cap question...
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cap question...
Well i was driving at night and i put the bass on even tho i rarely use it and i was looking at the car in front of me and i noticed that my lights looked like they were flashing everytime the bass hit. thought it was kinda amusing, lol. Anyways, since i need a cap im guessing, is it easy to install, like a digital one? Just plug in or lots of wiring? thanx
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Rep Power: 337 its cake. pos goes to yoru D block, neg goes to any ground.
if you have no D block, cut yoru power line ANYWHERE and put a ring terminal on both cut ends.
then screw both rings to yoru cap and ground neg, its that simple!
only thing ot remember is to charge it if its discharged, your cap will come with instructions.
if you have no D block, cut yoru power line ANYWHERE and put a ring terminal on both cut ends.
then screw both rings to yoru cap and ground neg, its that simple!
only thing ot remember is to charge it if its discharged, your cap will come with instructions.
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Rep Power: 337 sometimes 1 farad is enough, sometimes many farads are required. its different for every situation, and empirically derived.
i think they are on ebay for $25ish per farad. i think.
i think they are on ebay for $25ish per farad. i think.
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Rep Power: 329 to charge a cap you need to put something inbetween the power wire and the cap terminal. like a resistor or a test light. a 1k resistor works great. test light is good because when it goes out, you know that the cap is mostly charged. hold the resistor/light there for about a minute to be careful, then directly connect the power wire to the cap.
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Rep Power: 288 its easy. but it might not solve you light dimming problem.
caps arent to solve that they r there to ease the strain on the alternator. so dont think its not workin if your lights still dim.
it all depends on the wireing of the car. it stopps some cars and doesnt on others.
caps arent to solve that they r there to ease the strain on the alternator. so dont think its not workin if your lights still dim.
it all depends on the wireing of the car. it stopps some cars and doesnt on others.
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caps arent to solve that they r there to ease the strain on the alternator. so dont think its not workin if your lights still dim.
and they would increase alternator strain if anything
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Rep Power: 288 it is a capacitor all it does is hold voltage so when the bass hits (high current draw) it doesnt take from the battery witch suddenly makes the alternator work harder. the caps fufills the amps needs and the battery fufills the cap in ter easing the electrical system.
ALOT of people r missunderstood about caps!!
and its proven that it decreases alternator stain.
i would do a lil more research double b 4 offering advice i spent a month in installer training and installed for 2 yrs.
btw: im not tryin to be a d!ck
ALOT of people r missunderstood about caps!!
and its proven that it decreases alternator stain.
i would do a lil more research double b 4 offering advice i spent a month in installer training and installed for 2 yrs.
btw: im not tryin to be a d!ck
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Rep Power: 337 could you show me where its proven that it decreases alternator strain, please?
i mena, id believe it based on my own experience, because when i had a cap connected in my car, the alternator would never bump up to 14 volts unless I was over 3500 rpm.
of course, the battery died a whole lot, it was never charging!
but that seems to me to be a cop out of a reason for reducing alternator strain.
so im wondering what your proof is for the reduction of alternator strain?
i mena, id believe it based on my own experience, because when i had a cap connected in my car, the alternator would never bump up to 14 volts unless I was over 3500 rpm.
of course, the battery died a whole lot, it was never charging!
but that seems to me to be a cop out of a reason for reducing alternator strain.
so im wondering what your proof is for the reduction of alternator strain?
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Rep Power: 288 http://www.infinitecaraudio.com/cgi-...ory=Capacitors
"help your alternator last longer"
just what i found quick
like i said i also have product training for every maker circuit city carries in the roadshop.
i wish i could link that thats the perfect example but its secure.
"help your alternator last longer"
just what i found quick
like i said i also have product training for every maker circuit city carries in the roadshop.
i wish i could link that thats the perfect example but its secure.
Last edited by 2k2redcivic; Apr 26, 2004 at 10:48 PM.
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Rep Power: 0 my friend has a rockford cap and his car does not dim at all with a jl w7 in his car, i have no cap and it dims with a infinity basslink, so i think the caps work, as long as they arent cheap? what u guyz think?
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Remember guys, the cap gets it's power from the alternator. So everytime it discharges, it has to juice up again from the alternator. This puts excess strain on the electrical system and may even take away hp.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 I wouldn't get one and I have two amps. No problems after all the upgraded grounding. I don't even think the headlights dim when I turn on the deck anymore.
All caps do is reduce dimming. But understand from above that dimming isn't really a bad thing. It's just that the alternator can't keep up, and the car accessories switch over to 12V battery power. So the headlights are dimmer at 12V. The cap won't really fix anything, just fool you by making the dimming go away. The cap just acts as a quick charge battery that draws power from the alternator.
All caps do is reduce dimming. But understand from above that dimming isn't really a bad thing. It's just that the alternator can't keep up, and the car accessories switch over to 12V battery power. So the headlights are dimmer at 12V. The cap won't really fix anything, just fool you by making the dimming go away. The cap just acts as a quick charge battery that draws power from the alternator.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 On another note, that HVS I have also acts as a capacitor for the whole car. But that one is supposed to prolong battery life and help voltage move more smoothly.
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Rep Power: 337 http://www.betteraudio.com/geolemon/newmain/battcapalt/
benefits and disadvantages to ugraded wiring, "the magic three" capacitors, batteries, alternators, etc.
benefits and disadvantages to ugraded wiring, "the magic three" capacitors, batteries, alternators, etc.
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From: B.C., Canada
Rep Power: 786 Rule of thumb is .5 farad per 500 rms watts of power, 1.0 farads per 1000 rms watts and so on.
My question for this thread is what happens if I don't charge my cap before I install it? Do they not charge themselves by definition of what their function is?
My question for this thread is what happens if I don't charge my cap before I install it? Do they not charge themselves by definition of what their function is?
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Rep Power: 337 they charge jsut fine, its jsut a good idea to charge it manually the first time due to the intense surge of current when its completely drained.
in DC voltage, a capacitor is a dead short when 100% drained. the battery doesnt like this, the capacitor doesnt like this! its not uncommon for capacitors to destroy themselves with such an impact charging!
so we add a resistor inline the first time so its not a total dead short.
after that, the cap never discharges past the voltage of teh battery, so it can handle surges just fine. its not a total dead short!
mystic, bart's server is down right now, itll work when its back up! its actually a very very good read
in DC voltage, a capacitor is a dead short when 100% drained. the battery doesnt like this, the capacitor doesnt like this! its not uncommon for capacitors to destroy themselves with such an impact charging!
so we add a resistor inline the first time so its not a total dead short.
after that, the cap never discharges past the voltage of teh battery, so it can handle surges just fine. its not a total dead short!
mystic, bart's server is down right now, itll work when its back up! its actually a very very good read
btw, I upgraded to an Optima Yellow-top grp51 about a week or two ago, and it helps absolutely none with lights dimming... they dim just as bad with the Optima as they did with the stock one
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Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit
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Rep Power: 0 Sometimes just replacing the grounds with larger wire from your battery to your frame, alternator, and engine help remove dimming.
It could be your friends car has decent wiring for his grounds and you don't. I've heard (take it with a grain of salt) of people running 2000K RMS without needing a cap. And most get a second battery instead of a cap.
It could be your friends car has decent wiring for his grounds and you don't. I've heard (take it with a grain of salt) of people running 2000K RMS without needing a cap. And most get a second battery instead of a cap.
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Rep Power: 337 be careful, you might find unforseen undesireable effects, like drained batteries!
not saying it will for sure happen, but definitely be on the lookout for potential negative consequences!
not saying it will for sure happen, but definitely be on the lookout for potential negative consequences!
