Two amps, one capacitor?

[Subject]
Two amps, one capacitor?
[Question]
I have a 4 channel amp running the door speakers in my car already. I'm adding a mono block amp to run my 2 12in JL W3s. The 4 channel amp has a 8 gauge power wire (with fuse). The mono block amp has a 4 gauge power wire (with fuse). I also have a spare 4 gauge power wire (with fuse). The capacitor itself is made for 4 gauge wire. When i went to Best Buy to see how much they charge to install it, they tried to tell me that they would be charging for the capacitor install and for two amp installs because they have to rewire it. Now for my question: How can I do it myself without spending an arm and a leg?

Andy @ 2009-06-26 09:38:15

[All Answers]
There's your problem!



You need a flux capacitor.



I'll call Doc Brown for you.



How does UPS Ground sound to you?

chris c @ 2009-06-26 09:42:22

wouldnt be able to.

TheBobbieNicole @ 2009-06-26 09:43:07

The capacitor doesn't need to be hooked up to your car speakers as they do not use much watts. The capacitor should only be hooked up to your sub's amp. Best buy is dumb. go elsewhere.

sirmajorlee @ 2009-06-26 09:43:14

We're only talking about two wires, right? Actually one wire, as a pair, between the amp and the cap. I'm assuming the cap is under the bonnet, and the amp is under the seat or in the boot/truck (whatever you call the rear of your car in your country).



You can see this wire as it leaves the cap, and you can see it as it enters the amp. In between it's hiding under carpets, seats, plastic frames. Follow the path and thread another cable through. You don't need to remove the amp or the cap, so long as you can get to the power terminals.

Jade @ 2009-06-26 09:48:48

Two amps, TWO capacitors, and try to keep the amount of wire between each amp and its capacitor as short as possible.



An amp pulls an amount of current from the electrical system that fluctuates according to the sound that the amp is amplifying. Those fluctuations are a SIGNAL, and a signal on the power supply can affect other amps that are hooked up to the supply. The purpose of the capacitors is to isolate the amps from one another.

pzifisssh @ 2009-06-26 09:49:37

The capacitor is made to be wired in parallel with the amp. You may need connection blocks or some other method of making a secure connection to accomplish this but just connect the positive of the cap to the positive of the subwoofer amp and connect the negative to the same ground point as the subwoofer amp. That's it! The sub amp is the only thing that really needs the cap because of the high power draw. Electrically the capacitor will still be wired to everything in the car because the positive to the amp and soon to be cap is wired to the positive of the battery.

Cardaba @ 2009-06-26 10:01:15

You will have to rewire the entire system...

In order to accomodate the new mono amp and capacitor, you will need to purchase a distribution block with a 4 gauge input and 3 4 gauge outputs.



4 gauge cable from the battery to a distribution block.

4 gauge cable from Distribution block to capacitor. Make sure that your power and ground cables for the capacitor are less than 18 inches.

4 gauge cable from Distribution block to Mono amp

8 gauge cable from Distribution block to 4 channel amp.

Dont forget the corresponding grounds for each amp.



You will end up spending some money for this. But it costs money to do things right. The most expensive part of this is the wiring that you need.



Another important point to consider. Remember to charge the capacitor before you hook up the power wires to it. Otherwise you will quickly end up with a nickname like smoky or sparky.

Chris Cuevas @ 2009-06-26 11:40:19

[Subject]
Is it possible to remove a cd from a car stereo that's been taken out of the car?
[Question]
My sister recently had her car written off, she took the stereo out (its not a factory fit one) but forgot there was still a cd in it, new car has a factory fit one. Is there any way she can get the cd out without having to put the stereo back into someone's car?



Thanks in advance, be nice please :)

captaindarlinguk @ 2009-06-26 03:40:55

[All Answers]
Get a 6 volt battery and plug the red wire on + and hit the eject button.

jason @ 2009-06-26 03:47:03

Sometimes there is a small little hole in the front of the cd player that you can stick a pin in to eject CD's .

If not just remove the top of the cd player and see if there is a way to remove any internal parts to do it. This is easier than it seems. Just becareful of the small springs that some have.

