Bumpin Balt

I already have 4 gauge running from my battery to the capacitor and the stock cable from alternator to battery. I added another amp (for a total of 2000watts max) and have noticed that my system voltage drops to the point where amplifier performance is slightly weakened. If I run another 4 gauge cable directly from the alternator to the capacitor, it would help stabilize my system voltage and charge the capacitor more efficiently, correct?

IntenseSS

make sure your ground wires are all 4 gauge and try an optima in the trunk to store power to ease the load on the alternator

Bumpin Balt

If I run a 4 guage positive cable from the alternator to the cap, my system will get power from the alternator first, cap second (if the alternator can't keep up), and battery last. The way it's wired now, my system will get power from the alternator first, battery second (if the alternator can't keep up), and cap last. I'm thinking it should be benificial to have my cap be my secondary power source for my system rather than my battery. This should improve system performance and take some stress of the battery, allowing it to feed the other electronics in the car with a more consistant voltage level. What do you think?

andresfurueta

have you tried zero gauage and putting a 5 farad cap on your system?

Bumpin Balt

No, but I just bought a 2 farad cap on eBay. The one I have right now is a 1.2 farad. 1 farad per 1000 watts seems to be the rule of thumb, so the 2 farad should be plenty. The larger cap should help, but adding a power cable directly from the alternator to the cap should improve the recharging time. I would also leave the 4 guage from the battery to the cap in place.

aj_92rs

Capacitors charge and discharge faster than you can blink. That isn't your problem if you're seeing big voltage drops.

You need a better charging system (read alternator).

Bumpin Balt

I'm not seeing "Big" voltage drops. When I only had 2 amps in my system (1500 watts), the voltage meter on my cap never fell below 14 volts while the alternator was cranking and the system was turned up. Now that I have 3 amps (2000 watts), it falls to the mid to low 13 volt range while the alternator is cranking and the system is turned up. I think the voltage will stay higher and more constant once I install the 2 farad cap that is on it's way and run a separate 4 gauge cable directly from the alternator to the cap. This way my cap and battery will be wired in parallel, rather than in series. My cap should re-charge quicker and the battery would not be used as much to power the system. My system is working fine, but the bass would tighten up a bit more if the voltage remained at a consistently higher level. My sub doesn't sound quite as tight as it did before I added the 3rd amp. The 2 farad cap is on it's way, and I have some extra 4 gauge lying around, so I'm going to try it and see if it helps. I'll let you know how well it works soon!

aj_92rs

OK

No offense intended, but the cap should already be running in parallel with the battery.

Generic terminology. Not specific to your car....

The positive post from the battery should be running to the positive post on the cap.

The post on the cap should be running to the positive terminal of the amp.

The negative post from the battery should be running to the chassis.
The negative post on the capacitor should be running to the chassis.
The negative terminal on the amp should be running to the chassis.

If you don't have your cap wired this way, it isn't working properly.

BTW, if your gauge reads lower it's because your battery and alternator are being over worked. The cap will only charge up as high as the voltage the battery and alternator put out.

Just as you can't fit 10 lbs. of crap into a 5 lbs. bag, you can't fill a 10 lbs. bag with 5 lbs. of crap.

You need a higher output alternator.

Bumpin Balt

The cable I have running from the alternator to the battery right now is the stock cable (4 gauge?). That cable is probably not large enough to carry the amount of current required to keep the the voltage peaked out. I would buy some 2 or 0 gauge cable and run it friom the alternator to the battery (as well as larger ground cables), but I already have some extra 4 guage lying around, so I think if I run that from the alternator to the cap, it should improve current flow just enough to keep my voltage a bit higher. If it doesn't work, I'll live with the slightly lowered voltage. My system is working pretty well, I just thought it might work a little better if I had 14+ volts consistantly. I'll keep an eye on the voltage, if it starts to drop closer to 12 volts I'll consider an alternator upgrade.

