I'll post a pic of my system to make explaining a little easier....
Ok, the distribution blocks are dead center.... 1 4ga power in from battery 3 8ga power out (1 to each amp, one to the farad cap)
The distribution block for ground actually DOES have 3 8ga outs, it's just that 2 are stacked so it's hard to see. Also, you may notice the crossover on the left end is not hooked up. It died on me so I bypassed it, I just haven't removed it yet.
Ok, here's the problem. If I let my car sit for more than a couple of days, my battery dies. Both amps have remote power inputs, so they turn on with the head unit. The farad cap however does not. So my question is....could the farad be pulling power from the battery when the car is off causing it to drain down? Is there some type of inline circuit I can/should wire to cut power to the farad cap?
You are not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fu**ing post count.
#8473, "RE: Farad cap question/problem" In response to Reply # 0
no, the cap will not drain power from the system.
i would suggest that you take out all of the fuses in the distribution block and see if it helps the problem. if so, you can isolate the problem to one of the components in the back. if not, you know its related to somthing other than the system. from there, you can add the fuses in one by one and track down the culprit.
also keep in mind that batteries DO go bad, and it sounds like yours might not be able to hold a charge (the first symptom of a bad battery). get it checked out.
#8474, "RE: Farad cap question/problem" In response to Reply # 0
Caps don't "turn on". Does your's have an LED display? (If so, that should be spliced to the head unit's remote wire.)
I also recommend putting the cap inline w/ the 4 AWG coming from the battery, and inline w/ the 4 AWG ground in the back, instead of coming off the dist. block. It should make a noticeable difference.
Joel Baldridge, ASE Certified Master Technician, Audi Certified Expert Technician
#8477, "RE: Farad cap question/problem" In response to Reply # 2
^^^the cap can be placed anywhere there is a 12volt line. current will always flow from the source of highest voltage potential, the physical location doesnt matter (im ignoring the resistance of the extra wire because its more than negligable). also, i always try to avoid stacked grounding (or grounding multiple sources to one point), as it can introduce noise. ground the cap wherever you want, its really not going to make a difference.
#8478, "RE: Farad cap question/problem" In response to Reply # 3
Ok, my battery is an Orbital gel cell battery and is less than a year old. This is also not the first battery to have this draining problem when the car sits for longer periods of time though.
I had the same idea to pull all the fuses for a few days and see if it goes away. Then I'll at least know if it's sound system related or not.
Yes, my farad cap does have an LED display. However it does not have separate power and ground wires for the display, it draws all power from the main power and ground connections.
You are not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fu**ing post count.
#8480, "RE: Farad cap question/problem" In response to Reply # 3
Originally posted by SPL_Eclipse ^^^the cap can be placed anywhere there is a 12volt line. current will always flow from the source of highest voltage potential, the physical location doesnt matter (im ignoring the resistance of the extra wire because its more than negligable). also, i always try to avoid stacked grounding (or grounding multiple sources to one point), as it can introduce noise. ground the cap wherever you want, its really not going to make a difference.
Yes ignoring resistance this is true, but for the lowest resistance you want it inline w/ the pos. on the battery (lowest resistance for recharging) and useing larger wire on the cap lets it charge/discharge faster. The reason you should ground it to the same point your amp is grounded is because electrons flow from neg. to pos. on a 12v (-) ground system, such as a car.
Joel Baldridge, ASE Certified Master Technician, Audi Certified Expert Technician
#8482, "RE: Farad cap question/problem" In response to Reply # 5
"Yes ignoring resistance this is true, but for the lowest resistance you want it inline w/ the pos. on the battery (lowest resistance for recharging) and useing larger wire on the cap lets it charge/discharge faster."
thats true, but i doubt it will ever be noticable.
"The reason you should ground it to the same point your amp is grounded is because electrons flow from neg. to pos. on a 12v (-) ground system, such as a car."
sweet, someone else besides me is familiar w/ the electron-flow theory! however, using your own logic you still want to ground the cap at the closest possible physical location. the cars body provides much less resistance than any wire you would use.
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however, using your own logic you still want to ground the cap at the closest possible physical location. the cars body provides much less resistance than any wire you would use.