I understand the graphs as I studied them and their discharge rates back in tech school, which was about the time the industry(and me) learned caps were not all they were cracked up to be(I think, I am learning here). And yet if the condition causing that graph were to continue for an entire song(3-5 mins), would it keep returning to just the original position around 14v? It would slowly start to dip correct? The alt would be strained in that condition and alot of these can add up.
What would the graph look like with a HO alt? If you look on my cardomain pages, I have voltmeters mounted easily viewable from the drivers seat in both of my vehicles as I like to watch them.... If you look at my other post about my trucks alt overcharging now and us suspecting the stock voltage regulator is going out let me remind you that it has the octane in it wich has the correct amount of added capacitence in it internally by the standard rating but has crapped out after beating on it both with desert heat, and an mainly an underpowered charging system powering and overpowered amp. I will be replacing it with a HO and not suspect to have any issues in the future barring manf defects.
The mustang is 3 yrs earlier so I actually swapped the alt for the 200A 2, maybe 3 yrs ago before I did the system. I have it powered by 2 diamond D9 800.4s and it stays at a rock solid voltage no matter how loud I crank it.
If there is anyone else monitoring and biting thier tung I would love to hear it. As I said I am learning on here.
Wattage and Power System
How the graph changes is dependent on what is limiting the amplifier. If the power wire is too small (8ga when it should be 4ga), then putting in a high output alternator probably would not change the graph at all. However, if the power wire is big enough and the voltage drop is caused by the alternator being too small, then yes a high output alternator would fill in the dip much more.
But, if the power wire is large enough, then the voltage should not fall much below 12.6V unless the battery is weak, or not very large.
Now from what I gather the argument some of you guys are really trying to make is if the battery is not good enough, it should be replaced. If the alternator is not keeping up, it should be replaced. And, if the power wire is not large enough, then it too should be replaced. Well, I actually agree with all of that, but not everyone is made of money.
In the example I post with the graph, putting in a cap solved the problem for that customer, the amp now does not shut off. Is it the best long term solution? Probably not. A bigger power wire would probably be a better long term solution. But, what if the amp is not shutting off much? Maybe it only does this on a few specific songs. In this case, the cap will work great and there is not much point in upgrading anything else.
Caps only help with music. If you listen to sine waves, or ultra bass heavy bass music, then the cap will probably not keep up. But then again, maybe it would if it were large enough (like 20 farad for example).
The point I wish I could get everyone to agree on is that caps are not worthless. They do actually do something. They don't help everyone and in many cases are useless. But that does not mean that just because they don't help you they will not help someone else. I have seen them help people. I have also seen them have absolutely zero affect on a system.
But, if the power wire is large enough, then the voltage should not fall much below 12.6V unless the battery is weak, or not very large.
Now from what I gather the argument some of you guys are really trying to make is if the battery is not good enough, it should be replaced. If the alternator is not keeping up, it should be replaced. And, if the power wire is not large enough, then it too should be replaced. Well, I actually agree with all of that, but not everyone is made of money.
In the example I post with the graph, putting in a cap solved the problem for that customer, the amp now does not shut off. Is it the best long term solution? Probably not. A bigger power wire would probably be a better long term solution. But, what if the amp is not shutting off much? Maybe it only does this on a few specific songs. In this case, the cap will work great and there is not much point in upgrading anything else.
Caps only help with music. If you listen to sine waves, or ultra bass heavy bass music, then the cap will probably not keep up. But then again, maybe it would if it were large enough (like 20 farad for example).
The point I wish I could get everyone to agree on is that caps are not worthless. They do actually do something. They don't help everyone and in many cases are useless. But that does not mean that just because they don't help you they will not help someone else. I have seen them help people. I have also seen them have absolutely zero affect on a system.
Got "schooled" by member shawn k on May 10th, 2011...
No longer really "in tune" with the audio industry, and probably have not been for some time.
Hands down the forum's most ignorant member...
Don't even know what Ohm's law is...
No longer really "in tune" with the audio industry, and probably have not been for some time.
Hands down the forum's most ignorant member...
Don't even know what Ohm's law is...
I agree that I am not made with money either, I am on a more limited budget now then ever..... That is why I say save the $$$ on the cap. Drive the fuck out of the stock alt until you start to see it die and use the money saved then to fill the gap as you stated above. If you are overdriving the alt the cap will not fix it but may let it hold on a few more months and then where are you?
I did this on my truck and now expect to have to replace the alt, the caps didn't help. Of course you need to upgrade the power wires with the ho alt, you wouldn't put a supercharger on and keep the stock exhaust.
I agree that caps can help as a temp fix to keep lights from dimming a little bit, and maybe buy you a little more time on yur alt. I personally never heard the dynamic sound difference in a system with a cap added too but I do not have the ears of an angel either.
so now that we agree, and I was wrong before, you are now wrong by default right?
I did this on my truck and now expect to have to replace the alt, the caps didn't help. Of course you need to upgrade the power wires with the ho alt, you wouldn't put a supercharger on and keep the stock exhaust.
I agree that caps can help as a temp fix to keep lights from dimming a little bit, and maybe buy you a little more time on yur alt. I personally never heard the dynamic sound difference in a system with a cap added too but I do not have the ears of an angel either.
so now that we agree, and I was wrong before, you are now wrong by default right?