I need a cap but I'm not sure which one to get. I'll fun 2 JL 500/1. I was thinking 1 farad what are good prices and brands?

 

oh no! another cap thread? caps are worthless unless your alternator is up to par.

just to let everyone know: if any of you have installed caps with voltage monitors on them, whenever you see a voltage drop due to a bass hit, it is because your alternator cannot supply enough current to the load (amp).
voltage would never drop if there were enough current to supply the amp. this is basic electronics.

 

i have not checked if my voltage drops when the bass hits, but if it does how do i fix it? new alternator?

 

yep, new alternator. caps are only effective if the alternator can supply the current demand. if the alternator is weak, a cap won't do anything except add another load to the system.

 

so if I've got two JL 500/1 and a 4 gauge amp wiring kit i don't have to worry about my lights dimming when the bass hits? Can my 11 yr old stock alternator handle this?

 

Save your money and DO NOT BUY A CAP. They are worthless. If your lights dim try upgrading your wiring to 1/0 Gauge. Actually you should do that anyway with two 500/1s. Are those the only amps in your system? And about how long is your power wire?

 

your best bet would be to use 0awg instead of 4awg, and do the same with the wiring under the hood; i.e.: battery to ground, alternator to ground, alternator to battery. like i said earlier, a cap will do no good unless the alternator is capable of handling the current required by the amplifiers. keep grounds as short as possible, and ground the amps to the same location to reduce the likelyhood of adding unecessary resistance.

 

Those are the only amps I have and I have 17 ft of 4 gauge for power and 5 ft of 4 gauge for ground

 

The JL 500/1 does not accept 0 gauge I believe. Tweeter said I should run 2 sets of 4 gauge wires from my battery, are they bsing me or is this decent advice. Should I worry about my alternator? It is 11 years old.

 

Run the 0Awg, then into a distirbution block with 4Awg going to the amps...


--Don

 

I kinda already have a 4 gauge that splits to 8 gauge although if anybody could trade thatd be cool

 

well technically speaking, two 4awg cables will carry a maximum amperage of 270 amps, whereas one 0awg cable will only allow a maximum of 245 amps...so two 4awg cables would be better than one 0awg cable.