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Mr.J
12-12-2002, 04:58 PM
Does a capacitor need to charge for a while before you use it? If so how long? I'm trying to figure out if mine is broken or I just need to let it charge.
Thanks
00CericaRuss
12-12-2002, 05:10 PM
i actually don't think they need to charge for longer than a couple seconds... not 100% sure though.
scorp
12-13-2002, 09:30 AM
caps take milliseconds to recharge.
Mr.J
12-13-2002, 12:31 PM
gotcha, so mine must be broken if it doesn't work when I install it.
Pribilof
12-14-2002, 01:56 PM
maybe you just installed it incorrectly. whats you definition of not working?
exotic performance
12-15-2002, 05:02 PM
either you have it hocked up wrong or you have the wrong size. you should have a 1/2 of fairit for every 500watts.
Mr.J
12-16-2002, 03:50 PM
Well...

I hooked it up (I'm assuming this is idiot proof but perhaps not) with the power wire going in one terminal and out the other to my amp and all it did was turn on this little red light on top. The readout on it did not come on nor did my amp I believe.
http://www.audiobahninc.com/images/products/ACAP1Q_lg.gif
This thing has a nasty dent in it too which I'm suspecting may be the problem, or that I hooked it up backwards (if that's possible). Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!
00CericaRuss
12-16-2002, 04:32 PM
i don't think you could hook em up backwards... at least this kind...
the dent may be your problem.
h1coupe
12-16-2002, 04:35 PM
where did you hook your ground and remote to? you have to ground the cap too!
exotic performance
12-17-2002, 08:56 AM
yeah did you ground the cap? but if its new and has a dent i would take it back and tell them i didnt pay for the dent too so give me another one.
Mr.J
12-17-2002, 10:02 AM
I figured it out, thanks guys. I was trying to run power in one end and out the other instead of grounding it.
Camry2000
12-17-2002, 02:03 PM
You cap should have came with a resistor board that can be used to charge up the cap. It takes about a minute or so to charge it up completely. On my charger, the green LED goes out when fully charged.
Mr.J
12-17-2002, 02:12 PM
yep the green light came on and it's working perfectly! Props to everyone who helped me :D
Pimp Cat
12-18-2002, 12:55 AM
wow...ummm.....YOU CAN plug it in backwards

and charge it with the charge card or resistor that came with it
it should only take like a minute

here is the charge card that came with one of my new caps...sitting on one of the old caps
http://24.116.153.17/motor/Picture.jpg
Pimp Cat
12-18-2002, 12:56 AM
oh and one more thing...i would highly recomend NOT pluging your cap in backwards...they can blow up
Mr.J
12-19-2002, 09:04 AM
thanks pimp cat
2kcelicaGT
12-23-2002, 08:46 AM
i have a question, just installed my 1 farad PowerAmper digital cap yesterday, green light is on, digital readout goes from around 12.7-14.1 depending on what is bumping...but my indiglos, dome light, etc, STILL DIM, just a little, but same as always. my amp is rockford 800a2 and the subs are 2 10 Alpine Type R 1041D DVC's....is my cap not doing its job b/c 1 farad is not enough, or as one of my friends is telling me, there is a break in period for caps? maybe my cap is "breaking in", please help, thanks
Mr.J
12-23-2002, 01:21 PM
WHY DO PEOPLE BUY CAPACITORS?

The number 1 reason would have to be because their lights dim when their
system is playing HARD. In car audio, we are told that a capacitor is
designed to prevent the voltage drop associated with your lights dimming.
The number2 reason is that it is rumored to 'improve' sound quality or
'stiffen' the power supply/source.

WHY DO MY LIGHTS DIM?

Headlights brightness is in direct proportion to the source voltage. For
instance, if your car is running, system voltage is ~12.5 -14.4 VOLTS. Your
lights will be much brighter than when your car is turned off--where battery
voltage is ~12V. Most car alternators put out between 75 to 120 amps of
current. When this current draw threshold of the charging system is
exceeded, system voltage will drop as power demands are now shared by the
alternator and the storage devices (battery & cap). We are using battery
reserves beyond this point until the demand lessens

When playing your system really hard. Your lights dim because your
alternator can't keep up it's charging voltage (around 13.8V) and therefore,
demand exceeds output. When this happens, your electronic devices are
dipping into the power storage of the battery. Since the battery stores
power at ~ 12-12.5V, there is a 1.3 to 1.8V drop in voltage available. This
in turn is why your lights dim down.
Mr.J
12-23-2002, 01:23 PM
A lot of interesting stuff on capacitors:
http://pub51.ezboard.com/fcaraudioknowledgefrm7.showMessage?topicID=33.topi c
Pimp Cat
12-23-2002, 02:47 PM
well for one...most alts only put out 50-75amps of power but whatever..

in answer to 2kcelicaGT's questions...i bet you forgot to upgrade your ground wire huh... it does you NO good to run lets just say for ****s and giggles 2awg wire to your amps if you only have a 10awg ground from your chasis to the battery. does it?

