charging a cap?

alright fellas.... the dumb question of the week.....CAPS....i know how they work but i dont know why they work......

why do you charge a cap?

when do you charg a cap during install procedure

how to charge a cap?

do you have to?

thanks fellas

lol @ shredder

why do you charge a cap?

Beacuse uncharged capacitors will draw an increadible current when first charged. This displacement current can draw as much (theoretically) as a dead short circuit for a short amount of time before charging. In other words, charging keeps the fuses intact and the wire from lighting on fire...

when do you charg a cap during install procedure

I always though it should be charged after mechanically installed and before any wiring is hooked to it...

how to charge a cap?

Usually caps come with devices for charging, its just a glorified resistor, you are tring to avoid that short amound of infinite (theoretically) current draw. So you put a resistor in series to charge it.

do you have to?

Its a good way to avoid blown fuses and broken caps, but its your call. It looks fine from my house

You can also use a small light bulb as a resistor to charge a cap.