Capacitor help

[Melt]

I got a legacy 1 farad capacitor today and have no idea how to hook it up. It says I gotta charge it and do some other stuff. Also that thing is way bigger than I thought it would be. Can someone help me?

[slammed89civic]

ok, first find where you want to mount it, and cut your main power wire (the one that goes to your battery
) in half close to where you want to mount it, there should be 2 terminals on top (or 3 - 4 if it is a digicap) the teminals should be marked as + charge, and - discharge. where you just cut your main wire connect the half that leads to your battery to the + or "charge" post
and the end that goes to your amp to the other post.

it has been hella long since i last installed one so you might want to make sure im right

[slammed89civic]

WOW SHIT I WAS OFF!!!! im glad i double checked it for you before you blew it up! N E wayz here is a guide:




So, you have selected the cap and have brought it home. Whoopee! If this is your first cap install, hopefully the brand came with good installation instructions. If not, never fear, the rest of this article shall suffice!

First things first, you need a way to charge the capacitor into usability mode. To do this, you will need the charging board that comes with just about any name brand cap out there. It is usually a simple card (computer card looking) with a positive 16ga wire and negative 16ga wire. Simply follow the included instructions, administering the power wire from a 12V source to your cap's positive terminal. Don't forget to ground it too. Now hook the card up, positive-to-positive and negative-to-negative (or ground). When the indicator on the card, usually a light, comes on the capacitor is fully pre-charged.

Now for installation time. Select a good spot, at most 18" from the amplifier on the power wire. Cut the power wire on the amp at the location where the cap is to go, and connect the wire to the positive terminal. If you are using ring terminals, install the first one flat on the base of the terminal. Then, run the second half of the spliced power wire from the positive terminal (set the second ring right on top of the first one) and run it to the fuse block. If you are installing using RF's super cool distribution block cap, simply hook the wire to the amp in the appropriate slot, and the 12V lead (to battery) in the appropriate slot. Instructions are included.

Now, let's not forget about the ground. The cap should be grounded close by, possibly in the same spot the amp was grounded. Using the same gauge wire, run the ground cable to the negative terminal (usually the one not marked). Next, if your cap came with a remote lead terminal, run this to either the ACC fuse in your fuse block or to the REMOTE/ANT lead on your receiver using 16ga or so wiring. Now, with the wiring all in place secure the cap into place using an included bracket (if included) or using some 3" pipe brackets from Home Depot. Not to worry, you can install the cap right side up, upside down, side way, diagonally, whatever. Just so long as the vent at the top is never covered or blocked.

You can now proceed to safely hook your battery terminals back up and enjoy better response, especially in the bass area!

[Melt]

thanks for the info. Mine came with a lightbulb that indicates when it is charged.

[slammed89civic]

not a problem bro glad to help anyone who loves 4th gens! :0)

[Melt]

Ok, was busy doing the install tonight, mounted it nicely, but ran out of 0 rings so I had no way to connect the ground Guess its another trip to Autohaus for me, damn I hate that place, all their shit is overpriced and they always give me "fuck you" service just because I am buying parts from them and not actual components. Maybe Wal-Mart sells O-rings, hell I got my entire wire kit there, then I wouldnt have to deal with those autohaus bitches. Hopefully I will have it up and going tommorow, and I will be able to take pix for you guys.

And to all my bay area / central valley peeps, is anyone hitting up that "Audio Drag" that is supposed to happen one of these weekends over at some audio shop over in Sac on florin road? I will try to get more info on it.

[Melt]

Ok, I think its over at audio express, I will call them to confirm (while im at work:finger: ) Anyhow here is their addy and a small map off their website

FLORIN
5950 Florin Road
Sacramento, CA 95823
Phone# (916) 399-9055
Fax# (916) 399-9027

[Melt]

Fuck autohaus. I used their connectors and now NOTHING works!! I did everything right, I will probably go get some more O rings over at best buy but i think i fucked my shit up. Hopefully my homey over at radio shack will help me sort this out.

[Melt]

Ok, i am pretty sure its the grond, I am going to attempt to fix that and if that doesnt fix i I am going to shoot somebody. Cause I got the crossover working but the amp wont power which I am assuming is due to this feature it has that it doesent power if the ground is no good.

