capacitor with car alarm

Home / the12volt's Install Bay / Car Security and Convenience / capacitor with car alarm (

Topic Closed)

Welcome Guest :)

Members

< Prev Topic Next Topic >

paultman

Member - Posts: 19

Joined: March 16, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: March 22, 2003 at 12:13 PM / IP Logged

Hey everyone. I've got this new acura and a new alpine 150-r that i'm installing stuff in. For the audio system I bought a 1F capacitor and was wondering if I could take the alarm power off of that instead of the battery.

That way if someone pulls the battery, the cap will provide power to the alarm for a bit longer (as a second battery backup would). At first I was thinking that the power fluxuations might be an isse as the amps can draw 1000w but when the alarm is active i will be away from the car, obviously the stereo will be off.

Do u think this is a good idea? Or should I just run the power to the battery?

Thanks lots!

Paul

paultman

Member - Posts: 19

Joined: March 16, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: March 22, 2003 at 4:23 PM / IP Logged

Can someone PLEASE offer some advise/insight.....

djfearny2

Silver - Posts: 810

This member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.

Joined: September 23, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: March 22, 2003 at 4:39 PM / IP Logged

ssure you can do that problem is a cap only holds power for a short period of time. after it is disconnected from power source. so the minute some one take batt of the cap will supply power but it will run out especially if the alarm goes off . buy a alarm backup batt there cheap and they also set off the alarm if power is loss a while the alarm is set.

Jon

Installer/Help Technician

---coral springs florida---

mecp certification is not always needed. I have it and it has not helped me out at all. my experience out shines it.

Chris Luongo

Platinum - Posts: 3,746

This member consistently provides reliable information

Joined: May 21, 2002

Location: Massachusetts, United States

Posted: March 22, 2003 at 8:50 PM / IP Logged

Well, it would be a good idea in theory, but there would be a few issues when you actually do it:

First, remember that your capacitor is directly tied into EVERYTHING in your car. Sure, you're going to place it near the amplifiers for better performance, and for ease of installation----but then that thick red power cable goes out under the hood to your battery, and then the factory battery cable goes off to supply the ignition, lights, wipers, and so on.

So no matter where you find constant power for your alarm, it'll be tied into the capacitor no matter what.

And when someone breaks in, the siren'll be going off, the parking lights will be flashing, the dome light will be on (because the door is open)...... if the battery were disconnected, I wouldn't think the capacitor would keep all this going on for very long at all.

paultman

Member - Posts: 19

Joined: March 16, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: March 22, 2003 at 10:18 PM / IP Logged

Thanks chris,

Yeah the cap is going to be in the trunk, and yeah there is 4gage red wire going from the battery to it.

I don't see the problem u have (in your 3rd paragraph) that it'll be tied to the capacitator no matter what. That's what i'm saying, going through the cap to the battery instead of directly to the battery.

Yeah, if the battery is disconnected and the alarm is still going off maybe the criminal will think i've got a backup battery somewhere and give up and leave, then a minute later the juice is gone and the alarms stops. I donno, it's possible...

Also i'm going to test how long the alarm will last off of the 1farad cap tomorrow. I figure it should last at least a few minutes after all i'm suppose to charge the cap a while before even putting it in the system.

I realize it's not the best solution (a backup battery would be) but come on, I've got this cap for my audio system, and it's only a little longer wire to connect the alarm to it instead of the battery. also it would be no "extra" effort on my part to do it.

i'll see tomorrow (assuming i can install the darn alarm myself :)

Paul

floaterr

Silver - Posts: 383

Joined: December 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: March 23, 2003 at 7:57 AM / IP Logged

Personally, go ahead and hook up the alarm there if you really want. It's just as good as under the dash or running a wire to the battery. The only issue I might see would be that if your amp popped a fuse the alarm would go dead. Although how often does that happen?

You might want to relay the parking lights and domelight to another power circuit. That way if the system is running on the cap then the lights will NOT flash and in turn not eat up the cap's power.

Chris Luongo

Platinum - Posts: 3,746

Joined: May 21, 2002

Location: Massachusetts, United States

Posted: March 23, 2003 at 3:53 PM / IP Logged

When I say that you'll be hooked up to the capacitor no matter what....

Every single constant-power wire in the car are ALL tied together at some point or another...

Start at the battery. We've agreed that from the battery, you have a fuse, and then 4-gauge power cable going to your capacitor and amps.

Also, from the battery, is a factory Honda wire going to the factory Honda fuse box. After the fuse box, different wires exit and go to a number of locations: positive power feed for the domelight, positive power for the horn, and so forth.

I won't start any debate about the usefulness or benefits of capacitors for audio systems...that would be an entirely separate discussion. But the only reason you're going to place the capacitor near your amplifiers is go gain the maximum benefit the capacitor can provide....the shorter and thicker the wire, the better.

So, if you wanted to, you could mount your capacitor on your ceiling, and tie it into the domelight's positive wire. Of course, this would be ridiculous-----the domelight wiring is so small, and so long, that your capacitor would have little (if any) effect on your stereo system. But I just mention this as an illustration---until a wire is cut or disconnected, or a fuse blows, all of those circuits are tied together.

So I'd have to say that the moral of the story is, get power for your alarm from a location that the thief is least likely to cut power to. Using the power cable for the amps is probably a good idea-----the theif is not likely to suspect this, and will probably ignore any audio wiring and leave it alone.

Sorry, you can NOT post a reply.
This topic is closed.

Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Search the12volt.com

Follow the12volt.com

Disclaimer: *All information on this site ( the12volt.com ) is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular use. Any user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this information. Please verify all wire colors and diagrams before applying any information.

capacitor with car alarm

Sorry, you can NOT post a reply.This topic is closed.

Sorry, you can NOT post a reply.
This topic is closed.