I know the answer to this question will probably be... you need one when you see your lights dimming. But I dont have my amp yet and I dont want to pay another $70 for a capacitor. Im getting e a RF multichannel 400w amp powering all my infinity kappa speakers running at 2 ohms. With NO subs. Will my car take a hit with this setup should I just skip the capacitor for now until I get some subs?

 

You should be alright. That isnt that much power. Id say a capacitor is for much higher wattage setups like in the 700 watt RMS range. im running about 500 watts rms and I my lights dont dim at all.

 

ya same here. 600 watts RMS and my lights dont dim unless I beat the **** out of the subs. As in full bass full woofer bass boost all that stuff that makes ur sound quality horrid.

 

The real answer to your question is NEVER.
If your electrical system as a whole is ‘up-to-snuff’ there is NO need for a cap. They are band aids to over come short falls in the electrical system.
If you run into dimming lights, instead of patching a problem, fix the problem.
I hope this doesn’t led to yet another 10 page discussion....

 

 

To sum it up in one word.

Never.

 

This topic will never die.

And since the ney-sayers have already chimed in.

A cap is a good solution when you have a good altenator, good battery, good wires, good electrical system, but you still run out of power on the big bass hits.

I have a new alt, optima battery, and good wiring. However when I'm playing something with alot of thump to it, my lights will slightly dim, mostly noticble in the dash lights. I put in a cap, and it went away.

 

I agree with StevenK... I have a brand new alt, and yellow top, and 2guage power wire...

if my lights dimmed, I'd put in a cap... rather than get a high output alternator

but the REAL solution would be to get a high output alt.

oh, btw, are we talking about lights dimming at idle, or while driving around? if they only dim at stop lights, maybe you need some sort of ratio-change pulley on your alternator...

 

actually the real solution would be to do the big 3 rather than to get a H/O alternator. the big 3 is the cheapest upgrade you can do (money wise, not quality wise) to help out your electrical system. also good grounds help w/dimming, sometimes bigger wire ( i use 4ga w/ around 1300rms and on problem) here's a link to the big 3.........
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...=5;t=007801;p=

 

Naturally if the stock wires are damaged or corroded you would have problems.

In my case, the wires are fine, so I decided not to redo it all.

BTW, in my case, the lights would dim at idle, and only slightly while driving, mostly interior lights.

 

That is article is quite helpful, and if I can make my battery to chassis connection better, it should solve my problem. It looks like there is only a 16 gauge wire in there right now - I hardly noticed it with all the other bigger wires, so it probably isn't doing the job. Did you do all 3 or just the battery neg. to chassis? The other wires look substantial.
I'm also wondering how long it takes for our dumb computers to reset the idle speed when the battery is disconnected. I'm hoping I can pull off the negative, attach everything, and get it back on before the engine's idle speed is set too low and I stall out when I come to a stop. Anybody else have that problem or know a way to avoid it?

 

I did the big 3, ran 4AWG wire, and never had my lights dim. And my subs hit pretty damn hard!

Just another product that Best Buy tries to get you to buy. Not necessary if your electrical system is in good shape.

 

you never know guys, with good wiring, you may actually have BETTER bass...

what are the "big three" again?

 

i havent done it yet, im waitin on my amps and comps to come in them im gonna do it.....thats gonna be a good weekend. kicks, comps, amps, and a new box w/ amp rack and im also covering my dash w/vinyl......pics will be a must of course. I was talking to the owner at a local shop and he said that the camaros only have like a 16ga wire comin for a ground off the battery, and to help dimming, you should run some bigger wire along with it. also do a ground off you hu if your headunit blinks or dims........

 

A headunit dimming would be really bad for the sound LOL

 

I've never seen a good headunit actually dim before

and just in case anyone is curious, it's not necessary to run extra power and grounds for headunits... I had run a new ground for the headunit, and while troubleshooting my amplifier, I ended up hooking the headunit back up to the factory wiring harness ground, and it worked exactly the same.

I have a 10AWG 12v power wire for my window module that I could tap into for my deck, but I seriously doubt it would make any difference..

 

well i have a DECENT hu, (midlevel pioneer 4600) and it dims slightly when everythings up, but my gf's pioneer 1600 dims worse than mine w/no subs or amp.......

 

maybe it doesn't have as good of capacitors as a nicer headunit?

 

i don't know why it does it.....im thinkin of steppin up to the pioneer 6600, or a higher alpine, but i hear this years alpines have a lot of problems......i like the one u have scrapmaker, how do u like it??

 

The 6600 is a great headunit. I ran that one for a few months, then broke down and bought a 8600

 

this is the best headunit I have ever seen or used... and for some reason I cannot seem to find another one better than it ... even at higher-end audio shops... unless you go HDD, or dvd/nav.