If the battery in the car has been discharged, or if there is a short circuit in the power wiring for the radio, using jumper cables to connect another charged vehicle to the dead vehicle may provide enough power for you to charge your system. if not, people have also successfully used tow jumpers or portable generators. you can find “jumper clamps” online that are designed specifically for this purpose. they are typically 10-16 gauge wire with alligator clips at one end and handles with fully insulated handles on the other end that allow you to reach through an open window without having any exposed metal touching live wires or panels inside of your car .
tone: humorous
how do you charge an audio capacitor?
it generally takes many times the time it took for the capacitor to completely discharge at voltages below 100 volts. for an audio capacitor, if you use a resistor of 10 ohms it would take about 160 hours to recharge!
however, 200-500 ma short pulses are more common for bringing small capacitors back up to full charge quickly. this would do the job in almost no time on an audio capacitor. this process is also more energy efficient because only a few microseconds are required per pulse which means that more power is delivered with less heat being generated by waste half-cycles.
more information on charging large capacitors can be found here http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/cid_
do you have to charge a capacitor before using it?
generally speaking you can use a capacitor immediately after it has been manufactured. the only time you'll need to charge the capacitors prior to using them is when they're “ceramic” or “film” type, which do not store nearly as much energy as plastic “aluminum” type power caps.
since your question specifically asks about charging a capacitor before using it, we will examine that situation.
charging a capacitor occurs when placing an electric potential across its terminals and allowing for electrons to flow from one terminal (the negative) side of the cap towards the positive terminal (the positive). this process increases the internal electric fields within the disc-shaped component and reduces surface charge around its corners and edges,
can i charge my car audio capacitor without a resistor?
no, you can't charge a capacitor without a resistor.
if you try to charge the capacitor without a resistor the voltage spikes will be higher and could potentially damage your audio equipment. a resistor is used to limit this spike in voltage by absorbing energy from the current until it reaches the equilibrium point, where it charges on both sides of the membrane equally. without one, there's no regulation and it would fry your speakers or other components that use/depended on that power supply. that said, some amplifiers manufactured with capacitors do not require resistors of any kind so if you have one of these amps then don't worry about getting a resistor!
how do i charge my capacitor for my car stereo?
here is a good tutorial on how to charge the capacitor.
http://www.markersamstereo.com/index.php?q=node/2
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/capacitor_charging#timing_cycles
the steps in charging a car stereo capacitor are involved and require patience and attention to detail amidst the process, among other things like disconnecting the battery from the power source, extensions for loosening bolts with fat wire screws, importance of using correct polarity markers for installation and removal of cables, ear protection during processes involving high levels of noise (e.,g.: charging), washing hands after working on electronics or most anything that involves circuitry etc..
