Discharging a capacitor after car has not been run for 2-3 years?

[bitlord 10+ year member]

Hey guys,

First off, sorry if this is in the wrong section. I have a 12 farad tsunami cap in my old 1990 accord (that I have not driven in a while). I want to strip the audio from the car to sell. The last successful start of the car was probably two years ago. What I want to know is do I have still have to discharge the cap? Or has the power already dissipated somehow? Also, if I do have to discharge it would are regular light bulb do the trick (lost the bulb that came with it)?

Thanks again //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

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[I Like Waffle]

Thats why i dont **** with caps. Lol

 

[bitlord 10+ year member]

Yea...I'm afraid that I might.....you know....die lol

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

If the car's battery was dead, so was the cap.

 

[bitlord 10+ year member]

If the car's battery was dead, so was the cap.

Thanks! I kind of figured, but just wanted to double check.

 

[Johnny Law.Lulz 5,000+ posts]

Just poke a test light accross. Thats how my step dad does it. Caps are stupid though and this is another reason. Fear of death should be part of car audio unless your Craig butler. lulz.

 

[abrhino 10+ year member]

its discharged fool.. ever had a cap make a highpitched scream? My friendsaid he discharged hisand when i took it out it was screaming.. LMAO, prlly should discharged it myself but was lazy and in a hurry

 

[SPLaudio 5,000+ posts]

^ test with a dmm. it's not going to kill you there is more juice in a 12v car battery. touching the pos and neg with ur fingers will only tingle a little if ur hands are wet. just not enough voltage...

 

[blazeplacid 10+ year member]

yeah test with a DMM then use a test light

notice how fast a simple test light drains the cap....

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

lick it

 

[abrhino 10+ year member]

yes indeed

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

lick it

Yep, it should tingle slightly more than a 9 volt battery if it is charged. No tingle = discharged.