How does a capacitor work? (Car audio)?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Andy Dao
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Andy Dao

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How does a car audio capacitor for a car work? Or just a capacitor in general i researched it and i didn't really understand it.

Also how do you wire two capacitors to a car? With 1 amp?
 
capacitor is a reserve of power, or a power conditioner, it keeps a constant charge should the amp require more power after the subs hit. it should be wired inline with the amp, also prior to installing the cap needs to be charged read the instructions carefully as you can damage the cap if done incorrectly. 1 farad per 1000 watts.
 
a capacitor stores an electrical charge and when contact is made is dischagres.. I own't get into the coils and electromagnetism etc...
so your sub question about wiring them to a car isn't detailed enough. the car frame? Why to shick someone that touches it? the car has 1 amp? you want a 1 amp capacitor? BTW amperage is what causes death, not the voltage, and a full 1 ohm cap WILL cause death if fully charged.. You should do some more googling.. remember that e= I X R
 
short answer is that it stores energy and stiffens the voltage drop when using a lot of power.

and here is my long answer to that...

A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing esle. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help. The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient.

It's recommended for every 500 watts MAX you use a 0.5 Farad cap
Example: 1000 watts MAX - 1 Farad cap

A capacitor must be charged just before you supply power to it once installed.

It's best to install it as close to the amp as possible. You may need to get additional power and ground wire the same size you have now. Otherwise, cut the ground and power wire leaving enough room to mount it. The overall length of the ground wire should as short as possible (18" or less if possible, not critical).

Remove the fuse at the battery. If you don't have one, you need one that is rated the same as the total fuses that are on the amp. It must be no more than 18" from the battery. This fuse is really just to protect the battery (and the car from catching fire) from shorts in the power wire, nothing else.

Connect the ground from the chassis to the cap then to the amp.

Connect the the power wire (from fuse by the battery) to the cap then to the amp.

To charge the cap, get a 12v light bulb with leads. Temporarily connect the power wire from the battery to one side of the bulb (at the fuse) and connect the other side of the bulb to the wire going to the cap. The bulb will light and over a period of time (10-20 seconds) it will get dimmer. When the bulb goes out, the cap is charged. Basically, your going to put the light bulb where the fuse was.

Now you can re-install the fuse and your done.

and remember to be careful with the cap as they can be dangerous if you don't do something right. always remove the fuse before messing with it
 
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