Just finished my car audio install i have changed all my speakers amplifed with a 600 watt and and two 12 s with a 1000w amp i installed a farad cap and today after 5 hours of school when i returned to my car battary was drained (it was a very cold day 0 F).

i am wondering if it is the alternater Can it handle the load of 1600w peak of sound ,fogs and hids on and charge the battery while driving at highwayspeeds for 25min.

another question for the audio heads out there are the lights (digital volmeter) on the farad cap ment to stay on even when the car is off, and does the farad cap drain the battery.(i have temparely disconected the farad cap)

thanks for reading i understand i might have left alot out of the discription i am a rookie to the car audio scene and still have alot to lurn.

 

I ran way more power then you off the stock battery/alt and never had a issue like that.
Sounds like something is being left on, check your remote wires. Maybe the amps are staying on even when the car is off. Also take a multimeter and make sure you battery shows 14.4 when the car is on.

 

Exactly what was said above. In my years I have seen amps short out where the amp is left on even when the car is turned off. Some caps shut off the display after a little while of continuous voltage. What setup are you running?

 

I will check if my amps are staying on my set up is 600 xpolde amp powering mb quart components and polk 2 ways 2 pioneer 12 s powered by a planet audio 1000 amp @ 2 oms and a 1.6 kole audio farad cap. You think the cap should turn off after a period of time cuz when my battery was drained it was still drawing current it read 9.6 v then I knew for sure the car would not start

 

Disconnect the cap and see if you still have the same drain issue. How old is that cap any ways?

 

Cap is Brand new i don't think i charged it right

anyway i disconnected the Farad cap and run the power lines straight to the amp and have had no battery issues i am going to buy a emergency car starter and try and charge the Cap properly and then leave it and see do not want to be stuck in the cold again waiting for my girl friend

 

How big is your cap? Cause something like a one farad doesn't really need to be charged.

 

Or do this, your cap should all ready be charged. Since you disconnected it, go and take a volt meter to the two terminals and see if you still have around 12.4 volts. If you dont have any voltage going to it you may have a bad cell in it, and thats what caused your battery to drain. Good luck!!!

 

Thank you sir for your advise. The Cap is 1.6 Farads
I believe I have found the issue I was reconnecting my cap and then It charged it and it now works perfectly the digits turn of and when the battery runs to below 12v the cap automatically turns off.

The issue comes when I connected the battery charger in my garage it stops the auto ON / OFF function from working for some reason.

Any way advice for any one with a farad cap or installing one DO NOT attach a battery charger the your battery if it is connected to the Farad cap.
Not sure of the reason for this but if any one knows an explanation would be appreciated.

 

im glad you found out the problem!! Good luck with your future adventures and if you need help just message me. I have helped out a bunch of people on here!

 

Thanks alot

 

The capacitor should have no affect on the battery charger. It sounds as though you may not have the capacitor connected correctly. The positive to the amplifier connects to the positive on the capacitor. NOT the negative. Make sure the negative from the capacitor is grounded to a different location than the amp ground.

Also, it sounds like you didn't charge your capacitor correctly. Here's what you do (with the amp connected to the capacitor as mentioned earlier, and the capacitor grounded): take a short piece of wire and connect one end to the positive terminal on the capacitor. take the other end and attach it to the negative side of a automotive lightbulb (turn signal bulbs work best, negative part is the outer most metal surround). Now with your positive wire coming from the battery, touch that wire to the positive contact point on the light bulb. The bulb with light up, and then dim. Once the bulb has turned off, remove the light bulb, and take your power wire and connect it to the capacitor. Your capacitor is charged, and no sparking will occur.

 

^^not true; in my old truck i had a 1 farad cap that they installed wrong and it was staying on all of the time and draining power

 

oh heaven forgive me for forgetting to point out the blatant obviousness. let me rephrase it. IF the capacitor is installed CORRECTLY, then it should have zero affect on the battery charger.

but then again, a capacitor is just a bandage anyways. but then again, proving that point to people on this forum is a bigger waste of time. people only hear what they want to hear.

 

^^ we all know its a bandage (that's why i thought a spare powercell that was more powerful and less $ to take care of that issue)and please stop the complaining. we hear enough of it on here you made your comments and we're just reflecting our personal EXPERIENCES and OPINIONs which are allowed sir

 

If you do this then you may experience alternator whine. When installing a capacitor I ground to the same point. A good ground has a resistance of zero ohms, and when you ground in separate points your resistance will rise.