Charging a new cap...

[WhiteLightning]

Bought a new 2.0 digi farad cap... and bastards didn't send the charging resistor/bulb. How can I charge it up otherwise? Has something to do with a 12v bulb... but if anyone can tell me exactly what to do it'd be appreciated. Thanks.

[AllTheGoodNamesAreGone]

well.. this is ghetto.. but it works..

wire the positive side to the cap.. and then put a negative wire on the cap.. but dont ground it just yet..

take the negative wire an manualy ground it for a few mins.. this is not the ideal method..
also be sore to stay a good 2-3 feet away from the cap in case it arcs..

it hasent killed me.. well.. yet anyway..

~Billy

[y87inside]

Cant you just hook it up regular and let it charge as the music plays...say with the volume at a low level? If ive been going with an uncharged cap all this time...that might be worth another decibel or 2!

[AllTheGoodNamesAreGone]

.. charging the cap has nothing to do with playing music.. its alot like a battry.. its needs power.. and a ground.. the charger plate on makes charging it a little "safer"..

~Billy

[megabass]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by AllTheGoodNamesAreGone:
.. charging the cap has nothing to do with playing music.. its alot like a battry.. its needs power.. and a ground.. the charger plate on makes charging it a little "safer"..

~Billy<hr></blockquote>

The reason for the resistor is to slow the flow of current down. An empty cap will suck power from your battery so fast that it's almost dangerous and could possibly blow your fuse or heat up your wiring and cause sparks.

I've heard of guys using the 12v bulb instead of the resistor. Just ground the cap to the car. And hold the bulb or resistor in-between the power wire coming off the battery and the positive terminal on the cap. If using the bulb, it will light up. If you use the resistor, remember, it will get very hot. I can't remember for sure, but I think the bulb goes out when the cap is charged. The whole process should only take 5-10 seconds.


[img]smile.gif[/img]

[AllTheGoodNamesAreGone]

yeah.. what he said.. I am looking around my apartment for the plate that mine came with but i cannot find it.. Someone my want to take a look at theirs to figure out what resistor to use..

~Billy

[WhiteLightning]

Billy,

I'm gonna try it that way, power to the cap, the manually ground the cap... how long should it take to charge that way, and where does it spark from?

[megabass]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by WhiteLightning:
Billy,

I'm gonna try it that way, power to the cap, the manually ground the cap... how long should it take to charge that way, and where does it spark from?<hr></blockquote>


Did you not read my post
:rolleyes:

[WhiteLightning]

Well, I've heard about 10 different things now lol. I'm running a 0 guage power cable from the battery directly to the cap, so putting a bulb inbetween isn't going to work out well, unless I can do that for the ground which shouldn't make a difference. I hear some say hold it for a while, some for a few seconds etc... I just wanna get it done lol. I think I'll go with the bulb, run the 0 guage power into the cap, 0 guage ground of the cap, then just a 4 guage that's already grounded, bulb between the two and wait a minute or until the bulb goes out or down. :mad:

[megabass]

Just remember that the bulb's only purpose is to limit the current going into the cap. So putting on the ground side isn't going to help any. Actually, that would make it worse.

This is why when you install a switch, you don't put the switch on the ground wire, you put it on the hot wire.

Put the bulb between the 12v source and the + terminal on the cap. That's the safest and most efficient way to do it.

[ June 18, 2003: Message edited by: megabass ]</p>

[FireFighter]

could you just use a battery charger on like a trickle charge?

[Cole Angrimson]

mine came with a resistor and it wasn't working. so i jsut said screw it and hooked it up. i grounded it out and touched the power cable to it. it lit up the digital reader and it took a sec but it charged and it works REAL good so far. it didn't spark much at all. and i didn't get zapped. oh well. [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]