I know that the alternator is key when the car is running lol. My current one is starting to go bad as it is, so a new replacement is needed anyway.

I'm palnning on grabbing a 180 - 220 amp Iraggi H.O alternator. Thats more than enough power, and still gives me room to upgrade in the future

 

Sounds like you are getting it taken care of. Let us know how things are after the new alternator.

 

Not unheard of, it just depends on the current capacity of your alternator and the load on the charging system. If you're barely exceeding the current capacity of the alt then a cap could surely take care of the problem, but if your alt only puts out 65A and your bass amp is pulling 85A by itself, a cap will be nothing more than a complete and total waste of money. So to backtrack on my words a bit, one should do some simple math first before deciding how to take care of the problem; you'd need to know how much current your alt can put out and then figure out the total draw on the system with everything powered up/running and then you can figure out where to go from there. Generally, if the total system draw is at or below 10A more than the current capacity of the alternator then upgrading your battery to a larger capacity one can "fix" the problem since when the current capacity of the alternator is exceeded power is then supplied from the battery itself. If your need more than 10A over the current capacity of the alt then it's time to upgrade it.

Nice. How much do those go for?

 

Sorry, but I'm not a believer in capacitors. Just mini over-priced batteries in my opinion.You can buy several yellow top Optimas for the price of a good capacitor. I DO agree that if the draw on the alternator is greater than what is being put out, then an upgrade is in order. But for the amount of draw Bone is pulling, I just cant see the need for a LARGE alternator, nor a capacitor. I guess I would like to see what an ammeter would say on the draw. I also believe that if the system is wired properly, the draw from the stereo is from the battery, NOT the alternator, and the alternator is charging the system, not running it. I do understand the path of least resistance theory. A difference of opinion on how the system should be powered. I am running 1300 watts of continuous power through my two JL Audio amps, with no capacitor, and I have no problems with lack of power. I also have co-workers who believe as I do, that more batteries is better, running up to 3 batteries to power their stereo systems. No one has upgraded their alternators.
Again, a difference of opinion on how you want to power your system. I don't have to have my motor turning 2000 rpm's to power an alternator just to listen to my stereo. I just turn my system on and enjoy.
Try running a snow plow on one battery, plowing at night, and you'll understand FAST why one battery isn't enough. Same difference.

 

I think we're beginning to split hairs here; Yes, when wired right, a stereo system is wired directly to the battery. When the car is off, the system is powered by the battery only, but when the car is on it's getting power from the alternator, by way of the battery. It's no different than powering up your cell phone via wall charger, yes you still have a battery in the phone, and yes the battery is what runs the phone but when you plug into an a/c power source the current passes through the batteries to not only charge them up but to power the phone at the same time. So technically, the power is being fed via the batteries, but the batteries aren't supplying the power as much as they are letting the power pass through, which is why you phone can completely die on you but you can turn it right back on when you plug it into the wall. Same thing with a stereo system. The only time power is being fed from the battery, as compared to passing through the battery, is when the car is off or when the current draw excede's the current capacity of the alt. This is not a matter of opinion.

One's perception of reality is subjective, which is why I feel it's a waste of time to debate said perception. That being said, I agree that multiple batteries can be beneficial, but they can be detrimental just the same.

I'm a very firm believer in trying to fix a problem starting with the least costly option and working my way up so the first thing I'd do is upgrade the Big 3. This upgrade will help reduce dimming and voltage drops, allow your charging system to maintain a more stable system voltage and give it better current flow, helping to relieve some of the strain on it. If this doesn't take care of the problem then I'd replace the battery with the largest CCA battery you can fit, replacing the alternator lastly since it's easily the most expensive.

 

please dont buy a fuccin capacitor they things are pointless, and they actually take away from ur sub. if u dont really want another batt. get a thing called a backcap simular to a capacitor but 10x's better. backcaps have lil batt. cells which make them better and caps just succ ***** trust meand a new alternator will fix the dimming of the lights.

 

Easy guy. And BTW, it's called a battcap aka battery/capacitor built in one. You seem a bit contradictory when you say caps are worthless then you turn around and suggest a product that's essentially a capacitor as well as a battery.

 

It costs $400 for a 180 amp, and all the way up to $600 for a 300 amp.

 

ouch!

I need to start shopping for one myself cause I'll be installing my SQ setup this spring and I just can't have the disco lights thing going on, not a good look ya know? It's time for me to get a new battery so I'll likely go with a Stinger SP1000 so then the alt will be the last thing I need to replace before I do the install.

 

Yea, 400 isn't too bad. You get what you pay for though Iraggi is good stuff