capacitor with car alarm
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Security and Convenience
Forum Discription: Car Alarms, Keyless Entries, Remote Starters, Immobilizer Bypasses, Sensors, Door Locks, Window Modules, Heated Mirrors, Heated Seats, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=11273
Printed Date: June 01, 2024 at 4:32 PM
Topic: capacitor with car alarm
Posted By: paultman
Subject: capacitor with car alarm
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 12:13 PM
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
Replies:
Posted By: paultman
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 4:23 PM
Can someone PLEASE offer some advise/insight.....
Posted By: djfearny2
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 4:39 PM
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.
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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.
Posted By: Chris Luongo
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 8:50 PM
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.
Posted By: paultman
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 10:18 PM
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
Posted By: floaterr
Date Posted: March 23, 2003 at 7:57 AM
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.
Posted By: Chris Luongo
Date Posted: March 23, 2003 at 3:53 PM
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.
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