Capacitors can be band-aids, but they do have useful functions if there is a place in your system for it, with a good use.

Big 3 is important. I only have a 600 W RMS system between my HU and my sub amp, but I'm doing atleast 2 ga this summer sometime.

Both of your Caps should not be needed, if you are going to install a second battery in the trunk to run your system off of. This along with an upgraded Altenator should be more than enough juice.

Also a very important upgrade for stereos is the Big 3. This is always the weakest link.

The reason caps are used is because they can provide instant power, at the second its needed, like when a heavy bass note hits and your lights start to dim. A battery on the other hand can not provide power as quickly.
While caps do have a purpose alot of people assume that it is going to fix this problem.
If used with the Big 3 upgrade it can help.

I would see if you can return one of the Caps to get your money back as you won't be needing both.

The problem you are talking about with charging your caps is probably due to either the incorrect resistor size or the resistor getting too hot.
I never really have any problems charging caps, just do Not try to charge it for longer than 2 minutes max or the resistor will get really hot and not allow much current to flow.
The reason you charge the Cap with a resistor before connecting it, is so that there isn't a massive spark that blows the inline fuse or damages the cap.

You should only need to charge the caps once before installing. As long as they are close to 12 v it doen't have to be dead on.

I would try upgrading the Big 3 first, before spending money on batteries, a new Alt and before installing the caps.
You may be able to get away with one cap + the Big 3 upgrade.

Good Luck,
Dutch

The resistors came with my capacitors. They don't get hot to the touch at all. I ran the caps with the resistors up to 5.36V, and then I tapped the + on each. About a minte later, I was down at 6V. Here'* how I plan to charge the caps:

- Ground line straight to the chassis.
- Cap + to resistor, resistor to battery +
- Tap the battery'* + against the cap after 5.3V
- Fasten the line to the cap.

What do you think? Aside from how unnecessary this is, I've got to use it. The caps were a Christmas present.

I didn't know you got them as a Christmas present thats cool.

How long did it take to get the cap up to 5.3 ? How many minutes of charging ?

You might want to check the resistor value with a multimetre set to Ohms maybe they gave you a resistor that is to big. How is your ground ? No painted surface blocking the current flow ?

What I would do is install the cap where you want it, but don't insert the inline fuse. Instead put the resistor in the inline fuse holder until the cap is charged. Then remove the resistor and continue your power wire install to the amp(*), finally installing the inline fuse at the end.

Charging a Cap should not take longer than 6 minutes. 2 minutes charging, 2 min off to allow the resistor to cool down, 2 min charging and it should be close to 12v.

Good Luck,
Dutch

What happened is I charged it for about 2 minutes to 5.36V, and then it stopped. I disconnected the cables, but a couple of minutes later when I checked the voltage again, the cap was down to about 3.4V or so. It would only charge up to 5.36V. I did get it to go up to 12V when I smacked the thing with a straight 12V charge.