Capacitors
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=26746
Printed Date: May 23, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Topic: Capacitors
Posted By: devilsquid
Subject: Capacitors
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 6:24 PM
When it comes to caps i am eirie of getting one because i know what they do if they blow...good bye parking lot! Neways, are there any particular companys known to produce quality caps, and are there any that i should stay away from? Im looking for a 1 to 1.5 farad. I am looking at stinger, but i want to hear other opinions on this one...straight up, caps scare the sh*t out of me.
Replies:
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 6:44 PM
Caps should scare the crap out of you, if they are connected wrong or installed in an unsafe manner, bad things can happen. Most caps that are name brand are all made by one or two companies. They are then "branded" at a Rockford Corporation factory for most companies. There has been a number of companies who are bringing in no name brands and we have experimented with some of them, buy the better manufactured name brand like Lighting, Rockford, Phoenix, Stinger, EFX etc.
-------------
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: elv1d1
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 11:27 PM
I agree captain. Listen to the man. Do not cheap out on the cap. First one I ever did was a cheap one for a friend. Who needs directions, I can just think it up and whoomp there it is. Connected it up basackwards and it blew all over everything. Years later a youngster jumped in on an install that was not for him. Rockford 1 farad connected both sides to positive and walked off. Long story short no problem. That cap is still working. But then from a product like that I would expect nothing less. -------------
Posted By: the Finn
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 11:32 PM
In addition to Rob's list, look at the Streetwires caps. Great stuff, all of them though. Stinger's got more "cool" factor on thiers, with lights and aluminum accents and that. Both great though.
-------------
~Cory
Car Concepts SLC
Alpine F#1Status Certified
Posted By: devilsquid
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 11:38 PM
i dont care about the 'cool' factor...i want a dependable cap! for a reasonable price...ive seen the stingers one farad for about 80 bucks on ebay...also they would match all the rest of my installation gear...thats why i mentioned them...
-------------
Posted By: MBZ oe
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 11:43 PM
What the heck are you guys talking about? Blowing up? Why would they blow up? I have a kind of cheap ($180) 3 Farad Voodoo (they have a website) and I'm not stupid enough to hook it up wrong or not follow the charge and discharge sequence. I pound like crazy and it has never failed. I am not worried about it either. FORBIDDEN? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? It sounds pretty far fetched. I've been to many shows and know many people with all kinds of caps, and nobody has ever had a problem. Especially not blowin up a parking lot. A ------------- BOOM, BOOM, BOOM BOOM....
Posted By: the Finn
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 11:43 PM
Any of the ones mentioned will work fine. They pretty much all come from the same place, so they all work about the same and shouldn't give you any trouble. 80 bucks is not too bad, although it's not hard to find them at a store for about 100 bucks with a warranty. 90 days, but still more than eBay will offer. Either way . . . One for the road: I like the Streetwires myself. Lower ESR than the other guys means faster charge/discharge! PSC241D 220.00 retail and worth it! Just a thought . . . ------------- ~Cory
Car Concepts SLC
Alpine F#1Status Certified
Posted By: devilsquid
Date Posted: February 18, 2004 at 11:52 PM
do i need that much of a cap, though...i will be running a yellow top to a 1500.1 and a 500.4 Viper amp...Do i really need a 220 dollar cap? BTW - if they all come from one place, then who makes them? Rockford? Stinger? Who is the manufactor?
-------------
Posted By: the Finn
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 12:17 AM
I think the manufacturer is called American Connection, but I really don't know for sure. They are owned by Rockford Corp., as Rob said, but they build for almost everybody. Streetwires is now owned by Mitek (as in MTX) but they used to be owned by Esoteric and they built their own stuff top to bottom. I think they are still their own build, but again I am not sure. Anybody out there back me up here? "Need" is very hard one to answer. The 12 volt business by it's very nature is a luxury commodity; nothing we sell or make is a need, at least not for basic human survival. So the question isn't do you need that much cap, the real question is: Do you want all the power your amps can supply, moreoever all the power you paid for? If so, then a good capacitor is just what the doctor ordered. And if you are going to get a good cap, spend a little extra and get a really good one. You already spent a load of money for stuff you don't "need"; you almost owe it to that equipment to give them what they most desperately do need: power. And yes, for amps, that's a need. I hope that answers your questions. ------------- ~Cory
Car Concepts SLC
Alpine F#1Status Certified
Posted By: pureRF
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 8:52 AM
What you really need is a 220$ high output alternator not a 220$ cap. Look into getting a new alternator before a cap.
-------------
dream it, build it, fiberglass it
Posted By: devilsquid
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 1:04 PM
ive got 105 amp now...do you think i should go higher?
-------------
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 1:09 PM
To answer the question as to what I think about it, is simple and I stated it earlier. A cap that is installed in an unsafe manner is an accident waiting for a place to happen. It is a loose object in an accident, and it may come in direct contact with metal in an accident. Most people do not consider this scenario, but they should as accidents happen to averyone. Nothing worse than having to buy a new cap because the old one shorted out and self destructed, soupled with the damage it may haver caused to the vehicle. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: speedwayaudio1
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 1:59 PM
I have a cap story too. My voltage regulator went out on my alt. Blew my STINGER cap to smitherines. Plus I almost $hit myself when it went off. talk about boom. I have run Boss caps with no problems. I now run a batcap it's a 400 amp batt and a 6 farad cap. it works well. Just remember that you need a good alt first. 200amp at least. 100 or 125 amps for your system and the rest for your car. headilghts, a/c, elc windows powerseats, rear window defroster, etc, etc, etc........... your amps need plenty of juices to run and a cap will help just need that good alt first. FOLLOW all directions to the letter.
-------------
Big Dave
Posted By: MBZ oe
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 3:06 PM
What I want to know is what is the damage that is done to the vehicle??? I thought they were dry cell? Is there acid in there? Thats why I am asking. Mine is completely hosed in its own heavy duty MDF compartment in my custom amp rack. Its isolated from other components so even if it blew up it would not do much. ------------- BOOM, BOOM, BOOM BOOM....
Posted By: MBZ oe
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 3:07 PM
I meant housed not hosed
-------------
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM BOOM....
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 4:12 PM
If a cap is touched to bare metal of a vehicle it will dead short, read smoke, sparks and noise and in rare circumstances a fire if their is combustible materials present. It may damage a computer circuit in the same fashion that a ac voltage spike may damage a computer or satellite receiver.
-------------
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: fordOndubs
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 5:24 PM
devilsquid wrote:
ive got 105 amp now...do you think i should go higher?
Yes. I would go with at least a 200 amp alternator before buying any caps. The only caps I would even consider would be bat caps. Caps are not doing anything but being a band aid for the problem. Josh
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 6:04 PM
From what I have heard is that caps dont EXPLODE, they simply discharge(at least the ones I know of do). Look at the specs on this Lightning Audio LS10-03 cap. IT dosnt say anything about the cap exploding, it even alerts you if you have it wired backwards. And if you're worried about it flying around the car its like any other peice of loose car audio equipment, its going to fly unless you have it properly secured. As long as you don't buy some super cheap off-brand cap off the net you should be fine. I like Stinger and Streetwires.
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: February 19, 2004 at 6:06 PM
|