I have a 1.5 Fahrad with my diamond audio setup
(900 watt 12")
(500 watt mids+tweets)
and i just got a 6 fahrad, I am not sure how to install, the instructions suck
the whole discharge and charge thing isnt clarified....
anyone ?

 

The best thing you can do is throw both caps away. They are doing more harm than good. What you need to do is upgrade to a high output alternator.

 

Use a resistor between the positive pole and the battery to charge it. Use a test light connected between the poles to discharge.

Abe

 

I have a high output alternator.....
how would i charge it...if i disconnect my old cap, i have a wire coming from the amp and a ground to the frame...what wires would i need to run to charge it?

 

You only need 2 wires to charge the cap. One going to the + on the battery and the other going to ground.

You can use a lamp to charge the cap as well as a resistor. Hook it up in series with the cap and hook them up to your 12v source. When the lamp goes out the cap is charged.

BTW - If you have an HO alt and still need caps your alt must not be all that great. How many amps can it produce at idle?

 

its a 150 amp alt.
im thinkin my stereo just might be too strong or its wired directly to my battery or my battery is just getting weak

 

Once your engine is running your battery is no longer providing current or voltage to the stereo system. The battery becomes part of the load on the charging system just like the stereo and the rest of your car's electrical system. Your alt may be rated at 150 amps but it's output is probably considerably lower at idle speeds. This is where light dimming becomes most obvious on loud bass hits. I would check with wherever you got the alt and see what it puts out at idle speeds.

 

Just put a little small *** resistor in between the + wire coming from your battery and the + of the cap. Make sure it's grounded out. Don't have it hooked up to the amp yet. Use a multimeter, and when it reads 13.5 volts or so at the cap's terminals, you're good.

A 6 farad capacitor? For what? One sub and some components? Sounds a little much to me, whether or not you have an upgraded alternator. Are you actually having a problem with your car? Like low voltage, or lights dimming or something? And use a test light to discharge the old cap. That way you won't fry anything.

Abe

 

hah well you make it sound so easy and it probably is. the lights dim because i upgraded to the HID i think because it never used to do it before. Electrical problems? most likely, the foglights blow fuses weekly, so i gave up on that. I dont have as much time as i would like to try and learn to do this stuff yet. I can fix all kinds of stuff on a submarine, but the stuff on my own car kicks my *** sometimes...if you are in orlando you are about 2 hours away, feel free to come chew me out some more..not meaning that as a threat though.

 

If anything I would come help you out, not chew you out. And take your time to learn about your car, you're not going to learn everything in a week. And charging a capacitor isn't too hard, you just need a small resistor ($0.10 from Radio Shack for 6 of them) and a digital multimeter (between $15 and $50 from Radio Shack/Sears/SnapOn) and you can do it. Just make sure you don't, for instance, accidentally touch a wrench to the + and - terminal of the capacitor at the same time.

Where are you at in FL? I'm assuming somewhere on the water if you're working on submarines...Jax NAS?

Abe

 

nsb kings bay

aim: zkmfdmz
ill try and contact you when i get off work

 

haha for anyone that cares... i blew the fuse under my hood, i popped another one in and tightened the wires onto the cap and now it works great!