i have 2 amps one 600rms and the other 250rms will a 1 farad cap be ok to run?? what brand caps are good?? i was looking at a jaycar 1. thanks

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.as ... &SUBCATID=

Generally, they say 1F per 1000Wrms, so yeah 1F would be fine. Why do you need it though? Are you getting headlight dimming?

i have a 2.5 farad cap for 2500 rms. mine is cadence and was pretty pricy but u can pick up some cheaper ones from jb hifi and depending how cheap u want to go then jacar. ive seen some of the fusion caps and they looked pretty nice but ive never actually used one

you wont need one for a system like that.. waste of money really..

for your system joe simply striahgt...dont bother....your not pulling enough current or requiring big surge current draw to warrant one.

If you are getting pretty severe or really any bad dimming...ya need to look at the larger spec alternator unless you already have it....large core/weight cabling size eg: from 8guage to 4guage...no need to go any bigger and making sure to mirror cabling size for power with the earth....only keep earth shorter....and then battery....larger reserve capacity higher output battery...then finally a cap...but I could bet money that setup of yours now wouldnt at all need a cap.

well my headlights are pretty much flashing other cars??? my dash is flickering wen i crank it up! i might get a new battery see if that helps. the wiring is 8 guage. I just wanna fix it theres alot of electrical drain on my car, the car doesnt go as hard as it used to.

Personally, for 850Wrms total, I would have 4ga power wiring and earths. The earth should be from the amp to the chassis and then frm the chassis in the engine bay back to the battery. It all needs to be the same guage.

A battery won't really stop the dimming as the dimming is the voltage dropping. The car's alternator runs at around 14v, the batter is around 12v, so the voltage must drop before the battery even starts helping, but your headlights would have already dimmed.

as stone said intitially try the large size cabling...make sure to keep the earth cables shoter than th power cables...and as short as possible...

but in saying this remeebr headlight dimming/flashing is due to these components either not receiving adequete current to run properly or that they arent receiving current quick enough....now going larger cables allows the alternator and battery to send more current to those devices by having the larger area to send current thru....so it can mean current will be drawn from those devices faster.....so may end up deadening your batter at times depending what sort of current draw you have coming from it....do you know what size alternator you have....flacons were fitted with 3 it hink or just 2 types....60/80 and 110amp alternator or might just be 60 and 110(could be 120 i always get mixed up which it is)....your alternator should have a sticker on the top listing what output your alternator can provide.....if its the 60A version going to the large alternator "should" fix all our electrical issues...a cap wont fix this prob in this case im sorry...by the sounds of it your batter/alternator or combo of the two arent enough to power your car...850w RMs is not a big current drawer..remeber your batter etc doesnt give a toss about Watts...it current...the amps your system is drawing which yours aint that big....a battery with a large cranking countinous amp output and larger reserve capacity will help but wont fix the prob...it will just postpone the dimming etc for longer...it will still end up happening....

stone, u have the subs i really really want, i have a stinger capicator for a total 1030wrms system, not installed yet i only bought it for looks, only paid $40, and my mates who dont kno alot about car audio think im a god

I dont see why on a falcon, why you would need a Capacitor for anything less than 1000wRMS.
As big kev said, check your wiring, and then if the problem persists, check to see if your alternator is shot. My EF, on idle with the stereo (1750WRMS), and the headlights on, runs at 13.2 volts.
an acceptable level for a car with the engine runnung is anywhere between 12.8-14.4 volts. Check this using a multimeter, not the volts gauge. If it drops dramatically on bass hits, then I would recommend a capacitor. if the voltage is constantly low, a capacitor would not be of much assistance, look at a bigger/better battery.

Hope this makes sense

exactly....so what ya need to do mate is advise what battery n model you are running so I can lookup specs...and what alternator you have before you go any further...

ok its a motorcraft battery, the standard ford one and its about 6 years old.

i had a look at the alternator but i cant see any identification of it yet, i'll get bak to ya's shortly.

well put it this way, wen my premium sound system was up at full volume my lights would dim, so i hav had a problem for a while now so its time to find it and fix it.

hmm wouldnt happen to own a clamp meter would u ... um well can u see any label on the top or side of the alternator...and on the battery label does it have the out amps, reserver capacity etc statitisc displayed...and 6yrs thats not bad life for a battery....could be mate that cells in the battery have deteriorated and your getting s**t output from em...