How to Install a Car Audio Capacitor in your Vehicle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
- Parts linked in the description below!
This Video provides an explanation on how to install a Car Audio Capacitor. The purpose of this capacitor is to help reduce the tendency of dimming lights and electrical draws as some amplifiers require large amounts of amperage. This upgrade may be effective in helping with the possible issues.
To see how to install a second battery instead of a Capacitor, click here:
• How To Install a Secon...
Click here to see the unboxing of the capacitor used in this video:
• Bullz Audio 2.2 Farad ...
The upgrade tutorial was performed on a 2005 Dodge Magnum. We used 4 gauge wiring within this installation.
As always, like, comment and subscribe!
Parts Used (Amazon Associate Paid Links):
*BULLZ AUDIO 2200W 12V 2.2 Capacitors BCAP2.2: amzn.to/3g1IXMt
*4 Gauge Wiring Power and Ground Kit: amzn.to/3il5NA0
*4 Gauge Ring Terminals: amzn.to/3z6gXhU
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Parts linked in the description!
I Have A Question
3 Northstar AGM31 PRO Vs. 1 Northstar SMSAGM480 Which Is Best with JS 390a Alternator For Voltage ???
I had to come to an audio channel to figure out how to charge my big-ass Super Capacitor bank. It needs a low-Ohm resistor to charge....thanks. It only took three weeks to find that out.
This is awesome, I installing a setup in MY Dodge magnum too. Kicker compvr speakers and subs
What do I do with the little amp under the steering wheel
Nothing, unless you are planning on bypassing it. If so, send me a message on facebook / instagram and I can help.@@DodgeChargerPursuit
Love how EVERY cable it red, make for a more entertaining install.. 😂
I noticed my cars electrical system was improved by installing one of these. I installed a car stereo, then added subs and a 2000 watt amp, then a capacitor. I used to have a radar detector that showed the vehicles volts. If I remember correctly, it was like 12.8 volts on the display, then it jumped to 13.4 volts for like, ever. I always felt like it helped my car battery by not draining as much. Unfortunately, I'm here today because one of the bolts on the old capacitor stripped and I don't think my amp is working properly because of that. So I bought a new capacitor and here I am. Thanks for the video!
Update, finally installed the new capacitor and I believe I'm back in business. I went with a SoundBox 2.5 Farad capacitor and so far it seems to be working fine. Apparently I had a short at the fuse for my sound system which is part of the positive. Oh well, this one has a voltage meter in it so that's cool. I'm still running a touch screen with 2000 watt amp but now have a dash cam installed in the front. All of these things steal power from my battery so I'm happy to have a little more juice with the capacitor. I need to install a second dash cam for the rear view but I'm lazy and I'd like to replace my tint. Just thought I'd update if anyone cared for more info.
I know I'm late but did you do the big three . . I have a capacitor . and 0 gauge 25o amp from battery pushing a 5000 watt amp . probably a 1500 watt fr . but ??
Thank you so much! I swear this is the Only helpful video on TH-cam that actually explains it well.
yeah compared to the guy clipping bending and soldering shit and then is like "u could buy all this but, I like to craft stuff" like fuk bro. show me a kit I can buy and how u out it together.
If you think having both red positive and ground wires helpfull, good luck messing things up. The one time is enough LOL.
@@mauriziomauricone lol when you know what you're doing it's not a problem. Most of my wires are the same colors. Heatshrink, and just taking a 2 second look at where they come from is all you need
@@blakebrannam8658 Or course you do, but perhaps it's not the best idea to show this in your video for the world to see by people who DON'T know what they are doing? That's why I commented the way I did.
This is a good video, it will help a lot of people. But there are two little things I saw wrong with this system in the video. The large capacitor and battery in back are wired into the system in the exact same way for a good reason. Think about it.
