First off, thanks for looking and/or helping me out here.

I have a tsunami 1.2 Farad Capacitor, I bought it from a friend and I didn't get any instructions from it. All I know is that I have to charge it up by hooking up a little light bulb from the + side of farad cap to the + side of a 12v DC power source and the same with the - (negative side) except no light bulb. Then I have to wait for the light to go out and it is charged. I did this, but the light didn't even light up! He has never used this farad cap before, so I know its not charged..... I just need to know if anyone has any input or experience with this problem. Please don't flame up this thread, I searched all over the net for troubleshooting ideas and came with nothing, this is my last resort... Thanks!

 

First thing you should do it put a voltmeter to it to find out if its already charged.

If the meter reads 10 - 13v its charged. be VERY carefull handling it - a shorted cap can burn fingers skin etc, take the lightbulb and connect it to the + and minus from the cap. A good 1f cap should power it from 5 to 10 seconds before fading out.

If the meter doesnt show 10-13 or shows something like 5 or 6 after you charged it, then you have a shiny paperweight my friend. If you connect a cap backwards it loses more than half its charge capacity nearly instantly, also shorting caps out will significantly shorten their life as well.

feel free to PM me if you dont understand.

 

Thanks, I borrwed my friends multimeter, and it read 12.8 volts, so its charged!!! I also hooked that bastard up, oh my god, what a difference, the bass stays strong all the time now. Thanks!