hi, i know that for car stereos, many people use capacitors to help balance voltage draw on their electrical system. In my car, the 2000 accord, it is known for having a weak alternator and without any added features (subs, amps), they are known for having issues with your lights flickering say when your AC turns on, you roll down all your windows at once, etc... I was wondering if it would be helpful to use a capacitor not for my audio system, but for the electrical system itself. I can get a basic 1/2 farad capacitor for like $50.....
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capacitors and car electronics
- Thread starter TechBoyJK
- Start date
Pepsi90919
Lifer
why would you care if your lights dim if you roll down all your windows at once?
when would you actually be rolling down all your windows at once?
WTF?
when would you actually be rolling down all your windows at once?
WTF?
Pepsi90919
Lifer
exactly
sonoma1993
Diamond Member
it's not that hard to install an alternators unless it like bury in the engine bay. Alot of them are like 1 or 2 wire hookup and 2 or 3 bolts. Alternator for my truck has ground wire going to it, then a 4 pin wire that comes from the computer I belive. Then it has 3 bolts that hold it in. 99 gmc sonom,a ext cab 4.3L V6
well, i'll take a closer look... i'm just wondering what I can do to supplement the electrical system w/o modifying it.... i thought maybe a $50 cap would help. like when im driving at night, if I have the windows down cause its hot, but its too hot, and I roll up my windows and close the sunroof, and immediately flip on the ac full blast, my lights dim.... i thought a cap would do its job and provide the small amount of power to level that out...
Pepsi90919
Lifer
um, the 4.3 is the easiest engine in the world to work on. especially if you're doing something trivial like changing an alternator. but he has a honda.
Cdubneeddeal
Diamond Member
Buying a cap won't help that much if at all. You're better off buying a higher amp alternator as discussed above.
do the big 3 wire upgrades first, see if that helps....
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=007801;p=
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=007801;p=
Cdubneeddeal
Diamond Member
Alternators for your vehicle got for less than $100 shipped from various sellers.
Zenmervolt
Elite member
Wrong. All electronic devices draw more current at switch-on than they do in operation. Turning on my home theatre amp dims the lights in my apartment, but once it's on, I can turn it up as high as I like without it causing the lights to flicker.
A capacitor absolutely will help with the drop in current caused by switch-on. I doubt that he's coming close to the maximum amperage draw with the car stock. I would be shocked if the power windows were more than 10A in total for all four.
The issue is not total sustained current draw (which a new alternator would help), but rather the perfectly normal dip caused at switch-on.
Honestly, it's not an issue at all for the OP though. My 944's guages are all electric and because of their sensitivity, I can see the temp and fuel needles twitch when I use the windows or turn on the lights. The voltmeter doesn't show a sustained drop, but there's a definite drop at switch on. Car's done that for 150,000 miles and the multimeter doesn't show an amp draw even nearing the alternator's capacity.
ZV
Cdubneeddeal
Diamond Member
V6, 4 cyl? Model?
MrDudeMan
Lifer
zenmervolt is obviously the only person who has any clue about power in this thread. when you activate anything that draws current, it WILL draw more on startup than anytime else. this is because EVERYTHING has inductance, and inductors resist any change in current, di/dt. the dimming lights are because the voltage output drops to supply more current based on the maximum power delivery of your alternator. it doesnt have a set voltage and current output as much as it has a set power output. if you need more current, the voltage will sag and current will rise to increase power output. power for dissipating devices is I^2*R, so it makes sense. if you add a cap, it will definitely help with the voltage sag on the startup, but how much is not easy to speculate. however, it will reduce strain on your alternator because the capacitor can charge/discharge way faster than an alternator can supply current to an inductive load. it will also remove some of the ripple which will be sent to every component in the car that uses electricity and prolong the lifespan of said parts by reducing the number of thermal cycles.
get the capacitor if you cant find a good deal on alternators, but ideally you would do both.
get the capacitor if you cant find a good deal on alternators, but ideally you would do both.
Cdubneeddeal
Diamond Member
It will help, yes, but it's not fixing the issue at hand.
Actually now that I think about it...my Sisters' 2000 Accord does the same thing. Maybe it's not even the alternator..maybe just the way they are wired.
Actually now that I think about it...my Sisters' 2000 Accord does the same thing. Maybe it's not even the alternator..maybe just the way they are wired.
Zenmervolt
Elite member
All true, but the benefits of a capacitor in an otherwise stock vehicle are going to be very tiny. This is especially true since the electronic sensors in modern fuel injection systems require a very well regulated input voltage, so the critical parts have at least some degree of ripple suppression and things like simple electric motors (the windows) and lights aren't going to be hurt much by a bit of ripple.
ZV
Zenmervolt
Elite member
If his car is stock there is ZERO need for changing the alternator. None.
Absolutely none of the symptoms he lists are related to the alternator's capacity. None.
Or is that too obvious for you?
The facts as he has outlined them point to normal operation. The fault he listed was flickering at switch-on, which would be solved by a capacitor. If he was noticing sustained voltage drop, then the symptoms would indicate that a higher capacity alternator is necessary. The symptoms, however, do not indicate a sustained voltage drop, only the normal, temporary, dip at switch-on. In this case, the heresay about the car being "known for a weak alternator" (which I've been unable to verify, the 4-cylinder has a 90 amp alternator which is pretty standard and certainly not "weak", while the V6 has a 110 amp alternator which is again pretty standard and certainly not "weak") is nothing more than a red herring that has no impact in the actual symptoms.
You're almost as knowledgeable about cars as that "Munchees" guy was.
ZV
You love the insults don't you?
The only symptom we've been told is that the lights flicker. But does that mean they they dim for a split second or does that mean it dims for a few seconds or for however long the window switch is held down? Did he give us any voltage readings? I don't seem to have noticed any in his post. As for the maximum capacity of the alternator, of course he's not reaching it. But it is very possible that he is reaching the capacity of the alternator at that time. More than likely, the symptoms he is describing are at idle. A car god like you must know that an alternator doesn't come anywhere close to full capacity at idle. So is it quite possible that the maximum draw when he is using the acessories is more than the alternator can handle? Yes it is. Maybe its a replacement alternator that has a lower amperage than stock (this does happen). Would I recommend changing anything on his car? Of course not. I would recommend that he give everything a close look to make sure it is functioning correctly. I would recommend that he maybe even check idle speed (if you can on those engines) to make sure its not too low. But going with the info that he stated, that the car has alternator issues, and he is experiencing voltage related problems, looking into an alternator makes sense.
Mark
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