Diabolicskull

Hi guys, I am having a problem with my amp and music system.

I have a Sony XM-1252GTR 340 watts RMS x 1 amp connected to my Sony XS-L103P5 sub with 330W RMS, this is all in my 96 Accord.

When i first got the amp and sub I used to listen to it alomost full blast for a good hour before my amp started to give any problems, and even cutt off the bass.
The only problem actually was that my lights were dimmin when i drove at night with the music up.
I was recommened to get a capacitor, so i got a 3. farad power accoustic off ebay for about 40 bucks+ 20 shipping.

Point is that after i got all of this installed at the local music shop, the cap seems to have improved my bass responce and it seems to hit harder, but now my amp is heating up and cutting off the bass in about 10-20 mins tops with the music blasted. And also at night my lights still dim. The capacitor lights up and all and has this display that shows the voltage and stuff. Im curious because when the music is blasted and i look at the cap. it shows the volage dropping usually around 10-12, so it that a problem?

I also took my car back to the shop where the putt the cap. and he says i need to get a new battery because after adding the cap. he says its draing too much from my battery and thats why i need a yellow top.

any suggesttions guys? Could it be a bad amp, capacitor or do i need a battery?
Iff i need a battery any suggeestions as to which ones? Im on a budget so lets keep the battery cost under $100

Im a noob, so any help appreciated. Thanks in avance guys.

orbit77

i think he's trying to get more money out of you. when your car is on your alternator is actually supplying power to your car. your battery is used to start your car not run it.

what are your gains set to? does it shut off or just go into protect mode?

totalimmortal

You shouldn't be dropping that low with the small system you have. Battery sounds to be bad, how does the car start up?? 12.6V is the minimum voltage level for a healthy charging system. My 1 farad cap shows 14.5 consistantly.

Diabolicskull

well, when my radio is not to the maximum with the bass pumping, my capacitor reads 14, minimum, but when i putt it to the max it drops anywhere from 10-12volts, usually around 10-11v. when its all the way up. Does that indicate that i need a new battery?

also when i drive at night my lights dim even with my capacitor.

Oh, and the car starts up good, no problems.

FrozenAcid

i agree that your battery might be going bad. But the dimming is probably going to happen anyways. Dimming in my car only fully went away when i got a high output alt and a deep cycle battery. I'm not sure about your amp, but most amps have a protect mode that they go into if there is under voltage or over voltage. And to clear it up, the battery supplys the power to the rest of the car. The alt. recharges the battery, so if the load on the battery is more than the alt. can handle, the battery gets drained and can cause dimming and sometimes even a rough idle.

Misa

the voltage is dropping because the cap is running out of power and theres nothing to recharge it.

how old is the battery? the car?

totalimmortal

Was the cap charged before it was installed?? A lot of lazy installers will neglect to charge the cap. That small of an amp shouldn't be able to discharge a 3 farad cap.

JerryS

A shop forgetting to charge a cap? No way! But you would be surprise... my friend has his car audio installed by a local shop and yup, sure enough, all the shop did was hook up the wires and tied down the cap and amp. He claimed caps auto charge them selves. After we charged it up, his system started working correctly... dimming lights and amp's shutting down went away.

Diabolicskull

yeah, that bastardd said o0o no its already charged, they charge quick. He just connected it and said it was good to go. I kind of believed him because the manual for the cap. said it would charge when connected to the car with the wiring. When first connected, all of its lights would continue to blink untill it was fully charged, then the lights would stop blinking and be steady.

Guys it never blibked once, lights were steady right after he connected it. Wat u think?

Guy from crutchfield said they can charge in just a couple seconds, but my friend said my car wouldnt be able to charge a 3farad cap (96 accord), said i would ned someone elses car to charge it....what u guys think?

burnrubber

i installed a 2 farad cap in mine, it came with a light to charge the cap. you just hooked the pos from the batt and the pos to the amp to the cap. them put the light between the neg for the cap and the neg terminal on the cap until the light went out or the cap read somewhere around 12-13v