Capacitors Aren't Useless

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Do you believe everything you read on the internet?

Do you even know who Larry Frederick is? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Why does a high-end brand Zapco recommend caps then?

Im not really saying they work or not, but why would such a reputable company with great high end gear want you to use a cap? I mean, if then can design such great amp, you would think they can actually see a real benefit of using caps right?

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

****it people!!!! No one is saying a 'Capacitor' doesnt do something.......it will have a benefit, and will stabalize voltage.....BUT.....when incorporating one into a 'proper' electrical system......it is as much of a waste as the marketing pushing them...

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

As helo has mentioned, several times now, your amplifier already has caps built into their input stage, to act as a filter. How is that not the end of this thread? It certainly should be.

Helo stated caps are built-in to your amp, to filter. The OP replies that aha!, caps aren't useless then! Uhm okay... problem is this discussion isn't about caps in general, its about the external caps you would buy and add to your system. The caps Helo referred to, were not those caps. So you can glean some sort of satisfaction from that reply if you want, but the truth is when you run good equipment and have the rest of your charging system up to par, an external capacitor has no apparent use.

If you want a volt meter, buy a volt meter.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Do you even know who Larry Frederick is? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Judging from the "bio", I would assume Larry Frederick is CarAudioGuru on here....as he seems more than eager to flaunt his "credentials" anytime anyone mentions something in contrast to his statements, or he feels the need to defend or qualify his statements.

Thus far, I've not been overly impressed by much the guy has said on this forum, much less his demeanor and inability to form a constructive disagreement without attempting to use his credentials as a trump card (i.e. argument from authority; I say so, therefore it's right).

 

[GAM3OVR 5,000+ posts]

There is so much fail in the OG post

Do you believe everything you hear over the interwebz?

 

[Frijoles24 10+ year member]

haha caps take the shit freq from alt out, and any other power freq u get form the car.

thats what i got outa my cap

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Judging from the "bio", I would assume Larry Frederick is CarAudioGuru on here....as he seems more than eager to flaunt his "credentials" anytime anyone mentions something in contrast to his statements, or he feels the need to defend or qualify his statements.
Thus far, I've not been overly impressed by much the guy has said on this forum, much less his demeanor and inability to form a constructive disagreement without attempting to use his credentials as a trump card (i.e. argument from authority; I say so, therefore it's right).

Mr.Frederick is the Technical Director for Elletromedia.

Not siding with anyone in this argument(if it is one), but the post I quoted was towards the guy who said do you believe anyone. And I dont think he realizes who Mr.Frederick was/is. He is not just anyone.

 

[hoss 5,000+ posts]

i wear a cap when im hungover and dont feel like messign with my hair. like i did today.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

How does an alternator (which creates a DC current) have AC ripples...?

That doesn't make sense to me. It's a totally different type of current.

 

[Johncarr 10+ year member]

I found that caps have many uses!!

I had a 5 farad setting around for months, so I installed it into my 73 Roadrunner in the motor compartment. My engine always takes alot juice to start and after installing inline to the starter, my engine just needs a quick bump of the key and it fires right up! So they have uses, just try it in your system or some other part of your ride!

 

[ALL4SPL 10+ year member]

Depends on the car, equipment and other factors. When I was still competing heavily we did testing with and without a 1fd cap and noticed on the same freq with the same conditions a .3db gain in spl does this prove caps do work and are worth the money? No, it means in my CRX it was giving me a benefit for SPL, you have to figure out if you will benefit from one.

 

[Earthman 10+ year member]

How does an alternator (which creates a DC current) have AC ripples...?That doesn't make sense to me. It's a totally different type of current.

Alternators produce A/C, hence the word alternating current. When this A/C passes through diodes, then does it become D/C. This is what the rectifier bridge does in the alternator. Put a DMM on your battery and set it for A/C volts. It will read a small amount of A/C voltage, this is A/C ripple. .2 volts A/C at the battery is normal, however if it is greater than .5volts A/C at the battery, the diode trio is leaking too much A/C through which is harmfull to onboard electronics. This is one concern of needing an alt rebuilt or replaced.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

Didn't Richard Clark have a $10,000 challenge if you could prove the effectiveness of a capacitor to him? I think the OP needs to go and take him up on it. Of course, you will be uber screwed when Richard runs a 2 minute test tone and your alternator has to work to provide juice for the system as well as try to fill that capacitor back up.

 

[XHiFiX 10+ year member]

Didn't Richard Clark have a $10,000 challenge if you could prove the effectiveness of a capacitor to him? I think the OP needs to go and take him up on it. Of course, you will be uber screwed when Richard runs a 2 minute test tone and your alternator has to work to provide juice for the system as well as try to fill that capacitor back up.

Richard Clark was one of the first to use capacitors (ie. for power conditioning in his "legendary" Buick Regal)..Clark and David Navone even designed "stiffening" capacitors for Monster.

His test regarding the effectiveness of capacitors, at the time dealt with LARGE caps with HIGH* ESRs, which did make them useless....as a battery/alt replacement.