Audio system question
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Audio system question
I have a navigator and my radio is hooked up to 3 amplifiers. One amplifier is for my highs and the other 2 are connected to 2 12 inch subs. One to each. The 2 amps that power the subs each have a capacitor connected to them. My car sat for a while and the battery died. At some point or another the power wire which feeds the amplifiers became disconnected from the pos terminal of the battery. After the battery was charged I tried to connect the power wire and it arc's. there is no way the wire is grounded out but it is acting as if it is.
What I would like to know is could the capacitors be causing this? Could they have become discharged and be causing my problem?
Would I need to recharge the caps? How could I tell if they are discharged?
Any help would be greatly appreciate.
What I would like to know is could the capacitors be causing this? Could they have become discharged and be causing my problem?
Would I need to recharge the caps? How could I tell if they are discharged?
Any help would be greatly appreciate.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 147
From: Billings, Montana
Yes, your caps could have discharged so when connecting the cable back up it will arc. You could test the caps for voltage which would tell you how much they've discharged, they should be about 12v at full charge. Hooking the wire back up to the battery will recharge them with no problem, but like you mentioned it will arc when doing so until they're fully charged again.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 147
From: Billings, Montana
Not that I know of, just be careful when you hook them up, you probably already know this but arcing at a battery could cause the battery to explode due to an accumulation of hydrogen around the battery from the charging of the battery itself, this is why when you jump start a vehicle with jumper cables you always hook the last neg cable to a good ground and not the battery. You could avoid this by disconnecting the lead from the cap, hooking up your lead at the battery then reconnecting the lead backup at the cap, in this case the arcing will be at the cap and not the battery.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 147
From: Billings, Montana
Personally I don't think you have to go to all that trouble, you should just be able to hook them up and you'll be fine. But, if you're not comfortable with doing it, then by all means go that route.
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