Who is running a cap?

talontsiawd

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I know alot of people concider this a "band aid" but i'm thinking it might be good. Now i need a better battery but i may as well wait until my current one dies. It's the original and it's starting to show signs of it's age. My car dies after about 5-10 mins, is this normal? Anyway, unrelated, just curious, i know a cap won't do anything for that, just wondering if that was bad for these accords, my other cars could go longer. Anyway, my system is not ridiculous but it's not mild per say either. I'd say it's around 500 watts rms. My amps combined are closer to 700 rms but my gain isn't up that high. I don't really have trouble with the bass getting softer or anything, that i know but i also haven't had a cap with this system, or any system. I don't want to go with a new alternator or really even rewire it. Just because i don't want to get into that and it's fine really as is. I'm just wondering if i'll see any benifit.
 

Jeffro

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talontsiawd said:
I know alot of people concider this a "band aid" but i'm thinking it might be good. Now i need a better battery but i may as well wait until my current one dies. It's the original and it's starting to show signs of it's age. My car dies after about 5-10 mins, is this normal? Anyway, unrelated, just curious, i know a cap won't do anything for that, just wondering if that was bad for these accords, my other cars could go longer. Anyway, my system is not ridiculous but it's not mild per say either. I'd say it's around 500 watts rms. My amps combined are closer to 700 rms but my gain isn't up that high. I don't really have trouble with the bass getting softer or anything, that i know but i also haven't had a cap with this system, or any system. I don't want to go with a new alternator or really even rewire it. Just because i don't want to get into that and it's fine really as is. I'm just wondering if i'll see any benifit.

Usually, if the battery dies in 5-10 minutes, either there is a draw on the battery that is deteriorating its power, or the battery is pretty much shot. If it's draining in 5-10 minutes, I'd say its time for a new battery, because there isn't much in your car that could drain the battery that quickly. If it was your alternator, traditionally you wouldn't be able to start your car immediately after turning it off (because the battery never gets re-charged like it's supposed to). When you say it dies in 5-10 minutes, how long was the car running prior to that? Many shops will tell you that it could take 20-30 minutes of running to get the battery fully charged, too. Take your battery to Autozone of Advance and they can test your battery to see if it is alright or not. It used to be free, and I've got no reason to believe otherwise. I just replaced the battery in my Cord and my Oddy, and I know they aren't cheap to begin with :rolleyes:
 

Wildman

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my battery has died on my in <5 mins with my ACC turned on and the car off. amps ftl in that area. that's why people buy deep cycle / marine batteries.

caps.... i'm one of those people that think their band-aids. if you get one just don't waste your money on anything bigger than 1F.
 

talontsiawd

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Jeffo, this would be with my stereo on. It was off the subject, i was just wondering how it is with other people with a similar system. And i'm pretty sure my battery is on the way out, purely because it's approaching the 5 year mark, when they usually go. I'll replace it with something better.

As for the alternator, it's fine, i was just mearly stating that i refuse to upgrade it for my stereo. My car only has 32k miles, i'd be pissed to say the least if it was going out. It's just that many people think not upgrading the alternator but using a cap instead is the wrong way to do things, hence the term bandaid.

wildman, yeah, that's what i was thinking. And get one with none of the uncessary stuff, like meters and lights. They are ugly, why would i want to show it off. Just a regular old $100 or less one.
 

shavedaccord

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eh save and buy an optima battery..I see caps as pretty much pointless unless your running some serious wattage..I got a streetwires 1 fraud cap on my back porch..has been sitting there for probably 5 years collecting dust and spider webs..I had it installed for a whooping 4 hours before I came to the conclusion it wasn't worth what I paid..$189 back then.. Yellow tops have a 1 hour reserve on them incase the main battery goes dead..but i've left my door open on my car (on accident) and went on vacation..came back a month later and the battery was still alive and the door light still shinning..they last a long damn time..I think another time I left my headlights on for a good 5+ hours and it didn't die.
 
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Scott P

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not to ba pain, but this is what I don't understand: You are asking about a product that on avg costs about 75 for something decent. On top of that you are telling us that you also are having major battery issues. there again that is about 50-75 for your average battery. So now you've spent approx 150 to be a losing situation. Instead of wasting all that money why not ditch the cap idea (it won't do you any good and in this case could actually make things worse) and go get a optima yellow top. It would solve every problem you are having, both audio and automotive.
 

talontsiawd

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I won't say i have serious battery problems. Infact, i'm not sure i have any problems. I'm assuming it's going because of how old it is, not how it has been acting. And dieing after 5-10 min is a bit of an overstatement. I was doing my led conversion so i was concentrating pretty hard on something, could be more like 15-25. That's with the headlights on, stereo on, all interior lights on, etc. I have no problems that concern me to buy a new battery quite yet.

I'm not too worried about it, and i plan to buy an optima when this one actually dies.


I see what you are saying for sure, don't get me wrong. But i don't always ask questions and go out and do something. I was mostly asking from a curiosity standpoint. IE, is there actually a point to doing this or should i skip it. Sometimes i just think, maybe i should do this in the future but see no point in waiting to ask other people for oppinions. Thanks though.
 

ryan s

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i dont get all this talk about caps being bandaids. almost everything electronic has them. it wont stop your battery from draining, but is meant to stabilize the voltage. remember, your amp is a switching device (and especially, your music has everything from peak usage to almost zero usage). if it has a constant supply of voltage (which the cap accomplishes by building a reserve and letting it go when the music demands it), the amp will work less and therefore put a smaller strain on your entire electronics system.

bottom line: any system of any size can benefit from a cap. you should have one if you have an amp, period. this is a lesson ive taken from derek lee, the guy who answers the "troubleshooting" section in car audio and electronics. id trust his opinion more than anyones.

get a cap now (theyre not that expensive), and start saving your nickels and dimes for an optima later.
 
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