*** Often, the battery is in the front of the vehicle, and the amp is in back. Installing a large capacitor or battery near the amp allows you to use a smaller gauge cable from the battery in front, to the capacitor or battery connected to the amp in back. This cable from the front only needs to be large enough the keep the system in back charged. The large cable is still needed between the amp, and capacitor and/or battery in back. The capacitor and/or battery in back are there to supply the extra power needed during intensely high electrical current draw moments. As you can see, using a battery with a good amount of cranking amps or a large capacitor, close to your amp, accomplishes the same purpose; they are both acting as a buffer. If you only use this system when the engine is running, having both the large capacitor and battery in back is overkill. Unless one or both are too small of a buffer for the amplifier's needs, a battery in back close to the capacitor, only increases the system's energy storage capacity. I am a military trained electrical technician.
Get 5% discount on all car audio items at www.sonicelectronix.com with coupon code ProvoBeast at Checkout. See the description for more details on the video!
For those who want to install a secondary battery instead of a capacitor, click here: th-cam.com/video/qmH_N4lvppU/w-d-xo.html
Ok
A good shop would recommend a better alternative than just installing a capacitor. But some people just want to collect money.
My car capacitor reads 15v sometimes is that bad?
@@614Motion no my car runs at 15.1v
Hands down best installation video, appreciate it!!! Gets right to it!
I done it this way before and in my car (e46) it will still dim the lights and bass feels like it’s losing power. I found that it’s best to go straight from the battery to the fuse, the fuse to the Capacitor, then then capacitor to the distribution block. After installing that way all the problems went bye bye lol nevertheless still a great video just helping out the bmw community if they Experiencing the same problem I was having.
What watts was your amp and subwoofer
You're 1000% Right! Thanks for the correct comment/tip.. cap must be in main line after the fuse single line to distro block.. any sudden power demand will have to use cap and that's what it's purpose.. the video way it's pointless as draw seek out the prime source (didn't get the memo to stop and ask side cap if has any to spare)
Great video, especially the resistor tutorial. I am installing two capacitors today.
ok...need to know...can you run 2 super caps between the amp and batteries and how well does it work??????
What is the set up here? Two amps, with a positive cable going off the shot into a negative distribution block. I’m confused, can you help me understand the set up please?
With it hooked up to battery positive does it drain the battery when the car isn’t on? Also when I charge mine as soon as I disconnect the wires from the capacitor it imidiatlystarts draining and then blinks low. Did I not leave the charging wire on long enough?
Why do i get a pop sound on the door speakers right after the capacitor shuts off, after the few seconds when turning off the ignition switch, it didn’t do that before installing the capacitor, capacitor was installed as directed based on this video
I have a question? I set up my capacitor the same way yours is set up. After speaking with a technician and they said that it’s wired incorrectly. That the power wire from the battery should go straight to the capacitor and then a power wire from the capacitor to the distributor which is going to the amps. What is the difference between what they are telling me to do and what we have installed right now?
The way your talking would supply all amps by the capacitor. For example I have a distribution block from main battery, it splits to a 4 channel amp and 2 channel. The sub when the bass "drops" calls on amp to give it power which is when headlights will dim. Your door speakers don't require much power, the power they use is to get loudness and clarity, so to have the full benefit the capacitor needs to be as close to amp as possible, now could you run 2? Of course, but 1 other right placement makes a difference. I have this same setup as well as a equalizer in dash and crossover before the amps in the trunk. I'm actually about to add the capacitor hoping tomorrow, now my lights don't dim, my sub is 1600 peak, 800 rms mated to 800rms mono amp running speaker at 1 ohm, the doors are 500w rms combined on a 1,000w rms amp. I'm not pulling alot of power, but I plan too and also looking into trunk 2nd battery just to have it ready for future, my main power cable is 0 gauge and reduces to 4 gauge in trunk at distribution block for all other components.
The biggest difference I noticed by adding a cap is rock music hits twice as hard but bass tracks didn’t improve much
It’s because certain frequencies stress more power then others, some music your system is able to keep up fine, hence why it doesn’t change, but the music where you previously were reaching the limit of power is now getting fed what it needs
Dam, great video! This will solve my problem 100%
Just want to say thank you for this. I was going nuts because the cap was only going to 6v with the resistor. I though something was wrong
The end of the video is unclear, not sure if you hooked up 2 power cables to the capacitator or just 1? Since you showed the looped before, battery to capacitator and then to the amp. But it doesn't show on the vid.
