I know I'm going to get flamed for this I did several searches but everyone seems to contradict each other. I have a single 250/1 Rockford amp and 12” Sub, no other amps and an Alpine CDA-9855. In my 93 Celica a 1 Farad cap was enough to prevent this but in my tC I have nothing.

It seems the guys on the boards have 3 contradicting recommendations.

1) Capacitor
2) Yellow top battery
3) Ground wire kit

I also recently found this on eBay it seems intriguing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/XStatic-BatCap-M...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Well here you go..



The main thing in any charging system is the alternator. That is the heart of it. Yet it is usually the most expensive also. If you have the money upgrade it. If not then start with the battery. A good battery will help. Also upgrade all the wires to and from the battery with larger ones. FOr example. All the grounds. Then the power from the alternator to the battery.
A cap will help but it is like a band aid. It kinda masks the problem you have. It will help with the quick energy that you need but doesnt help keep the charge that you need for the long drawn out stuff.

Here is what I would do. Start with the battery. Change that and the wires and see if that helps. If that does not seem to help at all then start looking for a better alternator. Hope that helps alittle.

 

this is exactly what you should do. if you are going to upgrade your audio system in the future to something bigger then you should get a alt. its expensive but you will never have to worry about power issues.
also like NCBIGGJ said, upgrade the big 3. i'm not sure how much difference that will make on a car as new as yours but on my 93 supra, which had wires that were starting to crack, i did the big 3 and my light dimming problem went away. hope this helps.

 

How about a link to an alternator and an estimate of installation

 

IMO, you should do the Big 3 first it is cheap and effective. Then look to an alternator or battery. I would forget about the capacitor.

 

Don't even consider the alternator in this scenario, unless it's going bad. The stock alternator produces far more than enough to meet all the needs of the vehicle and your single Rockford amp, even if you're constantly "pounding" while driving around.

If you don't know how to test it yourself, go to a shop or the dealer and have them check the charging system to ensure your alternator and battery are functioning within specs. If either has an issue, you'll want to replace the faulty component, but neither needs upgrading to meet the electrical requirements for your particular sound system.

It's possible that adding a cap at the amp might help the issue, but one shouldn't be required in this instance.

Remember that music is dynamic, so your amp will pull the energy it requires in gulps, it doesn't constantly pull current at the maximum rate indicated by the fuse rating. If anyone tells you to just add up all the numbers as a way to determine whether you need to upgrade the alternator, they either don't sufficiently understand what they're talking about, or they're trying to rip you off.

 

Odd problem. I turned on my car the other day and the head unit and center console were reset like my battery was dead. This has happened once before since I have gotten my car. WTF?

 

Are you using the stock battery terminals?

My Battery topper didn't get screwed down all the way once, shimmied it's way to the point that it wasn't making a solid connection = car reset everytime I stopped

Oh yeah, and while a cap would probably help get rid of your dimming in this case, buying one is like covering a hole in the wall with a poster...you've still got a giant hole in your wall, just can't see it

 

im in the same boat! I installed my system last week and everything works fine! Ive been hearing a very low buzz but gets a little louder when accelerate and the sound moves louder or lower when i mess with the gas. also i just built my box for my JL 10w6v2 and when testing it at high volumes i see my lights flicker which the havent before? I dont have the bass all the way up all the time, the gain on the amp is a little over the half and the sub is on about +7 out of +15. I was thinking about getting a Stinger 1 Farad Cap to see if that did the trick but then reading this post it put a hold on it.

My System
///Alpine CDA-9851 Head Unit
CDT EF-61CFi 6.5" Components
w/ JL 300/2
JL 10w6v2 ported
w/ JL 500/1
Stinger connections

I was thinking if it was cause my amps are too close together?

I have them like that mounted on a sheet of MDF 3/4" wood? the wires are kinda close together? Please help, it doesnt bother me but i dont wanna be messing things up in my car! Thanks!

 

Bah... a cap is a bandaid...

Upgrade the battery...

Still nothing upgrade the alternator.

 

RCA should be ran on the other side of the car from the power wire... and what rca are you using...?

 

RCA's are seperated from the power. Stinger Helix

Optima Yellow top or Red top? Can the top be painted to what i want or will it mess it up?