capacitor onstall

[and1]

I have a capacitor that use to be in my other car, I took it out. Will it be ready to be put in my new car or will I have to charge it again? But, i lost the charger, What can I do?

Click to read more...

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by and1 I have a capacitor that use to be in my other car, I took it out. Will it be ready to be put in my new car or will I have to charge it again? But, i lost the charger, What can I do?

Well, from my little understanding of electronics, electricity, load, etc., I think caps recharge in no time... you don't need a separate charger, as the cap will draw power that's exact to what the batt/alt is sending throughout the power cable... just go ahead and install it, and your cap will be full in what, less than 2 mins? I dunno, all I know is that caps don't need to be charged prior to install... what kind of cap charger are you talking about?

Just remember to be careful when installing... always wear a glove!

 

[Jearod 10+ year member]

I think I'm going to disagree with the last post, i've never owned a cap but I believe I've read somewhere that you have to charge them prior to install because they will be a burden to the electrical system in some way...but I'm new to this crap anyways so i'm probably wrong

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Charge the cap after you install it. It's safer that way:

Take the main fuse out of your system. Connect your cap and secure it, etc. Then put a test light (12V) across the fuse holder - basically replacing the fuse with a light bulb. The bulb will be bright at first, then as the cap charges the light gets dimmer. When the bulb goes off, the cap is charged and you can put the fuse back in.

The system must be off during this procedure or the cap will never charge.