cap cracked, still good?

[rambassmachine 10+ year member]

ok my capacitor is behind the driver seat of my single cab truck, and i was adjusting the seat after ig ot it back form the shop and aparently i moved it back to far to fast, cuz when i was giving my system a look over today, i noticed a large crack in the cap //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif. i know im retarded, but is it still good, oir for that matter SAFE??? please let me know, ill try to get pics asap.

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[SuBXeRo 10+ year member]

iwouldnt take any chances personally

 

[Fr0sty51 10+ year member]

Id just disconnect my sub and turn it on. If it leaks fluid then your ****ed.

 

[rambassmachine 10+ year member]

its only aboujt 3 months old, think i could get a warrenty reoplace? so if i see fluid then its dead, but if not then is it still working?

 

[Fr0sty51 10+ year member]

Ya, if u hook a cap up backwards itll start to ooze liquid and ur screwed, try gettin it replaced if you can, i dunno if id really use it or not though, so many things could happen, the power could be corrupted, it may fry ur amp. So i change my decision and say no i wouldnt use it. its hard to beleive that a solid metal body of a cap could break.

 

[zane 10+ year member]

Get it out of there. Very Dangerous!

It can happen to caps in the same way as it does with batteries. Once the outer shell has been compromised it may begin to leak, emit hazardous fumes, and is at risk of exploding or electrocuting you.

Very bad situation all together. One that could claim your vehicle, or even your own life. Power is not something to take lightly, especially when subjected to the rigors of daily mobile use.

I'd disconnect the battery, then discharge the cap via an auto light (may take a half hour or so to discharge completely)- Better safe than sorry. Once you can measure no voltage at the cap, carefully omit it from your install.

You really should not need to replace it, as the benefits a cap adds to a system are basically null overall. Don't think you will have any luck with warranty either, as it was broken due to your error/ aka- abuse. Warrany typically excuses these issues as they are in no way associated with a product flaw.

Either way, it's damaged, it's dangerous. Remove it at once.

 

[Fr0sty51 10+ year member]

Isnt that basically what I just said Zane?????? You don't know what your talking about if you say a cap does null. GET REAL, a cap will improve your bass response resulting in it to hit harder, ******** it does nothing. Just get a new one rambass, and next time be more careful, use this as a learning experience and move on with your life.

 

[rambassmachine 10+ year member]

ok, im gonna get it taken out, thanks guys

 

[allyourblood 10+ year member]

Isnt that basically what I just said Zane?????? You don't know what your talking about if you say a cap does null. GET REAL, a cap will improve your bass response resulting in it to hit harder, ******** it does nothing. Just get a new one rambass, and next time be more careful, use this as a learning experience and move on with your life.

guess what? Zane wasn't addressing YOU. he was replying to the original poster. just because you post a response doesn't mean someone else shouldn't step in and provide their own answer, however redundant it may be.

sure, a cap can improve your system, but it's more of a quick fix than a solution. this has been discussed a thousand times before. do a search on it -- you might just learn something.

abe m.

 

[rambassmachine 10+ year member]

i will say i did notice a difference when i put it in, but i also installed a optima battery when i put in the cap, so idk if it was due to both, or one or the other, but that was a noticeable upgrade.

 

[zane 10+ year member]

Isnt that basically what I just said Zane?????? You don't know what your talking about if you say a cap does null. GET REAL, a cap will improve your bass response resulting in it to hit harder, ******** it does nothing. Just get a new one rambass, and next time be more careful, use this as a learning experience and move on with your life.

Yes, I clearly do not know what I am talking about.

Cap discharges in a fraction of a second upon "seeing" a low voltage situation in the charging system. Cap is now empty waiting for recharging from the charging system which is still being taxed by the stereo at the same rate it was before the cap discharged.

Now the charging system has to keep things running, charge the battery, and also now charge a cap. The re-charge rate of the charging system decreases with more loads placed upon it. Another virtually useless and un-needed load on a struggling charging system.

Improves bass response? Harder hitting?

From what? Magic Dust?

Then again, I suppose there is good reason that most SPL competitors don't use caps too then ehh?

Of course, I believe everything that the industry wants me to believe anyway.....

 

[Fr0sty51 10+ year member]

Its funny how all MECP certified installers tell me that they do help your bass response, and its funny how our local competitor has 3 18" solo x's and uses giant Stinger capacitors, just because you cant afford things like that doesnt give you the reason to rip on them.

 

[Breogan24 10+ year member]

I installed a 1 farad cap and realized NO difference at all. I think it is TRULY A WASTE OF MONEY. I took it out to sell now. Also i think it was on this site, i saw a link of the voltages measured with a cap and without a cap. They were side by side and there was NO difference. The cap did not provide a steady voltage and dipped just as the system without the cap. For me that is proof. Saying it does or doesn't mean much without graphs/proof. And the graphs clearly showed there was no help. I think part of being MECP certefied is learning how to sell as much to your customers as possible.

 

[allyourblood 10+ year member]

i've never heard ANYONE say a cap improves bass. why the hell would it? that's just stupid. that's like saying, "adding another battery will really get your subs hitting hard!"

abe m.

 

[mud 10+ year member]

Ahh, capacitors.

Large Electrolytic Capacitors:
I've never seen any proof anywhere that a large capacitor does anything to improve the quality of the amplifier's output. Some people claim that they help to prevent your headlights from dimming but in most cases it's simply a placebo effect. If the capacitors did what they were supposed to do, every capacitor manufacturer would have a demo vehicle showing how the output changed by xdBs when the caps were in or out of the circuit. To my knowledge, no company has proven that they do anything. Take the money that you would spend on a capacitor and spend it on an alternator upgrade.

Capacitors do not increase the voltage at the amplifier. The capacitor's voltage will be equal to the battery and charging system voltage. If the voltage at the battery falls below the capacitor's voltage, the capacitor will instantly discharge into the battery until their voltage is again the same. Unless there is some significant resistance in the power wire between the cap and the battery (with no load on the power wire), there's no way for the voltage between them to be different. If there's a load on the power wire (an amplifier drawing current), the voltage at the cap and amplifier will be lower than it is at the battery. Read the capacitor page for more detailed info.

Source

If you really want to learn about audio, read through the whole site. And don't try to say that guy doesn't know what he is talking about. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif