Mounting a cap...

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I should probably know this... but I don't... and its prolly a stupid question, but oh well.

Is there any harm in mounting a capacitor upside down?

for example lets say you've got an amp mount board in a trunk at a 70 degree vertical angle, is it allright to mount the cap on that board with the terminals facing the floor?

sntnsupermen131

no theres no problem with it at all...ive seen them mounted upside down, sideways, at angles...with no problems at all
-Cody

Jstas

I don't think it's a problem. Capacitors are sealed, or at least they should be. Just don't reverse polairty otherwise KABOOM! That would make for a bad day.

HBombToo

Originally posted by Jstas
I don't think it's a problem. Capacitors are sealed, or at least they should be. Just don't reverse polairty otherwise KABOOM! That would make for a bad day.

orientation is no issue but polarity is the name of the game. Ventilation should be considered regardless of orientation.

I'm no car audio guy but I will toss in my thoughts on this Q.... Hope ya don't mind or don't mind me which ever comes first.

HBomb

sntnsupermen131

ventilation is not that big of a deal..i wouldnt let the wires touch metal or carpet...but even then i dont think it would cause a problem...since its not under the hood its not going to get hot
im sure you know this but dont forget to charge it before you put it in and if you need to take it out remember to decharge it
oo...and make sure its not filled with sand either...
-Cody

CPHILHOWER

Dumb question. But, Why cant you just mount it and charge it with a Test light till it goes out? I do this all the time. As long as it is wired to the Battery, I dont see the difference. Wont charge above the power supply voltage anyhow.
Chris

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thanks for all your replies guys... upside down she goes...

and chris there are two ways to charge it... but when u think about it they're both the same.

either 1) u charge it before u mout it in the car... or 2) u charge it after u mount it BUT BEFORE you wire up your amps etc etc to it.

either way its got no load on it, so it doesn't really make a bit of difference.

"how" -- well the reason your test light works to charge it is because your test light has an internal resistance in the same ballpark of the resistor that is normally used to charge the cap.

lightning and monster make a little "plate" lookin thing that u pop on the cap and then it has 2 wires, one + and one ground... when its charged the green light shuts off... when its discharged the red light shuts off. if you really look at that plate, its nothing more than a test light.... well its a FLAT test light, but that's all it is.

so ya -- test light is fine as long as its one of those diode test lights and not the old 1975 style ones that had a 12 volt high current flash light bulb in them... but i'm guessing that if it was one of those you'd have noticed the huge spark and what not by now...lol.

Keske944

Hey Vinnie,
If you mount that sucker upside down you better make sure the sand don't fall out. Anyway, I didn't know that you had to charge a cap before you put it in (mine isn't in yet). What is the safest and best way to do that? What happens if it is not charged when you hook it up (I am not planning on doing this I just want to know).

CPHILHOWER

If I may interject. If you dont charge it first. You will have a Giant Blue SPARK and POP the fuse at the battery/ Distribution block. Kinda like dropping a wrench on the battery posts.
Chris

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yes and in addition to that giant spark you may end up destroying the cap... look at a cap as a big balloon of air or better yet .. a ballon fulla water (power)... if you fill it slowly it'll hold it fine... if you fill it all in a split second you could easily "pop" that balloon.... i've charged caps (by accident) instantaneously like that... had some go one die on me... had another be fine... its a toss up.

Keske944

Ok so I gotta charge this thing slow. How do I do that?

CPHILHOWER

Safest way I found is using a 12v Test light. Hook it between the POSITIVE wire and the POSITIVE post on the cap. Make sure the cap is grounded with the same gauge as the POSITVE wire. I reccomend using seat bolts since they go through the body of the car. Plus its easier to use a heavy power ring. Hold the light in line until the bulb goes out. Then the cap is charged.
Hope this helps.
Chris

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yup -- like chris said ... or if u dont have a diode test light or whatever u can just wire everything up -- like all your power wire your uncharged cap and everything but LEAVE THE FUSE OUT OF YOUR POWER LINE.

then take a resistor and put it in place of the fuse -- that'll allow the cap to charge slowly. should take like 3 - 5 minutes... you wont be able to tell but just let it sit for 5 minutes and then put the fuse in and even if the caps not fully charged it'll be like 90% so that little jolt wont matter none.

i'll have to check what the resistor size is though cuz i dont know it offhand... its just a doofy little 3 cent resistor -- 99.9999% of the time they give you one with the capacitor in the package (or else they give u some other sort of charging device... i think its 200 ohms... i'm not sure though. i'll check tomorrow and post it just for general knowledge.

CPHILHOWER

CAREFUL!! That resistor gets real HOT!! I would hold it with a pair of pliers.
Chris

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i still cant find what the majigger size that resistor is sposed to be -- oh well... a hunting i will go, a hunting i will go, hi ho the merry o a hunting i will go.