View Full Version : How do I charge a capacitor?
Ive just fitted a load of Fockford gear into my Rover but when I wire up the capaictor the amps dont work.
Ive wired the amp up inline with the main power feed, i.e. Im running the power cable into the +ve terminal of the capacitor, out of the -ve and into the power distribution block. Is this right?
Ive also got a little circuit board with e red an black wire cooming out of it and two leds on top. It says charge and discharge on top. I assume this charges the unit and I strap it to the top two terminals of the capacitor and then connect the red wire to a +ve feed and the black to earth. If thats the case how long do I leave it on for?
PhilMorrison
29-06-2002, 23:45
I seem to remember hearing sumwhere that they need charging before they work.:confused:
The stuff second hand but the little circuit boards got 'charge' and 'discharge' written on it so maybe the previous owner discharged it before selling it??
Im assuming that, as you say, it needs charging but I dont even know how long to put it on for???
I have not fitted one but am sure you have to charge it when first used or if not used for a long time.
PhilMorrison
30-06-2002, 17:52
Man I must have been tired last night, I did'nt read the title of ur post:rolleyes: :D
Find some info from other site..
Hopes it help
http://www.partsexpress.com/resources/capsetup.html
http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/268-450.pdf
Ray:) :)
Fantastic :)
Ive wired it up completely wrong then :rolleyes: Never mind, Ill have another crack at it now :)
The cap just kinda 'sits' on the positive wire, doesn't break it - then when the voltage on the wire drops the cap starts pumping out it's charge :) (I think!)
Earth is fairly obvious
Yeah I get it now. Makes sense when you think about it :)
Originally posted by JackaL
The cap just kinda 'sits' on the positive wire, doesn't break it - then when the voltage on the wire drops the cap starts pumping out it's charge :) (I think!)
Earth is fairly obvious
I've just read the links, and for once I'm not wrong!
Woooooooooooooo!!! :D
My explanation is still a bit obscure though!
Adding the cap is a bit like adding a battery in parallel, just wire the 12v + of the cap to your 12v + distribution block, and the - of the cap to Earth.
It was deffo wired wrong.
The positive terminal of the cap must always run in parallel to the positive terminal of the amp.
You wired it in series, so effectively, the amp was receiving a ground input on the positive terminal - hence no power.
Judging by the previous posts, looks like you've got sorted now.
Ive not rewired it yet but I know what Im doing now :) Well, unless it needs charging that is!! LOL
I bought me 1 farad cap about two years ago when i invested in my 2 15" Velocity subs (1500watts rms) the cap when purchased was simply connected to the the block and away i was. I didnt charge it its 1 of those caps which tell you the voltage. Right anyway what iv noticed is the voltage drops on the cap instead of increasing does that mean its doing the wrong thing ?????
Bren how do you recharge the cap that sounds soooo DUd considering iv only had the cap some what 2years!!! how do you recharge the cap ? ? ? ? i mean do you jus connect the positive to the battery and the negative to the battery ? ? ? Please help :mad: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Xcapade - Usually the Caps with the voltage display already have the circuitry (resistor) to charge it so it doesn't need to be charged as such. It should display around 11 volts with the engine off and around 14V with the engine on.
The voltage drop you see on the display is basically the voltage being provided to the amps by the Alternator.
You'll notice that when the Bass drops heavy, the displayed voltage will go down.
The reason I found I got voltage drop was thru the Power and Ground leads. I was running 4 gauge wiring and it was dropping about 3 volts. I upgraded to 0 gauge and now I only get a 1.5 V drop.
You gonna be able to fit those 2 15's in the 200? :eek: Thats gonna be a major struggle!!
Didin mate it was the biggest stuggle in the world like trying to put an unwanted baby back inside where it came from. hehehe basicaly i had the box cut up and stuff and i cant get to the spare wheel at all i have nomore booot!!!!!! next time your free il show you when your down my sides. im waiting for my rims and zorst to be put on then im going to update my **** and take the CRAP vitara 5.5 BHP off and put the beast on it. I hope your well and mates wedding prep is going well. If theres anything i can do to help like move stuff then give us a holla i dont mind taking out the speakers.
! more thing mate the mounting youve done on your doors is OUTSTANDING have you amped the speakers and have you got a eq connected. Hope to bump into you soon mate take care all the best
P.S DIDDIN WAS THE PERSON WHO TOLD ME ABOUT THIS SITE SO THEREFORE HES GOD FOR ME!!!!
:cool: :cool: :cool:
Enough of the praises already!!! Just doing my duty and spreading the word to Fellow 200SX'ers. :)
Thanks for the offer of help re the wedding but I think we have everything covered.
When I first got my 200 about 3.5 years ago, I put 2 12s in the boot. Big old box, and likewise, couldn't get to the spare wheel and no boot space at all.
It sounded pretty cool, they were Rockfords running off an Alpine amp at 150RMS each.
A couple of weeks later I decided I needed the boot space and wanted to access my spare wheel. I travel on the motorway to work and back everyday and didn't wanna risk being stranded on the hard shoulder without being able to get to the spare.
So thats when I came across Diamond Subs. They need a lot of power, but work best in a box of 0.5 Cubic feet!!! :eek: (for the 10s that is).Thats basically the same size box they are packaged in!!.
They totally outperform the Rockfords, and pretty much anything else I've ever heard.
Not running an EQ but the front speakers are Amplified.
Would be cool to hook up some time.
Where abouts are you? I'm in Hayes/Yeading.
I live in southall mate jus down the road would be fab to bump into you again and compare the motors. Give me a shout
07985 104470.
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