Xavipheus

If I remember reading right, the stock cable is more like 8 gauge or something higher, I could be wrong though

Bumpin Balt

The positive cable coming off the alternator is larger than 8 gauge, but it may split into a few smaller gauge cables inside the car. It's kind of a pain for me to see the positive cable that's attached to the battery because of my install. I would have to remove a lot of stuff to get to the battery. Can some one look at their battery and tell me what gauge the positive is for sure?

If the positive runs from alt to battery to cap, the battery and cap are wired in series. If I have a positive running from alt to battery and another running from alt to cap then the battery and cap are wired in parallel.

aj_92rs

The cable from the alt. does run to the battery, but through the battery cable to the dist. block.

If you unhook any one of those three items and everything else still functions they're run in parallel.

If you start the car then unhook the battery cable, the car will still run. The power is going from the alt. to the dist. block (aka the fuse block). Not only the dist. block, but the starter as well.

If the cap is run in parallel and you unhook the cap, the amp should still work.

Let me see if I can "draw you a picture".

Granted, I'm no artist, and the schematic isn't at all accurate, but this should give you a general idea of what parallel is.

If you like I can draw one of a series circuit, but it's basically the opposite. The main difference is (and the easiest way to determine which you're using) is what I said earlier. If you unhook any one item and the others still work (get power) then it's a parallel circuit. If unhooking one item disrupts the circuit (other stuff stops working or getting power) then it's a series circuit.



Any questions?

Bumpin Balt

Dude, read my posts again! I was talking about wiring the cap and battery in parallel to the alt. Your diagram has the battery and cap wired in series (in relation to the alt). I didn't say anything about the amps. If I have a positive run from the alt to the cap besides the one running from the alt to the battery, then the cap and battery are wired in parallel. If the battery was disconnected then the cap would still be powered up, but that's not why I'm doing it. I just want the cap to recharge a little bit faster. If I give it it's own positive from the alt, then I should accomplish that because the cap will be receiving more current. Therefore the voltage should stay higher IF the alt can put out enough current to keep it charged. If not, then I'll live with 13ish volts!

aj_92rs

You're getting mad at me because you're using incorrect terminology and I can't understand what you're saying because of it?

Since you want to play hardball...

You need a higher output alt.

I don't give a f*ck if you wrap 2 inch thick wire around your **** then shove it in through your ass and out your mouth. It's not going to help.

You need a higher output alt.

Bumpin Balt

Get an education man! If the the stock power cable can't carry enough current, I may not be getting the maximum current available from my alternator! If your too retarded to understand my theory about the second power wire running to the cap INSTEAD OF UPGRADING TO 2 or 0 Gauge wire from the alternator to the battery, then quit posting and let someone else who understands what I'm saying reply! Try doing some research on the current carrying capacity of various gauge wires! I KNOW the stock power wire is not large enough to carry the amount of current I need to power my system properly, so even if I installed a high output alternator, I would still not get enough current to my amps with the stock power wire because it can't carry any more current! If I upgrade my wiring to allow a higher current carrying capacity I MAY be able to get a little more current flow to my amps, which would lead to higher and more consistent voltage levels! I need wiring in place that can carry more current before I spend a s***load on an alternator! Your putting the cart before the horse! If you want to spend $200-$300 on a high output alternator before installing wires that can carry the extra current, then go ahead! Oh, and let me know how that works out for ya!

Bandit2941

You are incorrect. His diagram has the alternator, battery, cap, and amp wired in parallel. You should do a little more research on what a series and parallel circuit is before you get mad at someone trying to help you by taking the time to draw a nice diagram.

No offense man, but your comments RE: education and research should be directed at yourself.