Just Call me AJ @ 2009-06-26 03:48:59

Connect the earth and the positive wires to a car battery and hit the button. There may be a small hole to insert a bent paperclip to eject it but unlikely.

Timbo is here @ 2009-06-26 03:58:42

The easiest way will be to take the radio to a car and set it on the car for a ground, then put a jumper wire from battery positive to the power wire of the radio. It will now have 12 volts and just ht eject. You can do this at home also use a battery charger, hook up positive and negative hit eject!

Scott H @ 2009-06-26 04:29:24

By far the easiest way is to plug it into another car: all wiring is now standard & swapping a radio or removing one to unplug from most cars will take around 30 seconds.

J G @ 2009-06-26 04:48:19

[Subject]
Do you have to separate subwoofers in the same box and why?
[Question]
I'm building a subwoofer box that is consisting of 3 12" subs, do i have to seal them off so that they each have a third of the box each or can they run all together with the full space?
The box is going to be sealed and the three subs are going to be two of the same make and one different make.

Michael @ 2009-06-26 07:36:59

[All Answers]
It all depends on if the box is sealed of if you are going to vent (port) it. If it is sealed no it can be all the way open as long as it is large enough for all the subs. If you vent it (I suggest) I would separate the 3 subs into there own chamber. The key is to make the box large enough for all of the subs...vented or sealed

Dan @ 2009-06-26 08:16:08

you don't have to give each subwoofer its own chamber, but its a smart thing to do if you are going with a sealed box.



in a sealed box, if one of the woofers blows, then you suddenly have a box that is too large for the other woofers, which will give them a good chance to blow also.



if it were a ported box, then it wouldn't be necessary. but you definitly want to seperate the chambers in a sealed box.

RJ @ 2009-06-26 08:37:13

separate the speakers, when the subs play the air will be pushed out causing it to push the next sub up and so on... if you don't do that then the subs won't sound as good.

Big M @ 2009-06-26 09:02:36

[Subject]
Sub woofer for the car?
[Question]
Can i connect the sub directly to my mp3 player? or can it only go through an amplifier?

Jaber N @ 2009-06-26 07:23:44

[All Answers]
You can connect it directly but without some kind of equalization, I doubt you'll like the way it sounds.



The fundamental laws of physics make reproduction of deep bass notes inefficient. To get a "flat" response (equal volume at all frequencies) you need to either amplify the bass notes to high power levels or lower the non-bass notes with an equalizing network.



The equalization approach is a good one if you can do it before the power amplifier. Does your MP3 player have a hook-up for a graphic equalizer? If not, equalizing after the power amp just throws most of your power away. Not a good thing.

Justa @ 2009-06-26 07:48:06

nope. subwoofers require way more power to run then an mp3 player can provide. so you need an amp for one.

RJ @ 2009-06-26 08:42:08

rj is right, you cannot do that, the sub requires a lot of power, you can't even power a set of speakers that are 3" and get good sound, stick to connecting it through the amp, its always possible you might burn the output (headphone) on your mp3 player

Big M @ 2009-06-26 09:07:52

[Subject]
Will a Rockford Fosgate P3 Subwoofer need a Ported Box..?
[Question]
i listen to rap, so idk if ported is the only way to go.?



I can either get Shallow Mount or Non Shallow Mount!



THANKS!

Sean O @ 2009-06-26 06:16:43

[All Answers]
I think it probably depends on the box size Cuase their would be to much pressure inside the non ported box if it was small and would effect your sound quality or damage somthing like the box or woofer.



Thats just an assumption though as ive never actually tried this myself.



Goodluck! :)

Nikita @ 2009-06-26 06:39:44

For Rap music you would probably prefer the ported enclosure built properly .

don't buy the shallow mount unless you have to, for mounting depth problems, and they will work very well in sealed enclosures between .75ft - 1.25ft3, but if you have the room - Ported /Non shallow.

If you are not going to build the enclosure or have a pro build it for you the KPVR series from Audio Enhancers works very well with the P3's

masterinstall3 @ 2009-06-26 07:14:08

you can use any type of enclosure that you want. its all down to personal preference, and the amount of space you want to spare.



ported boxes are louder, sealed boxes are smaller.

RJ @ 2009-06-26 08:48:25