ZERALLA can aswer it for sure
"Don Joe" wrote in message
news
I know this has been talked about many thousands of times, but it seems
different people suggest different solutions. I was hoping someone could
suggest what might be good for me to do in my particular situation.

I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help. My gear is as follows:

Stock 1999 Nissan Altima alternator (no knowledge of its current rating)
MTX404 amp (providing a total of 530W RMS--I think)
IDQ10 sub, K65 coaxials
New Quaker State battery

The headlight dimming really isn't too bad but I'm worried I may be
draining the battery or damaging the alternator if it continues.

Thanks for any advice, guys.
Don

I know this has been talked about many thousands of times, but it seems
different people suggest different solutions. I was hoping someone could
suggest what might be good for me to do in my particular situation.

I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help. My gear is as follows:

Stock 1999 Nissan Altima alternator (no knowledge of its current rating)
MTX404 amp (providing a total of 530W RMS--I think)
IDQ10 sub, K65 coaxials
New Quaker State battery

The headlight dimming really isn't too bad but I'm worried I may be
draining the battery or damaging the alternator if it continues.

Thanks for any advice, guys.
Don

I hear so many things on the cap issue. Yes they are good, no they are bad? I
would say a cap would help your situation, since it's only minor light dimming.
I think the main issue is the ability of the alternator to support the demands
of the car audio system as a whole. Some alternators are just too small for
some stereo systems, caps or not. By the way how big is your battery?

Troy
carbudgetaudio.com

In article ,
"Don Joe" wrote:

I know this has been talked about many thousands of times, but it seems
different people suggest different solutions. I was hoping someone could
suggest what might be good for me to do in my particular situation.

I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help. My gear is as follows:

Stock 1999 Nissan Altima alternator (no knowledge of its current rating)
MTX404 amp (providing a total of 530W RMS--I think)
IDQ10 sub, K65 coaxials
New Quaker State battery

The headlight dimming really isn't too bad but I'm worried I may be
draining the battery or damaging the alternator if it continues.

Thanks for any advice, guys.
Don

It won't hurt the Nissan alternator. Cheap aftermarket alternators are
a different story, though.

You're probably bouncing the voltage between the alternator's 14.4V and
the battery's 12V. If it's going lower than that, you need another
battery in the trunk or more efficient speakers.

I'm not a capacitor fan. A farad or two is really nothing compared to a
car battery. The technology exists for ultracapacitors in the 100F
range, which would really help, but they could be an explosion hazard.
Today's compound ultracapacitors (several 2.5V caps) cost much more than
a second battery.

I know this has been talked about many thousands of times, but it seems
different people suggest different solutions. I was hoping someone could
suggest what might be good for me to do in my particular situation.

I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help. My gear is as follows:

Stock 1999 Nissan Altima alternator (no knowledge of its current rating)
MTX404 amp (providing a total of 530W RMS--I think)
IDQ10 sub, K65 coaxials
New Quaker State battery

The headlight dimming really isn't too bad but I'm worried I may be
draining the battery or damaging the alternator if it continues.

Thanks for any advice, guys.
Don

A capacitor would probably reduce dimming. You're not hurting anything
though. So it's up to you. If the dimming is annoying, you may want to fix
it.

Don Joe wrote:

I know this has been talked about many thousands of times, but it seems
different people suggest different solutions. I was hoping someone could
suggest what might be good for me to do in my particular situation.

My suggestion is always to :
Watch the pretty flashing lights and enjoy them!
If there is no hearable degradation to the music dont worry about it
and dont waste your money on it....

I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

wont cause any problems at all...

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help. My gear is as follows:

a cap might help, but why spend the $100's ???

The headlight dimming really isn't too bad but I'm worried I may be
draining the battery or damaging the alternator if it continues.

Dont worry about it...
You could look at it like a FEATURE you didnt have to pay extra for.!

nice flashing lights.... ;-)


Eddie

Don Joe wrote:
I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

No.

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help.

It would. The alternator would be better, but it's really such a small
difference for your type of system. When you get up to the
multi-kilowatt range, then you start talking about dual alternators, cap
and battery arrays, etc.

--
thelizman

http://www.teamrocs.com/caraudio
"It's about the music, stupid"

I had the same problem. It turned out that the terminals to my battery
were not tight enough. Try tightening the terminals and see if it helps.

Don Joe wrote:
I know this has been talked about many thousands of times, but it seems
different people suggest different solutions. I was hoping someone could
suggest what might be good for me to do in my particular situation.

I'm suffering some slight headlight dimming (I'm guessing maybe 5-10%)
during very heavy bass hits. I would like to know if this will cause any
long term problems with my car.

I really can't afford to upgrade my alternator so I was wondering if a cap
might help. My gear is as follows:

Stock 1999 Nissan Altima alternator (no knowledge of its current rating)
MTX404 amp (providing a total of 530W RMS--I think)
IDQ10 sub, K65 coaxials
New Quaker State battery

The headlight dimming really isn't too bad but I'm worried I may be
draining the battery or damaging the alternator if it continues.

Thanks for any advice, guys.
Don