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Caps are ghey
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<blockquote data-quote="helotaxi" data-source="post: 450605" data-attributes="member: 550915"><p>Not entirely accurate. As long as there is another device (battery mostly) providing current to the mix, a cap will never FULLY discharge. It will discharge to the voltage level of the battery but that is really only a fraction of the total carge on the cap. Once it has discharged, it must be recharged and the recharge will keep the voltage from returning to its maximum for the short time it takes the cap to recharge.</p><p></p><p>The proper use of a STIFFENING cap is to provide near instantaneous current for the brief period of time (tiny fraction of a second) when the current demand of the amps changes from a low demand to a high demand when the alternator can provide enough current for the higher demand but the ESR of the alt keeps it from doing so quickly enough. During the brief instant that it takes for the alt to up the current it is providing, the cap gives up some of its charge to fill the void. Another use for a cap is to provide current for transients during very dynamic music where the alt can more than keep up with the average current demand, but the quick transients are a bit too much. The cap can soften the blow to the alt and keep the system going without the alt ever having to provide its maximum current even though the current demanded was for a very brief instant more than the alt could provide. Once the transient is over, the alt provides the extra current above the amp demands to recharge the cap but it never approaches its maximum current production. This is the explanation for the people who installed a cap and it stopped their lights from dimming. Note also that this only works when the transients are very quick (rock music with the quick drum hits, not rap or other such with the long drawn out bass notes). The cap acts as a shock absorber to keep the full demand of the system from reaching the alt all at once. It spreads the demand out over a few seconds and provides some breathing room for the alt.</p><p></p><p>The thing that most poeple fail to realize is that a cap is not a fix to a problem. It is a slight improvement to a charging system that can already handle the load placed on it. It will not fix anything, but once the real fixes are in place it can help to prolong the life of your alternator and your amps by reducing the duty cycle on both.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="helotaxi, post: 450605, member: 550915"] Not entirely accurate. As long as there is another device (battery mostly) providing current to the mix, a cap will never FULLY discharge. It will discharge to the voltage level of the battery but that is really only a fraction of the total carge on the cap. Once it has discharged, it must be recharged and the recharge will keep the voltage from returning to its maximum for the short time it takes the cap to recharge. The proper use of a STIFFENING cap is to provide near instantaneous current for the brief period of time (tiny fraction of a second) when the current demand of the amps changes from a low demand to a high demand when the alternator can provide enough current for the higher demand but the ESR of the alt keeps it from doing so quickly enough. During the brief instant that it takes for the alt to up the current it is providing, the cap gives up some of its charge to fill the void. Another use for a cap is to provide current for transients during very dynamic music where the alt can more than keep up with the average current demand, but the quick transients are a bit too much. The cap can soften the blow to the alt and keep the system going without the alt ever having to provide its maximum current even though the current demanded was for a very brief instant more than the alt could provide. Once the transient is over, the alt provides the extra current above the amp demands to recharge the cap but it never approaches its maximum current production. This is the explanation for the people who installed a cap and it stopped their lights from dimming. Note also that this only works when the transients are very quick (rock music with the quick drum hits, not rap or other such with the long drawn out bass notes). The cap acts as a shock absorber to keep the full demand of the system from reaching the alt all at once. It spreads the demand out over a few seconds and provides some breathing room for the alt. The thing that most poeple fail to realize is that a cap is not a fix to a problem. It is a slight improvement to a charging system that can already handle the load placed on it. It will not fix anything, but once the real fixes are in place it can help to prolong the life of your alternator and your amps by reducing the duty cycle on both. [/QUOTE]
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