Capacitors 101

[bikinpunk]

The 'big 3' is an upgrade of the 3 main wires in your engine bay:
Alternator + to battery +
Battery - to ground (most important by some people's accounts)
Alternator ground to ground

The stock wires are about 8 gauge or so. You upgrade these wires to 0 gauge or 4 gauge...something larger so that current will travel more easily. You DO NOT have to replace the stock wires; simply put the new ones on in addition to the stock ones. So, you'd basically have 2 runs of everything.

I had good results doing this. A lot of others have, too. Some haven't gained anything.

Overall, this is just a cheap way to help fix your problem of lights dimming, etc. You can usually get the 10-12 ft of wire needed, and a fuse and new battery terminals for less than $70 if you look around. $70 is cheaper than a $150 battery, and that's cheaper than a $250+ alternator.

In most cases the Big 3 will solve the electrical strain issue and you don't have to keep pouring more money into your car. In addition, if you do ever upgrade to a high output alternator, you'll have to upgrade the stock wiring anyway.

[panthro]

i c... well i think i'll look into doing the big 3 plus replacing the battery for now.
thanks a bunch for your detailed informative response bikinpunk.

[ziwang55]

where can i get one? and what kind?

[twisted2corpse]

Originally Posted by ameuba10

Physically, a capacitor is an electical component consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a non-conductor (dielectric). In electrical terms, a capacitor is an electrical component that stores electrical charge when voltage is applied. The closer the plates, the stronger the electric field produced. The greater the charge stored on the plates, the stonger the field produced.

This field represents the storage of electric energy. This energy comes from a source and can be returned to a circuit when the source is removed.

Once a capacitor is hooked up to a power supply, the electrons do not travel through the non-conductive dielectric material between the capacitor’s plates. This electrons accumulate on that side of the capacitor creating an excess of electrons resulting in a negative charge. The electrons orbit passes in the through the dielectric and are repelled by the negative polarity of the capacitor.

As these electrons build up creating a negative side to the capacitor, the electrons are more and more attracted to the capacitor’s positive side. Once sufficient charging current has passed to cause the capacitor’s voltage to equal the source voltage, no more current can flow. The capacitor is now fully charged.

Voltage doesn’t pass through this dielectric material but it acts that way due to the movement of electrons on either side. Once a capacitor is charged, it will equal the source voltage. If the source voltage increases/decreases, the capacitor will do so likewise.

The unit of capacitance is the farad. Common capacitors for car stereo installations would be around 1 farad. A farad is the amount of capacitance where a charge of 1 coulomb develops a potential difference of 1 volt across the capacitor plates.

C=Q/V Q=CV V=Q/C
V=Voltage
Q=Coulombs
C=Capacitance in Farads

Coulomb’s Law F=(kQ1XQ2)/(d2)




Before your charge your capacitor, you must discharge the capacitor. To do this, just short out the positive and ground leads very carefully and hold it for a few seconds to be sure that all the stored voltage is released. To properly charge a capacitor, use a resistor between your battery and your capacitor. Use roughly a 1kΩ resistor here. Hook up the resistor to the power wire and let the capacitor charge for roughly 5-25 sec.

Is it ok to take the ground from the amp and put on the cap and then take a ground from the cap and put it on a grounding point.
What trying to say instead of grounding in 2 places can you just have 1? If so could this cause any problems?

[twisted2corpse]

Is it ok to take the ground from the amp and put on the cap and then take a ground from the cap and put it on a grounding point.
What trying to say instead of grounding in 2 places can you just have 1? If so could this cause any problems?

[furryferret7888]

so basically the CAP is useless...a better fix is/are

1. The big 3
or
2. New Battery/ alternator

[Chase016]

Not necessarily useless, but it will only fix slight variations/surges of voltage drops. IMO not worth the money, you can spend 100$ on avg for a cap, or take that cash and get a better battery (optima) saves weight , But as mentioned if your not weilding high output the big 3 would be sufficient. "Especially grounding"

[tda1337]

my question is as follows, so where can i get a good high output alternator for the R18 motor? ive been looking but the most i find is 120 amps, i need like 200-250 amps lol preferably the 250 lol just to have the extra
i found 220 for my gfs toyota thru knukonceptz lol

[Quinc]

If you've upgraded the big three, and have no dimming. Would having a cap be of any benefit to sound quality? they look cool but i don't want to waste the money if they dont do anything. =/


Edit: why the fuse on the ground wire?

thx for the thread! =)

[tda1337]

the answer is no, a cap looks pretty and taxes your alternator

[Quinc]

going to buy more dynamat then! thx =)

[tda1337]

yea our cars need LOTS of dynamat (which adds a ton more weight *cry's*)

i would spend the money and get a newer battery that is better :-D
or as im doing, STILL LOOKING for a HIGH OUTPUT alternator lol (which may slow down my car a bit, but im not here to race a 4 banger lol)

[buurner]

Does anyone have any pictures of the ''Big 3'' installed so I can see the wiring route?

[Psychojuggalo17]

Overview:
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: engineoverlg3.jpg
all four wires, color coded.

Alt+ to Bat +
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 1213081827apr5.jpg

Engine Ground 1
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 1213081826dh2.jpg
Top left of engine(passengers side, in the engine bay nearest passenger cabin)

Engine ground, Bat ground
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 1213081827ra8.jpg
^below battery, gotta remove battery to get to.

KEEP IN MIND THAT MY WIRES ARE NOT THE RIGHT COLOR!!! theyre gunna be loomed anyways. i got scrap wire and did the best that i could do with what i had.

[buurner]

Originally Posted by Psychojuggalo17

Overview:
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: engineoverlg3.jpg
all four wires, color coded.

Alt+ to Bat +
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 1213081827apr5.jpg

Engine Ground 1
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 1213081826dh2.jpg
Top left of engine(passengers side, in the engine bay nearest passenger cabin)

Engine ground, Bat ground
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 1213081827ra8.jpg
^below battery, gotta remove battery to get to.

KEEP IN MIND THAT MY WIRES ARE NOT THE RIGHT COLOR!!! theyre gunna be loomed anyways. i got scrap wire and did the best that i could do with what i had.

Thanx bro that really helped rep 1+

[tda1337]

just take better pics next time, ill use that when i upgrade my big 3!
thinking bout doing the grounding straps as well! where are they tho!

[sick_civic]

so the big 3 should work best with a 800-1000 watt sub then..cool.


no wonder why when i heard people running 800 watt subwoofer off the stock electrical system it sounded like crap.

[mugen08]

Contrary to popular belief, caps work.
On my V6 s10, a 1 farad cap on a 1kwrms bumped the voltage up by over 1.5v. That's good for 100 watts or so

[tigerboy0213]

nice diagrams but big 3 and a yellowtop suit me just fine