NOPE
trust me i learned the hard way hehe


and next caps can only do so much..they are a median for your systems power your stereo will draw off the cap **if properly installed** which will help reduce voltage spikeage.
now you mentioned about sound quality. they will slightly help with that...have you ever heard your stereo when its starving for power..starts to sound like ****..once agian trust me i know. the only reason its "making it sound better" is because the cap is trying damn hard to help the cars voltage level out

i would have to say dont get caps get a batcap its about 100 1 farad caps for about the same price as one cap.....and last...i dont know how much you guys keep up with pro audio..but NONE of the competors use caps..they have a **** load of batterys and a high output alt or two..
exotic performance
12-23-2002, 06:42 PM
You need a 1/2 farhat for every 500 watts RMS.
2kcelicaGT
12-23-2002, 07:03 PM
QUOTE - in answer to 2kcelicaGT's questions...i bet you forgot to upgrade your ground wire huh... it does you NO good to run lets just say for ****s and giggles 2awg wire to your amps if you only have a 10awg ground from your chasis to the battery. does it?

what is awg...guage? i have 8 guage wire running to my amp, and then i used 4 guage wire to hook the cap to the amp...i dont think guage makes a big difference...what is this ground wire deal, please help.
exotic performance
12-23-2002, 07:52 PM
guage does make a difference
2kcelicaGT
12-23-2002, 09:52 PM
yea, thats why i got 4 guage...
Pimp Cat
12-23-2002, 11:17 PM
for that 800a2 you should run at least 4awg running from the battery to your amp

this is what im talking about the ground
http://24.116.153.17/car/Picture%20021.jpg
i was once having the same prob you were..i had 2 caps..turns out my battery ground was only 10awg wire **very small** once i uped it to 1/0awg wire all my dimming went away
2kcelicaGT
12-24-2002, 11:58 AM
hmmm,. i'll look into that, thanks for the advice, dont know what my ground wire is...and i have 8 guage wire running from my battery to my amp :/ is this a problem apposed to 4 guage...which I did buy to connect from my cap, straight to my amp. This is the setup
^^
=======| |<><><><>
(4 guage)
2kcelicaGT
12-24-2002, 12:00 PM
hmmm,. i'll look into that, thanks for the advice, dont know what my ground wire is...and i have 8 guage wire running from my battery to my amp :/ is this a problem apposed to 4 guage...which I did buy to connect from my cap, straight to my amp. This is the setup, do you think my lack on a 4 guage wire from my battery to my cap/amp is decreasing my power?

^^
[battery]=======| |<><><><> [800a2 AMP]
(8 guage)| | (4 guage)
(cap)
2kcelicaGT
12-24-2002, 12:02 PM
hmmm,. i'll look into that, thanks for the advice, dont know what my ground wire is...and i have 8 guage wire running from my battery to my amp :/ is this a problem apposed to 4 guage...which I did buy to connect from my cap, straight to my amp. This is the setup, do you think my lack on a 4 guage wire from my battery to my cap/amp is decreasing my power?

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;^^
[battery]=======| |<><><><> [800a2 AMP]
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(8 guage)| | (4 guage)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(cap)
Pimp Cat
12-24-2002, 01:51 PM
this is how i would wire it
and the 800a2 has only a 8awg imput correct....i forget.been a few years since i had that amp
http://24.116.153.17/jason/wire.JPG
2kcelicaGT
12-24-2002, 05:30 PM
what is the dist block and what advantage do i get by using 4 guage wire to that, then the same 8 guage wire as I have now to my amp/cap,also how did you change your black battery wire, is it just grounded to the frame of the car...i have not really looked into this, but that is one of the major differences of the diagrams you are drawing...cause i still have stock size guage on my black battery wire, and i dont know how large the stock black wire is...how do i change this?
Pimp Cat
12-26-2002, 12:24 PM
its best to think of it as water pressure...if you have a little pipe feeding 2 little pipes you wont get much pressure out of each..but if you have one big pipe feeding two little pipes your gonna get a lot more pressure