What is a capacitor?
Large Wattage Car Audio Systems
Large wattage car stereo amplifiers draw large amounts of current from your vehicle's electrical system. Larger, multiple amp systems are even a bigger drain on your electrical system, in many cases depleting the system's current capacity thereby lowering the voltage far enough that it cannot properly supply the amplifier(s). Adding capacitors can help solve this problem.
Adding Capacitors
Capacitors store electricity as instant power available for your amplifier. If the amplifier draws more current than is available from the electrical system directly, the capacitor covers the difference up to its stored capacity. The battery is not overloaded and the car voltage remains steady. The capacitor will smooth out the peaks in current draw from your amplifier during peaks in the music. The capacitor will help ensure your music does not go flat, but has the dynamic quality you love.
Use Caution
A capacitor's stored current can give quite a shock if mishandled when it is fully loaded. Follow directions closely and ensure the cap is drained before making contact. A resistor or light bulb can be wired across the cap's terminals to allow the capacitor to discharge slowly and safely.
Keep in mind; capacitors do not make your car audio system sound louder. What they do is improve the performance of the system by reducing distortion caused by sudden voltage drops
Voltage Stability
Capacitors offer some small amount of protection for amplifiers from potentially damaging under-voltage surges over time if you play loud music regularly. But most of the reason for adding capacitors is to keep your car voltage stable. Before considering capacitors, ensure you have adequate battery and alternator power for the total amperage of your audio system, and check your wiring to be sure you have adequate sized wire. Voltage loss may occur if the gauge is not adequate. If your car’s charging system does not supply enough constant current for the combined RMS rating of your amplifiers there is no amount of capacitors that will keep your electrical system from having low voltage issues when run at RMS output.
Sizing Caps
Capacitors come in different sizes typically starting with 1 Farad. The general rule is to add 1 Farad of capacitance for every 1000 watts RMS of system power. Note that it does not hurt to use more capacitance than this rule and many systems use 2 or 3 Farads per 1000 watts RMS.
Mount your capacitors as close to the subwoofer amplifiers as possible to shorten the path required for the surge power. Follow the directions for mounting and wiring closely to ensure safe and efficient use. Keep in mind that continued voltage drops that last more than a second or two might not be helped by the addition of a capacitor. In these instances it may be better to add additional batteries to the system or upgrade the vehicle's alternator.
So consider adding capacitors to your next large audio system before the lights start dimming!
How does it work?
All capacitors consist of two "plates", separated by an insulator called the "dielectric". Each plate has an external connector. Connected to a source of voltage, electrons are forced onto one plate, and off of the other plate. When the capacitor is fully charged, no more electrons will flow in or out. Disconnected from the source of voltage, the charge will remain between the plates, and the voltage can be measured between the capacitors terminals with a volt meter. A capacitor can store a charge for a very long time.
The capacitor is connected to the positive power line to the amplifier, and then grounded to the vehicle chassis. When initially connected, the capacitor will very quickly charge up to the voltage of the vehicle's battery. So quickly, in fact, that a large spark will occur unless a small resistance is used to slow the rate of charge. More on this in a moment.
Low frequency causes the output transistors in any audio amplifier to remain on and flowing current to the speakers for a longer period than midrange or high frequencies. Low frequency therefore creates the greatest current draw in any audio system. As the source of low frequency in music is usually a drum or bass guitar, the low frequency is mostly in short bursts, or "transients". So subwoofer amplifiers generally draw the most power from an automotive charging system.
When a motor vehicle is running, the power for the electrical system comes from the alternator. Some very high power subwoofer amplifiers are capable of drawing more power from a vehicle's charging system than the alternator can produce. At very high output levels, this can cause the bass "hits" to begin to lose volume, punch, and overall clarity, and can cause lights to dim or flicker. When the amplifier tries to draw more power than the alternator can produce, the voltage in the power line to the amplifier (and everywhere else in the electrical system for that matter) begins to drop. As the voltage in the capacitor is still stable, the drop in voltage in the line will cause the capacitor to push charge onto the power line. This bolsters or "stiffens" the voltage in the electrical system until the transient bass "hit" passes. At that time the demand by the amplifier drops, the alternator brings the voltage back up, and the capacitor recovers its charge. It is then ready for the next bass transient.
This power "reservoir" in the capacitor only works to a point. If the power draw from the amplifier or multiple amplifiers demands so much power that the alternator can't bring the charging system and capacitor back up between bass transients, then reduced bass response and flickering lights will again occur. Adding more capacitance may help, but an alternator with a higher current rating would be a better solution.
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