jlookretis

I have recently installed two memphis 10's with a kicker amp and connected them to the battery. And when the bass hits strong, my headlight dim down then go back up, is there a good/ easy solution to this, will this hurt my headlights?? thanks

adrian-1

You need a capacitor.
1/2 farad cap can handle 500W systems, 1 farad caps are for 1000W systems.

Basically, your system is asking for alot of energy at each "bass hit". Adding a cap will allow it to store that energy just for the system and won't strain your battery. This will keep your headlights from dimming at each bass hit.
Not adding one may kill your battery life, but it shouldn't affect your headlights any.

Here's a picture of my 1/2 farad cap connected to my amp.

vectorwolf

^Yes. You might want to get a stronger Alternator as well, to help handle the increased load on the electrical system. If your bass system is taking enough energy, it could start draining your battery. If it's not storing anything, the alternator will be come overworked trying to keep up, and will fail. Happened to me 2 times in a previous car before we finally got the cap and replaced the alternator.

lurch519

alternator is correct solution for this situation. you are overdrawing the alternator and what is happening is the alternator is reaching capacity and then the system is drawing from the battery. vector is correct, if you continue playing at elevated volumes for long periods of time, you will eventually drain the battery.

jlookretis

thanks a lot guys,and i am thinking of selling my 10's for 1 because the trunk rattles way to much, If i have 1 10 would I need a cap you think or does it depend on the amount of watts. thanks

lurch519

a cap is for the most part a bandaid. if youre lights are dimming, it means that your alternator is not producing enough current to supply the demand.

forbidden

You do not need a capacitor. A capacitor does not make voltage or current. You need to read the grounding sticky first, then do a search for The Big 3. The amount of rattling has nothing to do with one sub or two, you are going to have rattling no matter what. What you need to do is add sound deadening. This adds mass to the affected panels and changes their resonant frequency point. It also puts a whole crapload more output back into your subs as you are not losing energy in the form of sound to making panels vibrate.

LiL BenNy

i have a 2.5 farad cap... but my lights still dim when cranked up... any suggestions?

Nubo

Having a separate battery for the audio system may also be an answer. Use a deep-cycle battery such as Optima Yellow-top.

If you have halogen headlights it probably won't hurt them. With HIDs it could definitely hurt. There is something called "Cathode Fall" -- in short it tears up the electrodes when operating too far below the designed voltage.

gonnahanvan8

Take a look at what freq you are sending your subs. the lower the freq the more power required to produce it. There is a limit to the power cost\benifit. You may consider changing your cut off slope or a sub sonic filter to lessen the demand for power. And still get great low end punch.

Terrance26

I have a 10" sony punch powered by a 600 watt amp. Sounds great with no rattle.

lurch519

as forbidden stated, check the ground sticky. then as i stated, the next thing would be to upgrade the alternator.

a battery is the wrong answer. it will actually put a bigger strain on the alternator.