RF Capacitor

[lilsweets3138]

Hi again,

A friend of mine gave me a 1 Farad Rockford Capacitor. He told me he's not sure If it works or not it's been packed away. Is there ANY kind of way I can test it to see If it does work? Can I take it to an audio shop and they can check for me?

And what things will I need to install it? Wires etc.

Thanks alot

[Mangoamerican]

yeah, take it to a shop.. they should hook up a light bulb parallel to cap to see if it charges - you will need another ground wire a short power wire and 4 ring terminals.

a cap can add some fidelity to your audio system - you wont get more "bang" though

[lilsweets3138]

Thanks...yeah I'm not looking for more bang. It's just my headlights and interior lights are all flickering while I'm driving and that bugs me. Also sometimes while I'm driving and make a sharp turn my CD deck will skip or cut off for a second. I know the cap will fix the light problem but what's up with the cd deck and making turns? Anyone know what this is?

[jakegday]

sounds like a cheaply made deck, you didnt buy it at a department store did you?

[lilsweets3138]

Originally Posted by jakegday

sounds like a cheaply made deck, you didnt buy it at a department store did you?

No It did not, it came from Crutchfield. JVC model.

[lilsweets3138]

Anyways..I have the capacitor I don't have the charge card! Where can I get one and for how much? I know it's really important to have one. I mean is my capacitor useless now since I don't have the charge card?

[Mangoamerican]

its not a charge card... its a 12volt light bulb... you can use a test light. you should replace your ground going from the battery to the chassis too.

[lilsweets3138]

Originally Posted by Mangoamerican

its not a charge card... its a 12volt light bulb... you can use a test light. you should replace your ground going from the battery to the chassis too.

Hmm,I'm talking about that little green looking chip thing with wires on it. You use it to charge the capacitor the first time. I don't know If were talking about the same thing..lol. Sorry If I didn't make myself clear.


Now This was a seperate question I asked about before but I think I understand now.
The ground wire going from the battery to the chasis. I will fix the whole cd deck shutting off when I turn when I replace the grounding wire.

[Mangoamerican]

no.. a good ground will allow electricity to flow better in your vehicle - taking strain off of your alternator. your cd player skipping could be because of a bad mount job.. you want to take it to somebody who can strap the back of your radio for you. id do it.... but im sure you live far away.

the cap card is not needed to charge your cap for the first time... you need resistance to charge a cap ( the card might have resistance)

[lilsweets3138]

Hey Mangoamerican ,thank you for all your help! I really appreciate it. Yeah I'm all the way in Maryland..:P But I will take up on your advice about the ground wires and CD deck.

Well I took my Capacitor to BestBuy today and they said there is NO way to test the capacitor unless they hook it up. I know this is not true because you and others have told me that you can. So I took it to another audio shop and an older man said sure we can test it. It looks like he used a voltage meter or someone kind of meter. It had a positive and a negative prongs and he held it over the capacitor. He said it was working condition. I then asked him how would he install this If I had him do it and he said that he would just cut the main power wire that runs from the amp and subs and place it in there. Does this sound right?

Or should I take it to BestBuy and let the younger guys do it? I know some of the guys on here have one of these installed and know the best way to do it. They also said I needed a kit..it would run around $50.00 for everything including installing..does this sound good?

-Christina

[Mangoamerican]

do what the old man says!