Rep Power: 297

okay.. me and a few of my friends had a little discussion about how to properly connect a 1farad capacitor... one of my friends has one hooked up in a series where the positive of the capacitor goes to the battery while the negative end goes to the positive side of the amp....

now my second friend has it in series also but has it on the negative side where the ground goes to the negative side of the capacitor then the positive side of the capacitor goes to the negative of the amp..

now my third friend has it where he runs it in parallel where the car battery goes to the positive end of the capacitor then continues on to the positive end of the amp... and then the ground of the car goes to the negative end of the capacitor and then continues on to the negative of the amp.. please help or give me your opinion on this

 
Rep Power: 328

Some capacitors require you to pre-charge them to attain usability mode. To do this, you will need the charging board that comes with the unit. It is usually a simple PC board card with a positive and negative 16 gauge wires. Simply follow the included instructions, administering the power wire from a 12V source to your cap's positive terminal. Don't forget to ground it too. Now connect the card, positive-to-positive and negative-to-negative (or ground). When the indicator on the card comes on, the capacitor is fully pre-charged.

At this point, its time for the installation. Select a good spot, no more than 18" from the amplifier on the + power wire. Cut the power wire on the amp at the location where the cap is to go, and connect the wire to the positive terminal. If you are using ring terminals, install the first one flat on the base of the terminal. Then, run the second half of the spliced power wire from the same positive terminal (set the second ring right on top of the first one) and run it to the fuse block. If you are installing a model that uses a distribution block cap, simply hook the wire to the amp in the appropriate slot, and the 12V lead (to battery) in the appropriate slot. As always, follow the instructions.

Don't forget about the ground (-) connection! The cap should be grounded close by, preferably in the same spot the amp is grounded. Using the same gauge wire, run the ground cable to the negative terminal (usually the one not marked). Next, if your cap came with a remote lead terminal, run this to either the ACC fuse in your fuse block or to the REMOTE/ANT lead on your receiver using 16 gauge or so wiring. With the wiring all in place, secure the cap into place using an included bracket (if included) or using some 3" pipe brackets from Home Depot. You can install the cap right side up, upside down, side ways, diagonally, or whatever. Just make sure the vent at the top is never covered or blocked.

 
Rep Power: 328

From here: http://www.electronixwarehouse.com/e...stallation.htm

 
Rep Power: 297

okay.. maybe i should rephrase that...i know how to connect capacitors cause i have always installed em before.. i have always followed the manual which is basically the same thing u guys just posted... but i have had friends that done it differently than the other stated above... which is what i have said above in my first post.. so now my questions is has anyone done so otherwise?

 
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" the negative end goes to the positive side of the amp...." What the hell is he thinking?

" the positive side of the capacitor goes to the negative of the amp" Your friends need to learn how to hook up a CAP for real.

thrid way is the way to do it.

 
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Does his amp actually operate? A capacitor in a series DC circuit will stop current flow once it is charged, effectively creating an open circuit.

 
Rep Power: 297

amps run fine in the first 2 setups... basically cause its running in a series.. if you know your electronics then you know what i mean.... i know the correct instructed way is to run it in parallel but just wanted to see if everyone else has done it in a series

 
Rep Power: 0

Actually I don't know what you mean. As a capacitor wired in series with a DC voltage source charges, it develops a voltage opposite that of the source. When the capacitor reaches full charge the opposing voltage will equal that of the DC source, and current flow in the circuit will approach zero. Current won't ever be exactly zero as current leakage is inherent to all capacitors, but it will be on the order of microamps at most, which is, for all practical purposes, zero.

If your friend can still run his amp in this series configuration then most likely a short has developed internal to the capacitor. In that case he might as well just remove the cap and run the power cable straight to the amp.