I understand. He's using all the same color but I don't blame him. That's his preference. He only used a ground wire and one power wire. But that power wire was to the distribution block so it can power both the amps. I don't agree with it and I never seen it that way but If it worked for him then he's good
Why are all your wires red?? 😖
Yeah - Talk about needless confusion. JEEZ! Wire Tracing MUCH??
I recommend using a 12V 21W lamp (between +ve of car and +ve of capacitor) to charge the capacitors, until the lamp goes out.
I'm thinking of adding a capacitor to the batwing fairing on my motorcycle. Can I run positive and negative from the battery to the capacitor in the fairing and then from the capacitor postive and negative of the amp? That way I only need to run 2 - 8awg wires to the fairing.
why does the capacitor have to be slowly charged?
My amp holds 12v for a few seconds then drops to 9 volts then shoots back to 12 volts would one of these help with that issue??
Next time you wire a car use black cable for ground
If u have ur Battary near why should u put the ground on the body ???
Hey man, I just installed mine today and I noticed after about 20 seconds the lcd turned off and stopped showing the voltage while the car was still running. And started showing voltage when I turned the car off. Is this normal for the lcd to turn off after a certain amount of time but it’s still on? Thank you
Caps are generally low quality and don’t help much, but some do have a digital voltage display. Generally they only show voltage readouts when there is only a voltage change.
@@ProvoBeastAudio thanks man I didn’t know if it was supposed to stay on or not but that makes sense that it only comes on when needed. And yes I agree. I thought I’d try it out for now until I can get a bigger alternator.
Isn’t this technically wired in parallel when you do it post distribution block? Capacitors should be in series, so in this case, before the distribution block.
Not if it's only going to one amp.
What is the set up here? Two amps, with a positive cable going off the shot into a negative distribution block. I’m confused, can you help me understand the set up please?
I noticed you set up the capacitor before the fuses did that affect the storage or had no effect at all?
Seriously there's all kinds of backwards in this video not to mention the way the capacitor is recommended to hook up. Every one I've hooked up recommended not to install from the fuse but after and from the distribution block and separate ground. Plus all you need is one fuse from the battery to the junction block or a multi fuse junction block. Most modern amp's have fuses in them so really the inline fuse to power is mainly for cutting power when things go wrong. But to each their own I guess
Great video only think the all red wires had me confused as hell lol
Why use red for a ground and not have your grounds a different color ?
If you look closely, the ground has a black heatshrink to differentiate.
Does the capacitor ever turn off... and if not Does it drain your battery
Can a capacitor catch fire on the go? i am new to this, but i have upgraded my audio system which causes light dimming. I purchased rockford fosgate 1 farad cap and the installer smoked it on the first day. And recenlty i got soundstorm 2 farad capacitor . I wanted to install this in my car.
Why the need to charge with a resistor before install? What if my capasitor isnt new and i dont have resistor? Can i charge it to 6v with a trickle charger?
To prevent damage to it.
If you can charge the cap with a trickle charger and not blow anything up,then why not fully charge the cap and then attach it to the car.
Now i see the capacitor have only positive and a negative so how does it go off or does it stay on. Don't understand nicely.
I charged mine, it turns on when I open the car shows 12.something V. When I turn on the engine shows 14.something. But after a wile it turns off even if I'm listening to music and the amp is working
I installed my capacitor like you said but I blew my starter relay, and car wouldn’t start. Any ideas why this happened? I also didn’t connect my capacitor to the ground on my car, I connected it to the ground on my amp.
Maybe that’s why, it specifically said not to connect to amp ground you need to connect it to chassis ground. Idk tho
So is this capacitor supplying for the whole system? Would seem that if it's just for the subwoofer amp that you'd run from the distribution block to the cap, then from the cap to the sub amp.
