I have a capacitor that has no manual with it so I'm not positive on how to wire it.

I wired i inline with the power and ground cables so basically I just cut the cables and hooked up the wires to the capacitor. Will that work?

 

you have to load it first...

 

explain please

 

basically that means u have to add a resistor , i believe. there is a equation to figure out what how high of a resistor you need, but i can't remeber it, prolly something you could google tho...

 

The + of the cap gets connected inline with the Positive cable. The - side gets wired to ground.

You need to "charge" it with a resistor, or you're going to get one hell of a spark when you go to connect to your battery or fuse.

 

Well, it's already hooked up and I didn't get any sparks so I should be ok, right?

It is a used one that had been in a car before but it's been sitting in my basement for about 2 years.

What do you mean by a resistor?


Thanks

 

It depends, did you hook it up inline, or as I said to wire it?

A resistor, a simple electronic component; Used to limit current...

 

I hooked it up inline.

 

It's not doing a damn thing for you then...

 

So I'll just have to ground it then and it'll work?

 

Wire it as follows, but be careful, it can spark...


+ from main power wire to + on Cap
+ on Cap to + on Amp
- on Cap to Ground
- on Amp to Ground

If you are going to buy a resistor to charge the cap first, (1K ohm, 1/4W from radioshack, or 12V light bulb), then do the following:

+ from Main power wire to + on cap
- Cap to Resistor to Ground (This is where you charge the Cap, make sure you have the battery connected when you do the resistor/ground; after it's charged, disconnect the battery then continue)
Amp - to Ground
Cap + to Amp +

THen re-connect the battery, and you should be good to go. You can skip the charging, but it can/will spark pretty strongly.

 

Thanks!