[Melt]

Amp still wont power Is it possible that I fucked it up while I was hooking up the cap? This sux, i try to make 1 simple addition to my system so it wont fuck up alternator/battery/electrical system, and it fucks up the amp

[Melt]

Seeing as you guys dont really care / cant help I am going to post a convo I had with darkimportgrey, it started out with him asking me about exhaust and escelated into a nice convo about audio (he knows a lot)

DarkImportGrey: hey dude
Melt Dogg: yo
Melt Dogg: whats up
DarkImportGrey: not much... i have a 4g 4door too, i was wondering what exhaust you have
Melt Dogg: its generic
Melt Dogg: muffler
Melt Dogg: I also got a high flow cat
Melt Dogg: I should have gone full cat-back, but I didnt have the money at the time
Melt Dogg: and my muffler rusted through and fell off
Melt Dogg: so I just ended up replacing that
DarkImportGrey: hmm
Melt Dogg: and later the cat failed, so I got the highflow cause its cheaper than a stock replacement
Melt Dogg: I think the cat might be a Jackson racing because the guy at the shop seemed to love those, but I paid way less than i think those retail for so I doubt it
Melt Dogg: a quick question, assuming this is the same darkimportgrey I have seen on Automotiveforums.com, where have you been? You were there for a while in the beginning (when I first registered) and then you sort of dissapered off the face of the earth
DarkImportGrey: work.
Melt Dogg: oh
Melt Dogg: yeah, work can be a bitch sometime
Melt Dogg: s
DarkImportGrey: yeah
DarkImportGrey: well thanks dude
Melt Dogg: I ended up getting an "american legacy series 2, 1 farad capacitor" for my system
DarkImportGrey: cool
Melt Dogg: but I think I blew up the amp in the process of putting it in
Melt Dogg: cause the crossover still powers but the amp doesent
DarkImportGrey: hmmm
Melt Dogg: the amp was old and I got it for free
DarkImportGrey: i don't trust caps...
Melt Dogg: but it was still a tight amp, and I dont really have money for a new one
Melt Dogg: been checking out ebay though
DarkImportGrey: yeah, money is a big problem
Melt Dogg: and I will talk to some people I know to verify its the amp, and not my hookups
Melt Dogg: I will possibly also go to the flea market
DarkImportGrey: yeah do that
Melt Dogg: I got my kicker there fairly cheap and no problems yet
DarkImportGrey: yeah, you can find some good deals
Melt Dogg: do you think I could have blown the amp or do you think its the hookups?
Melt Dogg: I followed all the instructions on the packaging
DarkImportGrey: well it depends on the amp.... if the amp has a protection circuit then it could be ok... if not, then it could be fried
Melt Dogg: its got some shit so it wont power on unless its properly grounded
Melt Dogg: but im pretty sure its grounded well so its probably messed up
DarkImportGrey: where'd you ground it, and where is it mounted?
Melt Dogg: I grounded it to one of the rear speakers and rubbed off all the paint to be sure it would be grounded
Melt Dogg: the entire system worked great before I got the cap
Melt Dogg: and i am sure the cap is powered cause i did the charging shit with the lightbulb
DarkImportGrey: hmm
DarkImportGrey: i don't know what to tell you
Melt Dogg: and the x-over is powered like a i mentioned before
Melt Dogg: ok
Melt Dogg: is there a better location you could suggest for the ground?
DarkImportGrey: where is the amp?
Melt Dogg: in the trunk next to the sub
Melt Dogg: secured to the carpeting with velcro
DarkImportGrey: i'd ground it on the rear suspension pillar
Melt Dogg: how do I get to that?
DarkImportGrey: it's under the grey carpet in the back by the back of the rear seats
DarkImportGrey: take off the cover over the rear lights, then pull up the carpet that is on the sides
Melt Dogg: aight
DarkImportGrey: i'd ground it there
Melt Dogg: I will try that cause I have pretty much given up on everything else
DarkImportGrey: i've got my amp under my passenger seat, and i grounded it on the bolts that hold the seat down
Melt Dogg: cool
Melt Dogg: but me moving my amp to that location would suck, I would have to cut and rewire shit, but may ultimatley do that if my current one is blown
DarkImportGrey: yeah
Melt Dogg: time to go tubbin
DarkImportGrey: hehe
DarkImportGrey: take it easy
Melt Dogg: i will, good talking to you
DarkImportGrey: you too

Auto response from Melt Dogg: rub a dub, in da tub