Yep, the customer wanted this wiring configuration. However, just as your suggestion implies, there are any other alternatives to a setup, whereas many people use the cap as a distribution block isolating the sub amp primarily for the amperage draw. Up to you!
i think it would be best from batt to cap to distru capping everything no blinking or bass lag on any amps
Hey man I have did all steps right but mine says wait for it to blink and iam currently waiting for the past 5 mi utes and no blinking effect. But it goes 12.3 back to 12.1 is it safe to say it is charged????
What if I don't have a resistor? I was given 2 caps not charged and without resistors to charge it.
My question why did you run all wires in red and not black wires for ground?
Any way u can turn it on without rem cable ? Have all hooked up but won't turn on when I plug it to battery
My my old amp RZR1-2500D, compared to my new OD1-5000D amplifier ... the RZR1-2500D amplifier would drop voltage just a tad, this one drops down from 14.5 to 11.9 halfway turned up on my head unit and amplifier less then ¼ on subsonic an LP filter. I have the same on only different year's. I'm guessing that I need a yellow top Optima battery for my new amplifier to help with the power issues?? Any suggestions feel free to lmk what I should do or not do. Most say get rid of the compastor but it helps & lets me read the voltage!
Won’t the amp still be taking power from the battery instead of the capacitor because the distribution block allows it to take power from the battery and capacitor
That’s what I think too! All caps I’ve installed show 12v power into the cap, then out to the amp straight from the cap. I’m not sure how this install would benefit full potential of the cap
So when you hook up a capacitor it saves your car battery since your not hooking it up to the car battery?
Hey, I had a question for you. Do you know how to charge a rockville rfc30 farad Hi buy it brand new I try to figure out how to charge first time
Thax for this video, extremely helpful. Question, for 3 amp setup/installation, does it matter what capacitor size to use? I see several sizes from 1UF 2000w, 2.5UF at 2500w, 5UF at 2000w......etc. Not sure what size capacitor to use in our new installation. (FYI, my old 1985 truck does not have a very powerful alternator, so I need as much help with power as I can for this all-new audio installation set up).
What size fuse do you recommend using coming from the battery to distribution with 3-amp setup? Or from Capacitor to distribution?
Also, the old stereo system with 2 amps that was installed by a stereo shop on this same truck, you could hear engine noise as you accelerate and shift(its a stick-shift truck) all through the speakers, very annoying sound. Not really sure what was causing that to this date. All that system is gone and we're installing all new speakers, Amps, Wires, stereo, sub...ALL NEW, do we need to add a device or do anything to our installation to stop that engine noise sound? Thax
your capacitor installed sir had no built in remote wire? is that only ground and positive thanks
if I accidently left my light on and discharge my car, will the cap discharge?
Shouldn't it be installed b4 the distribution block? To cover all amps?
Le fil + du cappatiteur n'est pas censé faire max 30cm pour être efficace ???
Do you have to do the resistor first step to charge the capacitor if the capacitor has been purchased from someone who has already done it previously?
Im not an expert, but i believe as long as the cap is at least 50% charged then you dont have to. But if its empty or you dont know then yes its a must.
check the voltage of the capacitor with a multimeter, if the voltage is below 6volts then yes you would have to recharge the capacitor.
Explained very well.
Good job brother very informative
I have a question, can a car capacitor have enough volts to kill u cuz I’m scared to install one to my car
12v wont hurt you, ive been shocked by it before and all it did was burn for a moment, but idk maybe im built different
i thought the power from amp had to go into the capacitor?
In terms of measuring actual amperage pulls with the current wiring configuration, this current setup works just fine, there are no amperage differences within either setup method as the 4 gauge run of wire was short enough to eliminate drops in DC current. But again, as you have noted, there are many different ways to set this up.
Bass amp should be connected to the capacitor....
If I'm running 0 gauge to the distribution block, do you think it's necessary to run 0 gauge to the amp from the block or is 4 gauge fine? Would there be a power loss? Thanks!!!
Update? Any power lost
@@ryaneboy101 none. Should have ran the 4 to begin with. 0 was overkill for 1500 watts. Anything more id say yes. I ran 4 from the front instead. But you wanna stick to the gauge you run.
