spy2520

iTrader: (3)

i was thinking about how an actual capacitor works, n-type, p-type, all that ****. and for a minute it made sense to actually run a ground wire from the amp to the cap and then to a ground point on the car. most of the time the recommendation is run a power lead less than 18" from amp to cap, then just ground them both to the car, not necessarily together or seperate.

but if i am not mistaken, the capacitor doesnt flow any electrons on the positive side, it just builds up a static charge to attract and store electrons on the negative side. then discharges those electrons from the negative side since there is no flow between the two posts in a cap. that means those discharged electrons go to the chassis of the car, then possibly back to the amp, but they most likely get distributed throughout the car for a small effect on everything (maybe this is where i'm wrong.)

i feel that my capacitor is nothing more than an innacurate volt meter, but i might try rearranging the wires a little. only issue is how the hell am i going to know it makes a difference since i got a 250A alternator...

BlackedOutSS

yeah, with a 250 amp alt. you shouldnt need a cap at all. Most people dont even notice a difference with a stock alt. If your still having voltage problems there is a company called kinetic batteries that has a battery they call the "cap killer" equal to 100 1 farad caps. buts its like $300.00

95bat

iTrader: (1)

Take the cap out

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

damn i thought i subscribed and got no replies lol.

i had the cap in since before the alt, and i'm real lazy, so thats the only reason its still in there. but i'm dropping a volt from the battery terminal to the cap (i used a DMM to verify) and i'm just thinking of ways to cheat instead of pulling that 4ga out for 2 or 1/0ga.

95bat

iTrader: (1)

Can't really cheat to increase amperage flow... just need bigger wire. You can run 2 lines of 4 gauge if you have it, rather than buying new stuff.

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

naw, i'd just get the bigger wire.

any answer as to whether it is better to have a short ground wire connecting directly from the amp to capacitor instead of a short positive wire connected the same way?

95bat

iTrader: (1)

Are you talking about connecting the cap to the amp via ground and NO power connection?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Theoretically, it would make no difference if you put the capacitor on the negative side of the amp rather than the positive side. Regardless of how many devices share the common ground of the chassis/body, each circuit is an independent closed loop. If you think of the amp as a simple resistance load (like a light bulb) then you'll see that a capacitor can be attached anywhere in a closed circuit between the battery and the load and still work exactly the same.

Now, that's theory. In practice you want it installed as close as possible to the amp on the positive side. This is to reduce as much resistance as possible in the circuit. Electricity flows from negative to positive (so negative "ground" is actually misleading). You want to shorten the path as much as possible but you can't make the chassis/body any smaller so the only way to shorten the path is on the positive side. The current flows from the chassis through your (short as possible) ground cable, then the amp, then out the "power" cable. You can't make the positive cable any shorter (it has to reach the battery) but you can shorten the overall path for the capacitor by connecting it to the positive cable close to the amp.

Richiec77

iTrader: (3)

Yeah. Current flows from negative to positive. Electrons is what current is actually made of and all electrons are negative in nature. The covalence bonds that are made and broken is how current moves from one place to the next. Everything else in it's paths are either current limiting, current switching, current gain (dB in amp stages but can also be voltage), current storage (i.e. Coils and Capacitors)...etc. If you need to learn more, you'll always see teachers using Plumbing and water flow as a good simulation since you can't see current, but you can see water.

To sum it up more, a capacitor is made of of 2 plates. Q (+) and Q (-) with a gap inbetween. The gap can be filled with either air in the form of a vacumn or a dielectric fluid or gel. The dielectric is a semi-conductable matterial. Based on how the cap is manufactured, this will determine if it's a positive or negative based design. Just like PNP and NPN transistors.

So you can hook up a cap on either side, but you must pay attention to the polarity. Plus car audio capacitors are desinged to work on the + side more effeciently.

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

thinking about that, i can physically make the ground path shorter if i run the negative side much like the positive side (cap close to the amp on the positive side, as well as the negative side) but i guess if it wont make any difference then there is no point.

i just think that having the cap very close to the amp on the positive side, and having a ground length of about 18" each for amp and cap when all the action is happening on the negative side makes no sense. if you want the resistance to be minimized on the positive side, shouldnt the negative side be treated the same way?

never took that into consideration. i was learning about the basics of caps and figured all caps are basically the same...

95bat

iTrader: (1)

I think you're putting way too much effort into something that has no benefit.

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

maybe you are putting too much effort into my thread.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

You can make the negative side shorter but the difference is quite small in comparison. If you have a 3-foot ground cable and you connect your cap in the middle, you've saved 18 inches of electrical pathway. On the other hand, if your positive cable is 20 feet (battery to amp) and you put your cap 18 inches from the amp then you've saved 18.5 feet of electrical path. That's because the majority of the negative side of the circuit is through the chassis (e.g. 3 foot cable and 17 feet through the chassis/body) which you can't shorten. But the positive path is entirely in the cable.

95bat

iTrader: (1)

Ok I'll be sure never to give you advice again.

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

oh please dont deny me that priviledge.