Ask a Question
or
Create a Poll
  1. Home /
  2. Questions /
  3. Autos & Motorcycles
  4. / Car Audio And Video
  5. / Car Audio And Video Information

by Anonymous on July 4th, 2006

Anonymous

Question

Help answer this question below.

What does a capacitor do for car audio systems?

  • Like
  • Report
Share:
Other

Answers. 3 helpful answers below.

  • by Josh on December 4th, 2008

    Josh

    A capacitor makes a huge dent in your wallet, with minimal positive impact on your car's electrical system. Think of a capacitor as a small power surplus storage device. All it really does is catch a little overflow of current from the alternator, if there is any, and stores a limited amount of power internally. Considering that even a small cap can cost you over $100 plus install, they really don't offer much. If your audio system is higher in continuaous wattage (lets say for example 1000 W RMS total), you'd probably be told by an electronics retailer to purchase a 1 to 5 FARAD capacitor. A normal price for a 1 to 2 Farad cap can range from $150 to $300.

    Lets look at it from another perspective. You can get a decent deep cycle battery for around $150 to $200. These hold a much larger charge, and connected with a battery isolator ($25 on ebay), will give you a stand alone power supply for your sound system pulling minimal to nothing over the top of your vehicle's normal power consumption. So, your car's electrical charging system will last longer (likely longer than stock), your equipment will not affect essential functions like headlights at all, and wow, look at that, it costs less than a cap and does more for you. Aside from that, a cap will create more power draw on your car's recharging system if it is emptied. How can it be said to help relieve power draw, when it DRAWS POWER? If coupled with extra batteries and such, a capacitor can and will help in situations of extremely high current draw, but used as the sole solution to help with heavy power draws, they are not the best idea.

    Seems like a no brainer to me...

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by smiley13_sexy on November 24th, 2008

    smiley13_sexy

    they r made so that they hold energy and so that the alternater doesnt have to b forced into working more to recharge ur battery...

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by msummers on July 4th, 2006

    msummers

    Capacitors hold a charge which can be recalled for future use. It takes much energy to power some low frequency sub-woofers, in some cases so much that it over draws current from the amount that can be provided by the charging system of an automobile. For these type systems, if you were driving at night and your volume was high enough, it might dim your headlights when playing some BOOM-BOOM-BOOM low frequencies from your sub-woofer. On the other hand, if you have large capacitors installed as part of the audio system, it would draw power from them during this time to prevent your charging system from being overloaded.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading What does a capacitor do for car audio systems?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

Related Questions

Professionally Researched

ANSWERBAG BUZZ

What does a capacitor do car audio
What does a capacitor do
What does a car audio capacitor do
What does a capacitor do for car audio
What does a subwoofer capacitor do

Answerbag

a Demand Media company