DIY Capacitor
 

So Im looking into making a voltage stabilizer for just all around performance and fine tuning for my car. I know theyre typically used for audio but their use for the entire electrical system seems promising from what Ive read and testimonials. I'm not looking for whether or not the product is legit. Thats what I'm looking to see for myself. But

I found this
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...45512109,d.dmg

It downloads to a word document (its clean, I checked the file with my own computer)

Im wondering, for those who are pretty savvy with electronics, is this a good schematic? Is there anything more I should know than whats in there?

I was thinking about a relay tied into the ignition so that the capacitor isnt working while the car is off. Is that necessary?

please post the schematic as an image link and i'm happy to review it for you.

But this first one is the one Im leaning towards from what I found researching.
The second one I thought would be better at first cuz it has a variety of size capacitors.
Im wondering if I could incorporate the two together. Perhaps use the first as a base and add a few more smaller capacitors?

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3nQ...it?usp=sharing


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3nQ...it?usp=sharing

Heres another I found

https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...ine=1366822130

I know Im determined to try this out but I might as well start a conversation on how they may work to see how I may get the best result. They do something. Excuse me while I ramble...

i spoke to a guy at an electrical supply company. He really knew what he was talking about. He said it seemed like snake oil. Im gonna try it anyways. He said that this would work for compensating for volts lost in the wire due to resistance. The concept behind them from what I read was the stabilize the voltage fluctuations that come when the battery switches from charge to discharge under large loads. I see from my battery voltage readings that the alternator will stop charging or acting neutrally and draw momentary power from the battery. Thats when the volts drop to about 12 volts. The alternator is in good condition though.

He said the schematic would work just as well with one low frequency and one high frequency capacitor. I think the concept behinds these is to compensate for the different frequencies in voltages. Placing the stabilizer closer to the "problem" area would make the difference rather than at the battery.

For my experiments, while the ECU already has a filter for electrical fluctuations Im wondering if placing this in circuit with something to stabilize the sensor readings to the voltages would make a difference? Perhaps in line with the ignition system?

Im seeing logic placed against testimonials. Its tricky.

But the guy smelled of weed too...

thanks for the interesting thread.

i knew several electrical engineers who smoked weed, so you can't rule a guy out on that alone. :)

yes, we know that capacitors provide filtration of high frequency noise and can help smooth DC ripple. But a capacitor won't do anything until voltage drops and it will only rest at the voltage presented at the terminals. Small capacitors in cars won't do much for voltage stabilization because the current draw is too high. capacitors won't compensate for voltage drop in wire resistance because the cap will sit at the voltage on either end.

a good battery is the best option for additional energy storage as it can influence the resting voltage of the electrical system and it has enough energy to supply large current demands.

but try it anyway. you can find larger (>1F) capacitors pretty cheap on eBay or Craigslist. You can also scavenge old electronics for the caps in the diagrams. The main issue with those designs is it only takes one cap to go bad to ruin the whole setup.

Thanks for the response. Few questions:

I notice my battery will be 14.1 volts on the highway and sometimes when cruising around town. Stop and go traffic it goes down to 12.5. I wonder if thats putting a negative impact on anything? I'm thinking the capacitors charge up to 14.1 or .2 volts, then when I get the dips down to 12.5 they will discharge to keep it up to 14.1.

(I think thats part of the reason my car still feels stronger after it get off the highway and bogged down around town. That issue seemed solved with a new ignition coil but its come back a bit.)

I like this experiment cuz itll allow me to learn more about the cars electrical. Ive started building it but Im a bit confused. The design is a parallel circuit though, wouldnt that mean that if one goes bad the others do fine?

Im also wondering about how I would know how many of each frequency capacitors would be best. Is there a way of figuring out the frequency of voltage drop and use it accordingly? Or is that where my car data comes in?

As far as the voltage drops in the wires, why not just place the stabilizer closer to the ignition power source for better spark?

And my last question. Would it be good to put a relay attached to the ignition in the circuit to keep the capacitors from leaking what they draw from the car battery when the car is not in use or will that be negligible?

Thanks

the caps won't keep it at 14.1. they will discharge in less than a second and get down to 12.5.

they only fluctuations it will stabilize will be high frequency fluctuations.

in a car, caps charge in fractions of a second and discharge just as quickly.

you can do this, but don't expect it to make a noticeable difference. there simply isn't enough energy stored in a cap.

Ok. I understand.

Is it normal for my car to drop down to 12.5 volts when driving around the city but not on the highway? It appears the ecu isnt able to change the voltage output of the alternator fast enough. or at least from what I understand. At this point im trying to squeeze what power and all around performance i can from the electrical.

Nevermind the voltage part. Thats normal.