Good point! Sorry if I came across wrong like I was correcting you. I understand where you are coming from.

 

would having a 20 farad cap make much of a difference as a 1 farad cap

 

It will help handle a bigger voltage spike but it will not solve the problem if you are running a large system with a large continuous draw. Only way to solve the problem fully is to upgrade to a high output alternator.

 

will the big three upgrade make a difference?

 

YES!

 

It will definitely make what is already there work better and to it's full potential. It will not, however, solve problems with not having enough amperage to run your equipment. This can only be solved, fully solved, by upgrading to a high output alternator and THEN doing the big 3.

 

Here is some food for thought.



Yesterday I was out driving around, rocking out to my system.


Now the only 2 amps I have are an eclipse 3640 (which is rated @ 40x4 I have it bridged to 2 channels), and a MTX 2150 (which is rated @ 425x1 @ 4 ohm, I have it running 2 ohm).



I blew the fuse on my power wire. It was a 60 amp fuse, there was no short, just current overdrawn.


Now, a fuse in a car audio application is typically not a fast burn fuse, so I did not just hit 60 amp, I held close to 60 amps for at least 30 seconds.


To those of you that say capacitors are the way to go, can they supply 60 amps for more than a split second? Not a 1 farad, if you have a 40 farad maybe for 10-15 seconds. But then it is drained and you are back to problem 1, where to come up with spare amperage? The only real solution is a bigger alternator.

 

ok i tried to do my big three upgrade but i am having an issue running the wire from the alternator to the battery. i understand that there is a fusable link that runs in the wire from the alt to bat so do i disconnect that wire and bypass it with the new wire im adding or add my new wire on top of that wire straight to the battery. just confused and dont want to mess anything up. thanks a bunch,

 

wait, whats the big three?

 

power wire from alternator to battery, ground from battery to frame, and ground from frame to engine block IIRC

 

oh, what does that do exactly? is this like a simple upgrade or does it get big numbers?

 

so can anyone help me???????

 

it is a simple upgrade, works on the theory that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

You may have 0 or 00 gauge wire going from the battery to the amps, but if the alternator has the factory 8 or 10 gauge wire, how much power can you supply to the battery?


The grounds are also a part of this same system.