PA Capcell-800 how to charge

[bigtoepfer 0]

Its been awhile since I posted. But I'm back in the stereo business now. And the shop here sold someone a Power Acoustic "CAPCELL" 800-amp. 2 months ago. She came in today and her woofers basically sounded like they were crying. She thought they were blown. I crawled in and looked and the Capcell was displaying 8.24v and when it would hit would drop as low as 6.96v some time. Basically I don't have any experience with capacitors because I dislike them. But this is a hybrid so I wonder how can I recharge it. Just hook it on a battery charger for a few hours?

The system is a SPL GRLA5500.1 on CVX154ohm x 2

http://www.poweracoustik.com/pa2006/product_AUDIO_addon_CAPSELL.htm

Thats the link to the capacitor. Its the 800amp.

Thanks for any help guys.

I know that its best to throw away and replace with a HC-800 Kinetik. But the customer isn't looking forward to spending more money. LOL.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

i am not going to lie but I have never seen one of those before.

but if I was you I would give the manufacture a call and ask them if you can charge that 16v cap on 12v system!

also did you happen to pop your DMM onto the front battery to see if it has 12.8v resting and 14.4v when the car is on? I hope the poor ladies alt isn't starting to die.

[bigtoepfer 0]

I didn't think to test her battery. Her problem is i believe this thing charges more like a battery than a cap. She only drives back and forth to work, and jams on the way there. She never drives a long distance to let the damn thing charge. I called PA earlier today buy no techs were in thanks for reminding me about to call them back

[CrazyKenKid 64]

personally I would tell her to do a return and just pick up a kinetik hc 800 or something along those lines! or batcap 2000! lol

although it is most likely to late to get a refund..but for sure keep us posted on the situation!

can you tell us more about the setup? like how much power she is using? and alternator specs?

[edouble101 314]

This capcell looks very similiar to Soundstream's version. Based on Soundstream's info it does not need to be charged. Soundstream CapCell

I would investigate the condition of her battery, alternator and wiring. Also check to see if the capcell voltage panel is accurate and if it needs calibrated.

[kryptonitewhite 1]

charge caps with resistors or light bulbs...allows for a slower trickle instead of fast hard heavy drain.

blinker bulbs, break bulbs so on work best, if desperate Ive used 5 wires of Xmas tree lights with 5 bulbs per cut of wire, 25 bulbs total... 5 strands parallel. 1 long strand might take all day.

[bigtoepfer 0]

PA says you can charge them on a 12v charger shouldn't need more than say 20 mins or so. He said that indeed sometimes the display can be off. But I can't find my meter. So I'll find it and test it later. I didn't check when she was here because I had alot going on but I'm suspecting that her fuse under the hood is bad. So I'll check that tomorrow when she comes back.

[djjdnap 78]

yea if the car was on it should have been reading 14v or so along with the battery.

[bigtoepfer 0]

can you tell us more about the setup? like how much power she is using? and alternator specs?

AMP: GRLA5500.1

http://www.splusa.net/AMP_GORILLA.html

2ga Power wire

factory 2001 expedition alt.

CAPCELL-800 with 2 runs of 4 ga power going to the amp

2 runs 4ga ground for the amp.

Kicker CVX 15s 4 ohm x 2 ported box.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

is that amp rated at

3200x1channel @1ohm

and she is pushing both subs at 1ohm?

and she is pulling what 250amps on a stock alt and battery with no upgrades other then a big cap?

umm i think her cars electrical is in for a world of hurt or even her amp for that case...

if this is the case, I think you should make mention to her

at any rate i think there is a bigger underlining case to deal with before recharging a little silly cap!

[bigtoepfer 0]

and she is pulling what 250amps on a stock alt and battery with no upgrades other then a big cap?

the amp has 5 40amp fuses on it. So it might pull 200 amps on a good day. These amps much like power acoustic are way over rated. The do put out well if you don't expect much. It will beat those two CVXs pretty well. But I agree with that you are saying. She needs a better charging system.

But the customer I deal with here is "ghetto" for lack of a better word. They care about the fact that the amp says 5500 on it. Not if it actually puts it out or not. She'll never pay to upgrade the system. At best I might be able to convince her to pick up a small Shuriken or Kenetic that we have here.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

aww i C an over rated amp! and a ghetto owner! those ppl are a JOY to deal with!

but still 150amps on 12.8v = what 2000watts I am sure that amp can make 2000watts though and on a stock setup ya that is pushing it lol. plus she would need to get at least a kinetik 1400 or 1800 battery right! and those might be out of her price range i would think.

at any rate good luck with your situation and good luck telling her the cap has to go.. you know come to think of it you could lay it out like this to her:

your cap can support 800watts for 3seconds, so after 3seconds of a bass line the cap is dead and then it starts to pull the power out of the starting battery and starts kick the crap out of your alt and doing this repeatedly is a very good way to end up killing an alt/battery, and murder that cap in the process, would could run you a good 300-400$ (rebuilt alt new battery new cap/battery for the setup) so in the long run to save your self a lot of trouble and headache maybe just get a kinetik 1400 or 1800, o and plus if the batteries give out wouldn't / couldn't that also in turn hurt/ kill the amp? then that way she would be out everything lol. yes i know extreme case scenario but you need to get through to her.

it isn't wrong to scare her a bit into doing the right thing is it?

O well i am sure you are more then capable to hand this situation and i sure you know what is going on with her setup and how to correct it, the only hard thing to do now is to lay it all out to her in lame man terms and see if she takes your advise!

good luck and let us know how it goes!

[Julian 641]

IIRC 90% those amps are made by PA..

[bigtoepfer 0]

yeah boards are the same on both PA and SPL. We'll see what happens tomorrow when she comes back. I'm praying its a blown fuse or something. So i can put this stuff back together and see her leave. And hope things work for her and she doesn't come back

[CrazyKenKid 64]

if it is a blown fuse, replace the fuse turn the gains down and call it a day lol!

[bigtoepfer 0]

my thoughts exactly. I'll "adjust" the amp. My only worry is that she jammed it for too long on low voltage and burnt a woofer. Hopefully this isn't the case

[CrazyKenKid 64]

umm burned out a woofer! good times! well you did mention they sounded odd right! so who knows maybe she ripped a spider and it making a screw noise lol! worst comes to worst i guess she things her amp is a tough amp and now it is out to kill her car once it kills the subs lol! those damn evil amps!

maybe just wire the subs to a higher impedance along with turning the gain down and replacing a fuse lol!

[bigtoepfer 0]

so update on the situation. She came back and i check under the hood sure enough blown fuse. But it was only 150amp. So I upgraded it up 200amp and replaced the capcell back in and its beatin down the block again. voltage at a steady 14.6v unless she hits a few good notes then the lowest it dropped was about 12.7v Its loud too. So she's happy

[CrazyKenKid 64]

good to hear!