Cable, capacitors, wires .... help ..

Hi. I had trouble finding wires, cables and capacitors for my sound system. Basically, I am not very familiar with wires and cables when it comes to stereo sytem. I got an Amp and 3 subs and new speakers. I don't know how many feet of wires or cable i need ..Do i need 2 capacitors?? Pleae help me with this. Please explain the basic principle involved.. I really want to learn. Thank you so much.

[bdrought]

The amount of cable you need is the distance from the Battery to the Amp! Add a few feet just incase ;-)

You dont need a ground cable from the amps to the battery, just to a solid point on the chassis.

Please dont forget fuses! You need a fuse near the battery (before the cable enters the cabin) and you need smallers fuses before each amplifier.

As to capacitors, you dont need one. If you set up the stereo and your dashboard lights dim on bassnotes, then add a capacitor.

Bri

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Brian Drought
1991 300CE
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drought/
ICQ: 2180069

[vutown]

Dear AMGklass,

Bri gave you some great tips. Also keep in mind that since you're planning to put items such as amps and subwoofers, which will need alot of power, purchase reputable wires and cables. You will be surprised at how much it will cost you to buy good wires. This is an area that you do not want to skimp on.


Also, do not run the power cables and the speaker wires on the same side. This will cause interference. Try running the speaker wires on one side, and the power cable on the other side. Another thought, since you're running multiple amps and subs, you would probably want to buy a power cable of either 4 or 2 gauge. (THe smaller the number, the thicker the wire is, and the more juice you can feed to your hungry stereo products)

Good luck!

[Michael]

If you want to get into specifics, give more detail as to the system going in and we all can advise as to gauge wire, fuse capacity, etc.

As to interference, it's most important that the RCA signal cables between the head unit and amp (s) are run away from any power leads.

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

[Robert W. Roe]

I'm wondering if a capacitor might help keep my CD player running while the engine is cranking in my 1984 300SD.

Robert : well a capacitor is not a battery. They are here to stabilize the power and to give a constant power. The capacitor doesn't have any energy in it when it is turned off.
Do you have a cd changer or a cd play head unit? If you have a cd player head unit, while cranking the engine, it is normal that the head unit stops because the electronic system shuts off all sources of power to be able to deliver the highest power to the engine. There is a way to bypass this problem. Your radio is connected to the battery thru the iginition key and is only turned on when the ignition key is turned to position 1. Now you have a constant power coming from the battery which is also connected to the head unit but is only used to keep alive the memory of the radio. You can use that cable to power your head unit and you will not have anymore problems with cd playing shutting down etc... (but you will have to shut off the radio manually because it will not shutt of when the key is taken out)

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[Robert W. Roe]

Adamou, thanks for the reply. I have an Alpine cassette head unit with a trunk mounted Alpine 6 disk changer.

I've seen some pretty big capacitors in the Crutchfield catalog. If I understand their application correctly, caps are useful mostly if dashboard lights dim on heavy, loud bass notes. Capacitors *do* store energy. I was thinking that the cap might not be the best idea to have on the constantly "on" line to the head unit because, the cap will store a large amount of energy and this might be problematic when trying to start the car. I could foresee the radio fuse blowing if the cap tried to help "start" the car. So, I think the cap wouldn't help run the CD or head unit while cranking, and I don't want to have to remember to turn off the head unit each time.

Capacitors are good for only one thing: providing a momentary hit of very deep bass. If you listen to Rap music or compete in sound-offs, you may need a 1 farad cap depending on how powerful your amp is that is driving the subs. More important is the battery. A cap is not a substitute for a battery. If you are using two or more amplifiers and you don't want the dash light to dim during musial passages, you may want to add a second battery. The best for car audio is a GELL Cell with rapid recycle capability. To add a second battery, try to avoid sales people who push battery isolators. The best way is to add a relay. Cables only make a difference if they are well insulated. Gold plated plugs won't corrode in New England climate. Since you come from Providence I suggest a short trip to Franklin St. in Warren (rt.136, right on Franklin, Awesome sound on your left)See Rick. (401)245-2900 no Wed.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AMGCKlass:
Hi. I had trouble finding wires, cables and capacitors for my sound system. Basically, I am not very familiar with wires and cables when it comes to stereo sytem. I got an Amp and 3 subs and new speakers. I don't know how many feet of wires or cable i need ..Do i need 2 capacitors?? Pleae help me with this. Please explain the basic principle involved.. I really want to learn. Thank you so much.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Michael]

AMGCKlass:

What car are you doing a system in? Knowing that will shed some light on the alternator output, which varies greatly by model. For example, my 300TE has only like 65 or 70 amps, but my 500E has a 110 amp alternator...VERY stout

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE