how a capacitor works.
how a capacitor works. 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...
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...
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: augusta, Ga
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
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.
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.
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?
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?
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,328
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Originally Posted by spy2520
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?
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?
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.
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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.
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.
Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
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.
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?
Originally Posted by Richiec77
Plus car audio capacitors are desinged to work on the + side more effeciently.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,328
Likes: 345
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
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.