Installing a higher output alternator will still give you more current then your current alternator, even with the stock wire. If the wire is too small it will contribute to a bigger voltage drop and you won't utilize the maximum output (because of the resistance in the wire). But you won't get to a point where "the stock power wire can't carry any more current therefore upgrading the wires before the alternator is a total waste" as you seem to think. A HO alternator will supply more power with bigger wiring but even with the factory wiring it will still supply more power than the factory alt.

turbolsl61

ok one i think your all gay two what the hell do you need three amps for a real soundsystem to sound good and not sound like ur listening to bass and that u have more amp power than horsepower would need 1 to 2 amps tops depending on how many subs ur running get a life and quit throwing money away on amps! unless u have a disposable income in which in that case throw some money my way ill use it for performance on my camaro

Halfcent

Wow, everybody settle down.

To the original poster / thread author - Revomad 1. You sir are mistaken. And these people are trying to tell you so and you are not listening. You seem to not understand what parallel and series circuits are. And the gauge wire you are using has nothing to do with the ability of the cap to charge properly.

In fact, if you do what you are proposing, you will short your alternator to ground, and blow it up.

turbolsl61

finally someone who knows what they r talking about i dont mind when people try educating other people but when the student trys to be stupid and not listen it just pisses me off

Bumpin Balt

Sorry, I'm an idiot! However, you can tell me I'm wrong without telling me to f*** myself! I'm sorry it took so long to get through to me, but if someone had told me earlier that my alternator would explode if I did what was proposed, that would have been the end of it. In the end, I got the info I needed and won't be blowing up my alternator anytime soon! So thanks for the help.

Amp #1= 500 watts RMS sub amp driving a single JL Audio 10W6. Amp #2= 65 wattsx4 RMS driving Infinity Kappa 6.5" components and 6"x9"'s. Amp #3 (newly added)= 300 watts RMS driving Kicker SSMB8 8" Mid bass speakers. It all adds up to a very well balanced sound system. Unless you have something valuable to add to a thread, don't bother posting. Ignoring idiots (like I apparently have been in this thread!), is better than flaming them because eventually their thread will die!

I managed to do this entire install myself, so I'm not a complete idiot! However, I am willing to admit I don't know as much as I thought I knew about wiring! I'm a damn good carpenter though, if I do say so myself! I should be good, I rely on my carpentry skills to pay for my expensive hobbies! I come to this forum to learn and to try to help others, so thank you for helping me!

turbolsl61

huh a so called good carpenter would have made his own box and not used the premade jl one that would for one since its a well balenced sound system would have a port or two for u 500 watt rms sub. so for one im sure the sub pounds the hell out of therear deck of ur car and if ur gonna make a soundquality car ask first then do. I do think ur set up on the door panels looks really good and looks clean. I really hope u didnt mount any of the amps on the sub box (not good) but all in all seems to be alright just fix that wiring

Bumpin Balt

That box is a patented design by JL Audio. It's called a "High-output" box. It is tuned and built specifically for the 10W6 sub. It actually is ported. The port runs across the top (just behind the top of the oval opening), down the back and underneath the sub. It was designed to give you the output of a ported box, while coming close to the sound quality of a sealed box. You can see drawings of the inside on JL's website. I have about 100sq.ft. of sound deadening material in the car, so rattles aren't much of an issue. I know a lot about car stereo, I just don't know everything! I have built boxes in the past, but this thing is more than a simple box! I guess you don't know everything either, lol! Here's a drawing:

Xavipheus

Wow this guy did something none of us have ever seen on a balt before, and attempting to improve the system even more and all you guys are doing is hating. Chill outtt

Besides at least his post wasnt another "Guys i just got projectors!!! Check these out!"

subiestyl

the ho boxes are also very well built they are a lil small but thats not too bad seeing as how the box is in the trunk, if it were in a open style car you would hear a lil box noise.

when i had the cobalt i had 4 amps 2 4400 watt rms amps, and 2 1000 watt rms amps, but i also had all of the supporting mods ho alt, all 0 guage wire, 2 5 farad capps and 2 kinetik batteries

Bumpin Balt

Thanks for backing me! +rep to you!