How to install a capacitor?
02-01-2003, 12:43 PM
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How to install a capacitor?
Ok I have the basic gist of it but ...what I need to know about is the pre-charging. How do you do this...im not sure if the capacitor came with anytype of charging board so can somone give me some help.. BTW Iam a little clueless about this cause its for my brothers ride and i havnt done any research on this..
PLEASE HELP!
PLEASE HELP!
02-01-2003, 02:24 PM
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make sure you mount the capacitor as close as possible to the amp(s) for greatest efficency... use a seperate ground, not the amps ground, but ground them to the car at the same point.
As far as charging it... being sure the fuse at the battery is out, connect everything properly first... then once everything is connected, jump the 2 terminals of the fuse holder with a small 12 volt light bulb... a test light works well... keep it there till the bulb goes out, it might take a minute... once it does, pop the fuse in and you should be ready to go.
You can also connect everything but the power lead from the battery to the cap, use the bulb between the power wire and the positive terminal of the cap, again untill it goes out... I just find its easier to get everything done first, then charge it at the fuse as the last step.
As far as charging it... being sure the fuse at the battery is out, connect everything properly first... then once everything is connected, jump the 2 terminals of the fuse holder with a small 12 volt light bulb... a test light works well... keep it there till the bulb goes out, it might take a minute... once it does, pop the fuse in and you should be ready to go.
You can also connect everything but the power lead from the battery to the cap, use the bulb between the power wire and the positive terminal of the cap, again untill it goes out... I just find its easier to get everything done first, then charge it at the fuse as the last step.
02-01-2003, 06:12 PM
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it depends on the wattage of the bulb... if its a tiny bulb and you're charging a large capacitor, it will take a little bit. A larger watage bulb will allow more power to flow to the capacitor... so it will take less time. All charging does is avoid a large spark when you connect the capacitor... using the bulb limits the current flowing to the capacitor, allowing it to build up a charge slowly.
02-01-2003, 06:15 PM
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I should have also noted that I used the charging board that came with it. It has some very basic electronic components and 2 LED's on it. It is a Rockford Fosgate 1 farad.
02-01-2003, 11:45 PM
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Ok he didnt get a charging board with his cap... its a MosterCap and i believe its .5 farad... Ok and as far as the light bulb...im a little confused with the "charge it at the fuse" So i ground the cap and run the power line to the cap , then what fuse terminals do I jump with the bulb. And could you explain "jump the terminals"..
02-02-2003, 07:28 PM
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Ok, wire everything up... power to the cap and amps... ground for the cap and amps... do this without the fuse at the battery installed (you should always pull the fuse when working on it)... then once everything is wired up and before you put the fuse in... take a bulb in a socket with wires or a test light, and connect one wire to each of the 2 terminals for the fuse (with the fuse still out)... essentially allowing power to flow to the cap and amps... do this with the amps OFF. Hope that clarified things.
