Capacitor opinions

[kadrek]

I have a 500 rms mono amp for my sub and a 4 channel 720 watt max, idk the rms, amp for the 6.5 and 6x9 speakers. I had a capacitor in my car before but I took it out when I installed the 4 channel amp because I had heard mixed opinions on them.

How do you guys feel about capacitors?

I'm pretty sure that I didn't discharge it before I stored it away so how do I go about reinstalling it? It has been sitting for quite a while so has it discharged itself or do I need to? I don't have the bulb or whatever came with it to charge/discharge it so is there anything else I could use?

Also, should I probably have a more powerful alternator?

My lights dim when the bass hits, would doing the big 3 with some spare 8 gauge that I have laying around help?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Also, where would I put the capacitor in regards to the amps? The power wire goes from the battery to the 4 channel and then to the mono. Where in line would I put it?

[WastedTalent]

Don't do big 3 with 8 gauge. Smh....

I'll stop there.

[Noel989]

Get the mechman cap killer

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/165828-budget-boost-combo-capacitor-killer-kit-only-149-shipped/

[justin0943]

do the big 3 with at least 4ga but 1/0 is better and as for cap put it near both amps an get 2-3f an you should be good

[Azagtoth502]

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/157561-capacitors-whats-the-real-story/

[Sutliff]

Amp side of fuse/breaker, & within 18" of amp.

Furthermore, you can drain it, if there is anything left in it, with an automotive lightbulb ... The bigger the bulb, the faster the drain. A "194" will take forever vs. a "3457" dual element turn bulb ... Just keep in mind, the bulb will get HOT fast! So if you have some Alligator Clips, use them & lay the bulb on a non-melt-able surface, etc.

I do not know what more I can add.

[kickass audio]

Yeah as previously said 8ga for the big-3 isnt big enough. I'd only go to at the least 2ga for a stock alternator but 1/0 is preferred. For voltage drop you cant do much with a cap as you need to make power to stop drop and the only true way to make power is to get a high output alternator. You can try to combat voltage drop with getting a bigger and better AGM battery like xs power or other brands (i prefer xs but thats just me) but that will still get voltage drop but it will take a little longer before it gets to a bad voltage level for your electrical system. Caps help with the quick spikes in current draw but not really with voltage drop. If you exceed the abilities of your cap then your voltage drop will be the same as if you had it without the cap. Caps are mainly used to give out fast bursts of power and thats it.

As for where to place the cap, they are supposed to be as close to your amplifier as possible. The shorter the run of cable between the cap and amp, the better it will run.

Now for discharging the cap idk if yours came with it, most do but there is usually a charge/discharge card that they come with. All it does is have a resistor that is wired to the cap in series when you charge it and then have a larger resistor wired in parallel when you discharge it. You can either do like previously said and hookup a headlight or other light to the cap and let it sit there until it dies out or go to radioshack or any other electronics parts store and get some resistors and wire it up between the positive and negative output of the cap. One thing to make you aware of, if you ever re-use this cap in the future do NOT just connect it directly to the batterys positive and negative. This is a dead short and will make a ton of sparks and can damage your battery. You need to charge the cap up slowly. To do this you can either take an old headlight or a resistor and wire it in series (positive of your battery cable to one side of the light bulb then from the other side of the bulb to the positive of the cap) and just connect the negatives together. When the light goes out you have a fully charged cap.