Trouble charging cap

[DecoyforHire]

I just recently got a cap, dont know what kind, but when I tried to charge it, it charged to 5.30 then the led and timer like lights came on and the charge is going down slowly.

Using fuse holder with two 1/2 watt resistors sodered toghether 2.2k a piece resistance.
Any ideas plz?

Any ideas really, lie to me if u have to, any any .........

[2loud2k2xd]

first off, what kind of cap is it? who makes it? then i can help you out.
dave

also, post a pic if you can or a link to the cap you have.

[KeWLKaT]

Don't be a wuss and spark it :)

[2loud2k2xd]

^^^
some caps need to be charged before using or they will not work properly. and then some caps dont need to be charged.

havent heard from this guy about this. hmmmmm

[KeWLKaT]

dunno, ive charged around 30 caps till now and i sparked them all :)

[Mil]

....and one day you'll end up with a dead battery, because sparking it may cause internal damages to your battery unless it's designed for it, like a yellow top or any other brand designed for deep cycle.

If your cap has an electronic system designed to charge it on top of it, then you don't have to worry about charging it, but if it's simply a cap with two poles, you will need to charge it.
The good way is to use resistors to make sure that the current feeding the cap will be limited, this way it won't drain your battery.
Another sure and simple way to do it is by using a test light, you plug one end of the test light on the battery positive pole and with the other end ( the one normally used to test 12V),you put it on the cap's +.
REMEMBER TO PLUG THE CAP'S NEGATIVE POLE TO THE GROUND(BODY) BEFORE CHARGING .
When the light turns off on the test lamp, then your cap is fully charged. :)

[KeWLKaT]

yep, test lights work good

forgot to mention i had a yellow top :eek:

[chaos GT]

is it possible that the led display sort of acts like a resistor in this case? and that it's using power quicker than the cap is being charged due to the extra resistors being used?

it would explain why the led comes on, then goes back off. it gets the voltage just high enough to turn it on, then uses more than is being provided so it turns off.

i have a cap like this and just hooking it up produces very little spark at all (no more than reconnecting a battery). if you disconnect it from power, the displayed voltage drops to 6, then reads lo for a bit, then turns off. reading the voltage across the poles with a dmm then shows 4.5 volts.

[04Elantra]

Mil...are you saying that I all one has to do to charge a cap is to hook the positive battery lead to the test light ground wire, and then touch the point of the test light to the positive pole on the cap?

Just wanted to check..i bought my cap and stereo equipment last year and still have not finished the work, but plan on doing so soon and lost the resistor and instructions on how to charge the cap.

[Mil]

If you have some kind of electronic display on your cap, you don't have to worry about charging it, just plug it, that electronic circuit will do the job.
If your cap has just two poles, then yes, all you have to do is plugging the test light like you mentioned.
You can also use any kind of little 12v light bulb and wires.
The only important thing is to plug the test light (or light bulb) between the battery + and the cap+.
But remember to connect the cap's ground wire before starting to charge it.