Well i got a capacitor and my DAMN lights still dim. wtf could be the problem. oh ya... im using the stock '08 battery, 4 gauge amp kit, 1200 watt profile amp and the capacitor is a 1.5 FD.

Anybody gotta clue?

 

well the capacitor shouldn't have helped your light problem you should have read that on here multiple times. i suggest doing the big three & upgrading the battery to a yellow top or kinetik power cell. if that doesn't work you'll need a new alternator

 

4 guage is tooo small for 1200 w.............did you pre charge the cap w resistor..........also need ot do a better battery possible........... and then big 3 would be last resort at those amps...............

 

What do u mean by pre charge the cap with resistor?? how do u do that?? N how is 4 gauge too small? before i got the amp kit... every one said i needed a 4 gauge, even people who are experts.

 

the wire to the amp doesn't matter in this case as the profile amps are insanely cheap and inefficient. do the big 3 and get a new battery and you'll be fine, while you're at it the cap will not do anything with what you're looking for in a system so just sell it

 

sounds like you are needing ahigher battery and maybe a bigger power wire..........0/1 to push cleanly the power.........instead of 4 guage........also try the big 3........it works well.......

 

But isnt a capacitor to improve the power flow to the amp? since ive got it... its kept my amp cooler cause its not working as hard, its got the sound to come at a grate response and also gives it a clean feel. If a capacitor did nothing... then it wouldn't even be on the market. Consumers are not that stupid.

 

can one of you guys post the link or the directions on "the big 3" thing? search didn't pop anything up

 

BZinn1, that does make alot of sense. Is that why capacitor is reading 1.32 to 1.35 all the time then when the bass hits... it goes to around 1.26 to 1.23??

 

do the big 3 in 0 gauge wire! i did and it made a good difference. i didn't really have bad dimming before but now my voltage is just overall higher and i definitely have zero dimming.

i am also running 1220 watts all class a/b(class a/b is not very efficient) on 4 gauge power wire, stock battery, stock alt, and NO CAPS.

here is a link to my install of the big 3 with lots of pictures. btw tcjoe, you must not have searched to hard cause my thread was only about halfway down on the first page in this section of the forum.

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=213248

 

thanks for the link...

ya didn't search that hard...just stuck big 3 in the search bar and thought it would be easier just to ask...

 

cool no problem man. it is a great mod for anybody who has a system in their car. only cost $36 too!

 

CAPS usually read around 10-13. you didn't charge it as i can see and from a previous post you asked how to you charge it which means it's not even working at all. i have a MTX TC4002 amp and a 12" JL Audio W3 sub and it hits hard that still my lights don't dim nor flicker. i did the grounding kit and put a positve voltage stablizer.

 

I dont understand how to charge it. i dont have a volt meter, how else can i do it??

 

well then how do you know how many volts the cap reads. do this, look for the resistor and you ground the cap somewhere under the hood and get the resistor and have 1 tip touching the CAP and with the other tip put it on the positive at the battery and give it like 10-15 secs to charge but the CAP should give you a light and run to the back and connect it.

 

if it's hooked up it's charged. thats it!

 

Dont be to sure about that, if they can get people to buy it, they will sell it. As for caps, they are just a really poor bandaid. The "big 3" and a better battery will solve the issue, and ive heard really good things about kinetik, and they even have a "calculator" to show which one would fit your situation.

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/calc.asp ( if you go there, make sure your speakers are off )

 

Where is your amplifier grounded? How good is that ground connection? Do you have a picture? Ideally, you should ground to the thickest metal you can find (outer perimeter of the car on the floor usually), sand the metal down to through the paint, and use a stainless steel screw.

You should do a big-3 upgrade as well. If you have some 4ga left over from your amplifier install, use that! If not, you can get some from knu konceptz for a great price.

Your capacitor IS charged. Don't worry about pre-charging anymore. The resistor is provided to SAFELY initially charge it. When a capacitor is discharged, it is essentially a short across the terminals, and potentially dangerous when connected directly to a battery. However, the more charge the cap has, the more it acts like an "open" (higher resistance). Capacitors get a bad wrap ("do nothing") because they're not implemented properly by most consumers.

A battery and / or high output alternator isn't necessary at this point. Your amplifier's fuses will blow at 75amps. You won't be anywhere near that, and I've shown in another thread that your OEM battery and alternator CAN deliver while playing music (not SPL 'burps'). There are MANY other factors to consider before buying an alternator, as the output curves aren't linear, and will be LESS than the OEM alternator below a given RPM!

 

hook your cap up to your headlights, they wont dim anymore...

 

that made my day, thanks!