Installing a capacitor...

**Urinemachine** · 07-25-2004, 12:51 AM

I just boughta Tsunami 1.2F digital capacitor tonight because my HIDs slam the hell out of my voltage when they fire and I think this may help isolate power draw from my audio/video system. so yeah, that said, I spent some money on a decent capacitor. I know I can get a non-audio install capacitor for like $15 at a electric supply, but i wanted a presentable one.

Question is, how the hell do i install this thing? I read that i have to charge it with the resistor it came with. Can I use a car battery charger that i have? My battery is under the seat and a pain to get to... also. How do I install this? It's got a + and a -. The directions say - goes to chassis ground. Can I just wire that with 4Ga. wire to my grounding distribution block? I want to put the whole audio system on the capacitor so it always has enough power. So where do I go with the + terminal on the capacitor? It says "+ to the amp and +B to the battery..." but i don't see a "+B" just a "+" Sigh. Someone help!

**albysure** · 07-25-2004, 08:50 PM

it goes between the battery and the amp-closer to the amp

**frodobaggins** · 07-25-2004, 09:10 PM

Where can I get 1F or greater capacitors for $15-20 ?????

**fantomas** · 07-25-2004, 09:25 PM

cable goes from the battery to the + side of the cap. and then, it goes from the + side of the cap to the amp. the - goes to ground. all wires should be the same size. you might want to search for more detailed instructions.. search. you also have to charge the cap, etc...

**trdcpu** · 07-25-2004, 09:59 PM

i overheard this person speaking of a cap install in his car. he basically said he was an idiot and didnt charge the cap before wiring it in. this is what happened, according to him. He connected a wire to the battery, then grounded the cap to chassis, and then immediately before the wire contacted the + terminal, a huge arc bridged the wire to the terminal, and sparks were flying, then he looked at what he had done, and the wire had melted itself to the terminal, providing a strong automatically soldered connection. i do not suggest this, as it probably wrecks your battery, and could possibly explode the capacitor. but it might be fun to reenact at a safe distance, on camera.

**Grayscale** · 07-25-2004, 10:11 PM

thats what the resistors for...so the thing doesnt get pounded with current and go crazy. USE THE RESISTOR

**choyak** · 07-25-2004, 10:38 PM

Please keep in mind that no such thing exists as a 'digital capacitor'. A capacitor is a capacitor and nothing else. 'digital' probably refers to a digital voltmeter installed in the capacitor!!!

**Urinemachine** · 07-26-2004, 02:00 AM

Originally Posted by choyak

Please keep in mind that no such thing exists as a 'digital capacitor'. A capacitor is a capacitor and nothing else. 'digital' probably refers to a digital voltmeter installed in the capacitor!!!

This is what i mean, i know this. The $15 - $20 capacitors are like those used @ physics labs... y ou can get 1F variants of the block capacitors for cheap, they're not nice to look at though. I got it in successfully, everythign is great.