Capacitors and battery dying

[optimusprime]

Well i just got a phoenix digital cap 1.2 farad. I also upgraded my wireing to 2 gauge to a distrobution block to 8 gauge I am upgrading my amps soon. Well the cap is supposed to turn off when i turn off the car. Well it does not turn off sometimes. My battery is dying now. Do you think this is the cause? I am not sure cause isn't the capacitor a battery of its own? please help

[dwf137]

is your amp turning off? that's really the only thing that I can think of.. the cap acts like a small spare battery so it's not going to cause drainage on your battery. did you run the blue antenna wire to the amp?

[Blk EX Coupe]

Originally posted by dwf137
is your amp turning off? that's really the only thing that I can think of.. the cap acts like a small spare battery so it's not going to cause drainage on your battery. did you run the blue antenna wire to the amp?

yea your amp probably isn't turning off like dwf137 asked. Check if the remote wire is touching your power wire on your amp. that can cause it to drain easily.

[optimusprime]

Well my amp is turning off but my cap stays on sometimes. The cap is a little battery and should not drain the battery. On the other hand i may be pushing the system to hard to drain the battery so it does not charge or recharge. I have a volt meter in my car on the pillar and i watch it all the time
well even with the cap when the base hits it drops like .5 to 1 volt. Well i am going to take it to work tomorrow and test out the battery and alternator and charge the battery up and see if that works. Any more thoughts?

[dwf137]

Originally posted by optimusprime
Well my amp is turning off but my cap stays on sometimes. The cap is a little battery and should not drain the battery. On the other hand i may be pushing the system to hard to drain the battery so it does not charge or recharge. I have a volt meter in my car on the pillar and i watch it all the time
well even with the cap when the base hits it drops like .5 to 1 volt. Well i am going to take it to work tomorrow and test out the battery and alternator and charge the battery up and see if that works. Any more thoughts?

damn man, you're lowerin down the volts incredably low.. what amp are you pushin? you might want to look into gettin a better or a new alternator if your droppin like that..

[optimusprime]

Well i found out at work today that i need a new battery so i will get one next week when i get paid probly another red top or yellow top. My amp is a RF 800.1S I have it brideged to my audiobauhn 1206T sub so it is pushing like 400 watts to the sub. I am looking to get a new and bigger alternator but not sure cause it also puts more amps out and what about the wires and amp rating. Oh yea and I have unorthodox racing pullys I think that has something to do wiht it. Well thanks for the input

[GSteg]

an underdrive pulley will reduce the output of the already weak alternator in the accord because the alternator pulley is spinning slower.


The capacitor cannot drain the battery because once the capacitor is full, it cannot use any more energy from the battery.


Believe it or not, a capacitor can worsen things up if you do not have adequate alternator output. A capacitor will be a load on the alternator when it is not full. Because the alternator cannot supply the amp, engine, capacitor, accesories all at once, the battery's current will eventually carry on to aid the alternator. And if the alternator cannot recharge the battery because it is under full load, the battery will dip into low voltage and the battery itself will be damaged. At that point, the battery cannot be recharged to full state again. As the battery dips more into low voltage, it is not efficient anymore and will eventually cause problems.

Get a bigger alternator first.

[optimusprime]

GSteg: thanks for the input i am thinking of getting a bigger alternator but not sure also cause i heard that you have to upgrade some wiring cause of the increased amps going through. Well i ended up getting a new red top and it works great but my cap still stays on and does not turn off like it should so i have no idea why it is doing this. Any more ideas? i am out

[GSteg]

it's a good idea to upgrade the three main wire (battery negative to chassis, battery positive to alternator, and engine ground to chassis). You might want to check with your Voltage Regulator to make sure it's still good.


Now depending on the alternator you get, you don't really need to upgrade anything major.

what kind of capacitor do you have?

[optimusprime]

ok well what gauge should i upgrade it too? I will check my regulater too while i am at it. I have a phonix digital 1.2 farad. Thanks for the help i will post more and let you know what is going on.

[GSteg]

you can upgrade the wires to 4 gauge. wires can be the same ones used as car audio power wires.

I believe stock wires are 8 gauge. Not too big at all.


As for the cap, was it bought used or new?

Where is the wire for the digital top connected to?

[optimusprime]

Ok well i will look to get some 4 gauge power wires.

Well the cap was bought new online and it only has the power wire no remote wire. The cap still stays on all the time now.

I want it with a remote wire cause i think that is the problem. Well tonight coming home from work i put it loud and with my headlights on it was dropping 2 volt from 14 to 12. I was like oh shit.

I have the cap wired out of my distrobution block to my cap then to my amp. I just can't figure out why i have such an electical draw with the cap and new battery but i will check the alternator at work tomorrow.

[optimusprime]

Ok I have some major problems now and i can't find them nor do i have the time. Well i just put in a new optima red top battery, a new alternator. Now i have a problem with my headlights not working and everything in the car dimming when the bass hits. I also have the 1.2 Farad Cap. The system hits and the volts still drop from 14 to 12 WTF. My low beams on the headlights cut out and on. But my brights will stay on all the time. I can not figure this stuff out and it is pissing me off .

[GSteg]

what's the new alternator rating?



did u upgrade the 3 main wires yet?

[optimusprime]

My amp rating is stock. I have not upgraded the wires yet either i need a bit more cash. I need the check the dimmer relay and headlight relay too.

I just have no idea what is going on. I need to check all the connections to cause it just may be a bad ground some where or something.