Hey guys, Im putting a jl audio 500/1 and a 10w6v2 in my car. Do i need a capacitor so my lights don't dim when the bass hits? thanks

 

You shouldn't. I have installed plenty of 500/1's and haven't needed to use a capacitor.

Make sure you do the "big 3" upgrade when you install your amp. You can google that.

 

I have 2 alpine amps pushing out 1300 watts and I do not have a capacitor. Only thing I have is a yellow top and I dont get any dimming even when pushing system hard.

 

It shouldn't dim. Even if you set your gain at max. I don't believe the amp will draw all that much current.

 

No.

 

My lights were dimming with the JL 500/1 so I installaed a 1 farad cap last month.

 

Did you do the "big 3" upgrade?

 

It seems like a lot of people think the capacitor actually helps. It is actually putting even more load on your electric system. It's a band-aid on your weak electrical system. If your lights are dimming that obviously means that your electrical system cannot support the current draw from the amp(s). A capacitor acts like a buffer but when discharged it creates a huge draw of current to charge to it's maximum capacity. The bigger the capacitor the worse it gets. I wouldn't put more than 0.5F capacitor on any car and if you still have issues then obviously your alternator and battery are not made for your needs and you need to upgrade.
Doing the big 3 should be the first thing you do. If that doesn't help much, upgrade the battery. If that also doesn't help much then upgrade the alternator.

 

cap wont help ur lights from dimming i run 1000/1 jl amp and 5farad cap i jus use the cap cuss with the system drawing so much current i dont want it to die it jus stores current is what a cap does...if u want ur lights to stop dimming i suggest u do the BIG3 upgrade like everyone said..

 

Also with caps, although they store energy, they also have to release it instantly and constantly. They have a poor charging rate, and a battery is much quicker at charging and better at discharging.