your means... I would highly suggest an 8awg power cable and ground, with a 1 farad cap.

Off to watch the Superbowl!! Hope this helps!!

thanks alot guys I'm goona pick up some 4 awg wire and a 60 amp fuse some time this week I'll install that see if it still flickers if it does I'll get the 1 farad cap and that should do it. I got a hook up for caps now so it should be cheap. I hooked up my car to a diagnostic machine that measure's spark and stuff liek that and it says my alternater was charging at 80 amps so I guess thats good is that what the 240sx alternator is rated at???

Oh and how much wire should i get to wire from the batt to the trunk and for a ground in the trunk to the amp in the trunk? Not to sure how long my wire is . I was figuring about 20 feet shoudl be more then enough.

It is always good to get more than enough (20 feet will do great). Make sure though that your amp can take a 4 awg wire or you have something that converts 4awg to 8awg such as a distribution block so that you dont have stray wire. Your ground should be as short as possible. So, make it short, but make it so that it is not pulled tight or anything. Good Luck!

10 awg is not good enough for 500 watts, no matter what wire u are using. but, that wouldnt make ur lights dim, that would just give you less output. ground the amp in the trunk, it'd be best to sand the area where you ground and use a multimeter to test the ground. Did you happen to see how many volts your alt was charging? if you dont have 13.7 volts or better then ur alt is pretty worn. a cap would help a little, but if you ever upgrade or add on it will definitely lose its effectiveness. imo, caps suck *** and a new ho alt would be a better choice .

for a 500 watt amp, you will definetly need 8awg wire, and a 0.5 Farad cap. i just bought a lightning audio one without a voltmeter from sounddomain.com and bought a panel mount volt meter from an electronics shop and it works beautifuly

scuba_sean wrote:for a 500 watt amp, you will definetly need 8awg wire, and a 0.5 Farad cap. i just bought a lightning audio one without a voltmeter from sounddomain.com and bought a panel mount volt meter from an electronics shop and it works beautifuly

nice to bring up a dead topic.... but it did help me know more about cap.