using cap as distribution block
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=108560
Printed Date: April 25, 2024 at 11:43 AM
Topic: using cap as distribution block
Posted By: audioinstaller3
Subject: using cap as distribution block
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Since I have a cap, I plan to use it in my system. I am gonna wire it like this. 4 gauge power and ground first going to my 700wrms 2 ch. power acoustic amp. Then on top of those ring terminals 2 more 4 gauge going to my 4 ch. 120X4rms Kicker Amp, then on the very top my 4 gauge power and 4 gauge ground to chassis. So basically 3 ring terminals on each positive and neg. of the cap. Is it ok to put the power connection on the very top, so when I take my system out for track days, its simpler to remove my amp rack. Thanks Jason
Replies:
Posted By: soultinter
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 12:05 PM
sounds reasonable, however, this means that both amps draw off the cap instead of usually just the power hungry sub amp.
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 12:17 PM
One additional drawback... The screws on the top of those things are usually FAR too short to be secure enough in my opinion anyway. Adding all those additional terminals are going to stress the connections even further.
soultinter... a cap is there for filtering, as well. I can tell you from experience that EVERY amplifier in ANY system can benefit from the filtering capacities of a cap. I use 2F in my system, with all of my amps power cables (both positive AND negative, BTW...) coming off the bus bars that connect them together. This is ONE place where I can say I would recommend a cap, but NOT ever as the band-aid that they are so often described as.
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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: soultinter
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 2:08 PM
Interesting, can you please explain more in depth about the filtering ?
Posted By: soultinter
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 2:09 PM
also, as a side note, is there any way to test a cap to determine if it is really functioning as it is supposed to?
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 7:49 PM
soultinter wrote:
Interesting, can you please explain more in depth about the filtering ?
I will when I get near a real computer, instead of this infernal piece of technology known as an iPhone... Gawd I hate this thing ):> ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: reax222
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 8:08 PM
A cap resist changes in voltage, kind of like a battery does. I don't know the specifics on how it does it, I just know it's supposed to.
I have a distribution block on top of my cap, It has 4ga in and outs, and then a couple more outputs. Since my wires were less than a foot long I just used 10ga to connect my 200watt amp to the cap. If you keep the runs short enough you might be able to get by with smaller wires to other amps. Something kind of like this 
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 8:43 PM
audioinstaller, employ a proper distro block in your system. It shall have an output for each connection, and use the cap between it and the battery if you want it to perform for all amplifiers. If you want the cap for only the sub amp, connect it after the distro and before the sub amp. Avoid stacking connections. ------------- Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: October 31, 2008 at 10:48 PM
Here is a description of why caps are filters.
soultinter wrote:
also, as a side note, is there any way to test a cap to determine if it is really functioning as it is supposed to?
A really loaded question, there... What is the application? As a power supply "stiffener", they NEVER do what they are claimed to do. As a power supply filter, they (when sized correctly) will ALWAYS do what they are supposed to do. ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
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