How do you charge a capacitor?

 

Bronze Member
Username: Zyraell

Conway , Arkansas USA

Post Number: 40
Registered: Jun-06
Ok I got a memphis audio 1 farad cap and it came with a small piece of bare wire with I don't know if it's a fuse or a lamp in the middle of it. My question is how the hell do you charge this thing and what is this piece of wire for?(I assume this is a resistor). Do I just connect the power wire from the battery to the + lead and ground the cap to the chassis? If so why do I even need to use this wire that came with the cap since I have a voltmeter built into the cap and I can just watch that till it reaches 12 volts. Very confused here about if I need to use this piece of wire or not. Also am I do it correctly if I just connect the + and ground the cap? Don't wanna burn up my truck or make the cap explode in my face. Thanks for your help.
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 5607
Registered: Nov-04
That piece of "wire" is probably a resistor. It's ued to charge the cap slowly. If you by-pass it, then you will cause a very big spark, enough to blow some pieces off the connectors.
Best way to quickly charge the cap is by using a 12v bulb. Connect the pos to pos on the cap, one end of the light bulb on the cap's neg and the other end to the ground on the car. You will see the light bulb turn on and then few seconds later turn off. That will idicate a fully charged cap. Now you can connect it directly without any sparks flying.
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us