Amp Powercap

Paul_Wheeler

I'm running 2x edge 12" subs rated at 600 watts RMS each in a twin sub box with built in amp in my vecci.
The problem I'm having is although they can handle very low bass, when turned up to a reasonable level they seem to distort too easily & I notice the lights on my dash flicker even with the engine running. I'm thinking of adding a power capacitor to the amp on the hope that this will help with the lights flickering, but I'm not sure what size to get, 1 or 1.2 or even a 2 farad cap??
Just wondered what your thoughts were of them?

stu-2_2-sri

Chuck power cap u don't need it
Just get a bigger battery
Get a diesel one it will do the job

MikeS

aye
make sure your wiring is up to scratch from battery to amp also

Matt

I've closed down the duplicate threads as well.

Paul_Wheeler

Cheers for that matt,
I was looking on eBay & there was a power cap on there for £25, it's cheaper than buying a new battery. Just wanted to see if it helped before upgrade to a bigger sub (got my eye on a lovely 15")

Matt

I ran a 15" JBL GT4 in my Astra with a similar rated amp, and I never had issues with the lights dimming, although looking at the spec, that's only 200w rms.

I've always been under the impression that a power cap isn't really needed, and as above, it's probably better to upgrade to a larger battery. Also, as Mike said, make sure the wiring is up to scratch.

Paul_Wheeler

Ok, up to scratch as in condition or at a decent rating?
I put a wiring kit in there about a year ago that I'd bought from halfords & bought the biggest rated one they had.
I'll double check all earthing points & look into getting a higher rated battery.
Cheers for the info guys!

MikeS

as for batteries if you got trade club go to vauxhall as it is dirt cheap

I never upgraded my battery but I had a 12" sub and amp in a 1.0 nova back in the day, I just dropped the alternator and put in a cavalier 2.0 one and used a fiat aux belt lol

lights dimming is normal imo when u got it turned up m8

other people run another battery in their boot so when the primary battery is full and alternator stops charging it starts to charge your secondary one, this is also used for when you have external lights etc

I would also disconnect one of the subs and see how it sounds, see if it is a knackered amp rather than power issue

Paul_Wheeler

I'll try disconnecting a sub & see what it sounds like.
Maybe what I'm listening too is too low for them subs.

Paul_Wheeler

finally got a moment to check the subs & tried disconnecting each on in turn & they seem to be fine. I did undo the earth points & give them a bit of a clean up which has helped quite a bit.
I've been thinking of upgrading the earth wire's that runs from the battery to the chassis & the positive wire from the battery to the alternator to help things out but not sure what size I need.
Any idea's?

Matt

Have read on different sites different things. Either way, they have said either 2AWG or 0AWG

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/itemlist.html?catid=290008&cfSearch1=Gauge&cfvalue1=0%20awg,2%20awg&method=accessories-power-and-earth-wire

Paul_Wheeler

Cool link! I'll have a good look through this! It may dent my bank account tho! 🙂

Matt

Paul Wheeler said:
Cool link! I'll have a good look through this! It may dent my bank account tho! 🙂

That's where I get all my audio stuff from. Used them for the last 8 years now. Their forum (talkaudio) was the first online forum I ever joined

MikeS

had a big phat red cable for my power to amp then bought a few earth cables from halfrauds for battery to suspension strut bolts 🙂

corsaZ22se

i used 2x 1 farad caps in my vectra along with a second battery. 0awg power wires from second battery. runing 2x celestion ad12 subs 300watt from a rockford fosgate power 250 amp 750watts rms at 2ohms. drew 350amps on the long deep lows at 146db. also had 28 rolls of dynamat xtreme in the car! power caps do help with big power systems smoothing the power supply but your distortion may be the amp gains set to high or cross over filters not right for the subs?

Paul_Wheeler

The amp is built into the side of the sub box, I adjusted the bass control & gain by play the music at the level I listen to & adjusted it till there was a bit of distortion & then backed it off a bit. The twin subs are 600watts rms (300watts rms each) & I did read somewhere that the amp does under power them.
It could be just me playing to much low bass tho!