Well the topic pretty much says it all. Its a 1.0 farad cap. I charged it when i first installed it, but im curious how often i have to give it another charge. And do i have to discharge it completely first?

 

umm, im not 100% sure but i think you dont have to charge the cap unless you play your stero with the car off ( where the caps not getting more current from the bat ) the only time you need to decharge your cap is when your done with it..

 

Tyler is right...i've had my caps for 2 and a half years and never had to charge them...as long as you dont drain em with the car off...If you must you have to totally decharge them and use the original resistor to charge it...

 

How does playing your system with the car not running drain the cap? You're still getting power from the battery. I may be wrong, but as long as the battery doesn't go dead, shouldn't the cap stay charged?

- Mike

 

Just keep in mind that they will discharge on their own over time, so whenever you disconnect the feed wire or disconnect the battery, it's a VERY good idea to run a test light in series with the power wire to the battery until the bulb goes out, then hard wire it.

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Yep. As long as power is hooked up, they will remain charged, as long as nothing is pulling a large current. Remember, most use a cap to stop the lights from dimming to the bass beat. Every time bass hits, the caps will discharge. But since they are hooked up to the batt, they will recharge, and be fully recharged after 5 time constants. When you shut your car off, the caps will still remain charged, even if diconnected from the power source. Over time, their leakage will cause them to discharge, like Jim said.

When it is said that a cap has to be charged, it's ment to charge a cap initally during the install to prevent a large spark when you first connect them to power. They come discharged from the factory, and usually come with a charging resistor. This lets the cap slowly charge, rather then all at once.


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