I have a lightning audio capacitor strike LS10TB. It doesn't have a digital voltmeter, but it does have a meter on it and its not changing color. I do see a screw that says remote on it. Does the remote wire have to be wired to it for the cap to work?

 

Can you shoot a quick picture of the top? Sounds like it needs a remote, but just to be sure.

 

its already installed in the car....ill post a pic later. However, there is a screw there and the word remote. Is it the same as an amp (the remote wire is neccesary to turn it on)?

 

Yes it's the same, the light will not work properly without the remote. Though the cap is useless might as well just pull out your pretty paper weight.

 

Caps are only useless for those who know nothing about them. Call Lightning Audio Tech Support at (888) 881-8186. Pretty sure that remote wire needs to be hooked up. Not using mine at the moment, so I can't really remember.

 

Please explain how caps are not useless. The only thing that a cap does is mask a problematic electrical system. No system should require the use of a cap for anything more than looks. It puts another load on the stock electrical system, tell me how that can POSSIBLY be good.

 

Capacitors are used to keep battery voltage at the amplifiers more steady than without. They are not the cure all for a bad charging system or for using too small a power and ground wire. The big-3 upgrade is probably the best route to go first. Too many people think that caps are going to keep headlights from dimming and that's not what they are designed to do. Adding more batteries presents more of a load to the charging system than a capacitor does. Caps are designed to charge and discharge much quicker than a battery or alternator can supply the current. Most amplifiers are designed with a moderate amount of capacitance built in for the power supply to draw a quick burst of current. So does that present an additional load to the charging system, no. Adding a capacitor simply is a storage device to allow the amplifier to draw more current quickly when it needs it. A couple things that make the headlights dim: Wrong gauge amp kit, input gains cranked too high, battery slowly dying, corroded battery clamps, lousy amp and/or cap ground or even a inefficient amplifer.

Just my thoughts....after 17 years of this you learn a thing or two. I to was a doubter at first. But I've done my research.

 

I like your explanation, and as long as you feel they are beneifial in your usage keep on truckin. I personally will not be using a cap in the near future. Thanks for the explanation though.

 

I won't get into the bashing side of things, but I will add that as power draw increases (i.e., high-wattage systems), caps can play a major role in power delivery. They are not an extra load on the system since once charged, they will draw a few uA to tens of uA (leakage). If they're discharged in the course of use, that would be no different than the alternator supplying the power already supplied by the cap... the caps offer the advantage of releasing the alternator from dealing with surge currents and limit it to charging the cap between those surges (e.g., bass notes).

A typical couple-hundred Watt system is not a candidate for a cap, but when things get to the half-kW range and up, a cap can be a very useful tool. As with any tool, it's all in how it's used that matters.

 

Another good use of capacitors...... http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...9&locale=en_US
Don't know if anyone else saw this at CES powering 72 woofers. Might be a little big for the Maxi trunk though.