Seriously I don't understand why ppl want these big fat stupid dong wires running all over their car. Get some 4g OFC for power and 8g OFC for amp distribution and be done with it. You'll only need the dong wire if you're using CCA
Will this stop my headunit from restarting when I crank the engine. Super annoying as it takes a while to start and repair the blutooth to phone and start the streaming again. I can run a wire from headunit to this bypassing car wiring.
That sounds more like a head unit wiring issue.
I bet that cap doesn’t do 2.2 farad..and it would be nice using different color wires...other wise good video
Bout turn on and off do you need to install a killer switch? I got lost on. That part. Or it does turn off automatically after some time not use?
It doesn’t turn off you have to use the resistor to drain the power out of it but that’s only when dismounting or if the car is gonna sit for a long period of time
Do I need to have the ground on my battery in too when I go to charge my capacitor
ok...need to know...can you run 2 super caps between the amp and batteries
Is everything amps, capacitor, etc, screwed directly to the sheet metal of vehicle?
Can you earth the amplifier capacitor and battery to the same spot?..
Do you know how to wire a xpress digital power cap, 5.0 farad ?
Look online you can get a 6 3000 farad caps in a bank that ends up being a 500farad cap bank for 299 skyhighcaraudio just look it up on google
so if i have 2 battery's allready, do i need a capacitor? FRONT (YELLOWTOP) BACK YELLOWTOP -> capacitor
Capacitors are in most instances garbage. I don’t recommend it.
Great video 👍🏼
I have a question, I installed the same capasitor but I didn't use that blue little thing, I just put ground from the chasis and the red from the battery and then another red from the capacitor to the amp, any problems if I didn't use the Blu little thing ?
The blue little thing is called a resistor, it can damage the cells inside the capacitor without properly charging it in the long run..
my capacitor is just doing a steady chirping sound even with the car off. how do i fix that?
new cap
wont this discharge the car battery cos it means this capacitor will stay on the whole time
i dont get how you wired up the cap to the output port of the distro block? shouldnt it be mounted between the batt and the distro block? can you please explain how it being in the output source will power up the amps connected to the other outputs
In terms of measuring actual amperage pulls with the current wiring configuration, this current setup works just fine, there are no amperage differences within either setup method as the 4 gauge run of wire was short enough to eliminate drops in DC current. But again, as you have noted, there are many different ways to set this up.
how much time did you leave it loading, because I have the same capacitor but 4.4 Farad?
Until about 6 volts
What is the value of resistor and when you need to pull it out?
You can safely discharge the capacitor.
Hi I need an advice here I bought 2 amplifier Monoblock and 4 channel and a 3 way crossover how do I connect everything together and which rca cables must I use to connect
Hook up 4 channel then run rca into input of 4channel the other end to the monoblock so it amplifies the sound for subs. I never touched a crossover so I cannot answer for that
I have this same cap bro, my digital display on it stays on for hours when I turn off car. Does yours do the same?
Good question, i'm not sure as this was a customer vehicle so i no longer have access to it.
I am having the same issue the same as yours but didn't turn off from the time I have installed. did you solve that issue?
red wire for ground @2:20? should have used black.
Dose the led volt meter stay on the whole time your car is on
When my electric cooling fans turn on it causes a rough idle and light dimming. Will a capacitor like this help to provide the needed jolt of watts? If so, how can I set it up? Can anyone give your opinion please? Thank you.
I strongly suggest a big 3 upgrade and a better battery before you invest in this. Generally capacitors are garbage and really wont' help much.
What if I don’t charge it? Mine won’t hold a charge by the time I get the positive wire on its empty.
What if I just hook it up and don’t charge it?
You will probably blow something up as you are effectively putting a dead short across your battery.
so are u saying I can use capacitor as a distribution block if I don't have one???.
( fused power to cap, then 2 positive wires, one to each amp...)
Yessir, you got it.
cool. thanks man👍👌
Is the capacitor capable of delivering a shock? Or killing?
