alt. or 8 fared cap, questions

[sittdogg 0]

I will be needing to purchase either a 160 amp alt. or a 8-20 fared cap. eventually both. I have a voltage drop problem. My current alternator is only 80 amps. my amp , I think has 4 20 amp fuses, its a soundstream tr880/2. My headlights dim quite a bit.

Would a 8 or 20 fared cap fix the problem well enough to forget an alternator. I can get a 20 fared soundstream cap on ebay for $169 new, $129 for the 8.

Or should I go with the 160 amp alt. Which would be more effective. Most people I've seen have only a 1.5, 2, or the biggest I've seen in a car was a 4 fared.

What do you know or think?

This guy at a audio shop told me that if I were to replace all the major ground wires under the hood, with the same guage my amp runs on (4 ga.), that it would fix most of the voltage dropping. I have'nt tried it yet cause I thought I'd get some feedback here about it first, since not every salesman knows what he's talking about.

Thanks

[djjdnap 78]

yea definetly switch out ur wires under the hood.

Its called the BIG 3. That should solve alot of ur problems.

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/i...p?showtopic=200

Also get the alt, not the cap.

[///M5 2,833]

The usefulness of 10' of wire (big 3) is WAY, WAY, WAY beyond what a cap ever could do. If that doesn't solve the dimming, you pretty much either need to go the alternator route but you will probably be surprised as it might be unnecessary (even though 80 amp isn't exactly a big alt)

[XtremeAudioConcepts 0]

depending on the kind of voltage drop i would look at up grading the alt. the big three isnt just a few wires. the big three consists of upgrading your battery, your alt. and the power and ground wires. hints the name big 3

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Don't EVER think about using a cap unless your electrical system is already adequate.

[threedd97 0]

I will be needing to purchase either a 160 amp alt. or a 8-20 fared cap. eventually both. I have a voltage drop problem. My current alternator is only 80 amps. my amp , I think has 4 20 amp fuses, its a soundstream tr880/2. My headlights dim quite a bit.

Would a 8 or 20 fared cap fix the problem well enough to forget an alternator. I can get a 20 fared soundstream cap on ebay for $169 new, $129 for the 8.

Or should I go with the 160 amp alt. Which would be more effective. Most people I've seen have only a 1.5, 2, or the biggest I've seen in a car was a 4 fared.

What do you know or think?

This guy at a audio shop told me that if I were to replace all the major ground wires under the hood, with the same guage my amp runs on (4 ga.), that it would fix most of the voltage dropping. I have'nt  tried it yet cause I thought I'd get some feedback here about it first, since not every salesman knows what he's talking about.

Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Get a HO alt.

[sittdogg 0]

Thanks for all the info. I already have a optima battery, and I know my alt. is very small for the type of system I have. So I will go ahead and get bigger groung wire under the hood. I may even go 1 ga. I need to start saving for that 160 amp alt. then I may even be able to add a second soundstream tarantula tr880/2. That would be well down the line though

What is a capacitor for anyway? I know its like a battery that can feed high amounts of current when needed. But is it even useful if you have a H.O. alternator? would having a 20 fared cap benefit my system?

Thanks for your responses