Killing, no, shock, probably.
lots of smoke when the seal pops and awful smell
hi there, great video and super easy explanantion guide. My only question is can i install a 1.0 farad capacitor in my car without a sound system to give a cushion to all the extra accessories like the dash cam so that it does take a toll on the electrical system? thanks in advance
dont waste your money on a capacitor just install a second battery instead its much more effective.
Agreed. However, this was a customer vehicle and they wanted a cap.
would it be stupid to run a capacitor with a 2nd battery?
Not stupid, but not recommended as the capacitor will be inferior to the battery. Battery is your best bet.
@Sirtokesalot---> that's what I was thinking... just add an additional battery
th-cam.com/video/qmH_N4lvppU/w-d-xo.html check it out!
I've got a Blaupunkt volocity to go 6, and I want to use it as a boombox, I've got 12 volt but only 1,5 to 3 amps.
So how do u connect cap to power with no spark ?
And would cap not work the same if u dont charge it before actially plug everything up ?
It should work the same. Generally, the manufacture recommends safe charging because they claim there could be damage to the actual capacitors if they are rapidly charged without the proper slow charging as seen in the video.
Can use a compactor with 2 batteries or is it useless
I know a battery is preferred over a cat but will a cap do for a 2000 watt sub amp
Louie Villa depends on the farads of the capacitor.
i got a ???! I'm running one of this in my car and i just noticed that the blue light is still on, even long after a parked my car, is that normal?
Well, all caps are not the same. I know that some have a "remote accessory connection" which will activate the LED display only when the car is on (same principle as a radio) and turn off when the car is off. The cap is similar as a battery in that it is always connected. Other caps have functionality to activate the LED display when it senses a voltage change, like the one in the video.
Thanks
Provo Beast Audio Installation I bought one just like this and it didn't come with a remote accessory to turn it off. will it kill my battery?
Michael Hatch hasnt killed mine in a yr+. Doesnt use enuff juice to matter and i have a 30 buck junkyard battery
You probably hooked it up wrong...could be there is a remote turn on..this needs to be connected to a switched power supply lead..
Does it matter what size distribution block you get ? Or is there a range of wattages to choose from in distribution blocks?
No, just make sure you get blocks that can accomodate the wire size you're using.
What if I’ve got a diesel so I already have two batteries, would a 3rd battery or a capacitor be better for two 12’s?
You can buy xs capacitors that are 3100 farads each for 85 dollars. You will need 6 of them to hit about 15v 500 farads. Do not buy any of these fake ass 1 to 5 farad caps. If you have dimming I’d suggest new alternator or a bank of this caps. High amp hour batteries always help too.
Is it supposed to stay on when the car off
Does you car have to be on to charge the capacitor
Yes
Hi what happens when i connect the capacitor without rezistor will it work when i start the vehicle ?
It will probably spark. It may or may not affect the performance of the cap, but depends on the manufacture.
Can I hook both the amp and the cap ground to the same bold or would that fudge with it?
Sure can.
would the light on the capacitor create a parasitic draw on the battery?
I was wondering the same thing. There's gotta be a way to shut off the capacitor when you shut off the car.
@@vettper mine shuts off no problem or goes into standby mode. If your worried about a 2w LED light then maybe you need to rethink your hobbies lol
i hav the same one but mines stays on its been 2 weeks still on did i do something wrong?
i wired it up just like u did only thing i don't hav a distribution block it goes from battery to cap to amp
The cap my be faulty, sounds like an issue with the cap
Provo Beast Audio Installation
Dam really
try coming from battery to capacitor then from capacitor to amps with capacitor and amp with its own ground
pollo loco that how exactly i hav it wired
For the extra ground wire did u just cut the power wire? I’m new too this and about too install my system
No I'm sure he used left over power wire. Since it's the same as the ground only difference is the color of the cable
If it is use capacitor that packed down for some time do i still need a resistor
Yes
Are both amps connected to the capacitor?
Can you connect 2 capacitor together
Highly recommend just getting an AGM battery instead.