How long does it take for a bass capacitor to self discharge?

Question

i actually have a few questions. first, i read that overtime capacitors will self discharge because they have a slow "leakage." how long does this take? ive had my capacitor for about 4 or 5 years now. am i due?

second, how much will it cost to have a car audio shop recharge it?

third, i have disconnected my battery since my capacitor had been installed several years ago. does disconnecting your car battery discharge the capacitor?

thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You don't need to recharge your cap.  The only reason that you need to charge it in the first place is so you don't have a huge spark when intsalling it.

A cap will be a dead short when it is fully discharged and the voltage in a cap cannot change instanteously.  This means you need to charge the cap in order for the voltage in the cap to be the same as your power wire.  If you don't charge your cap you have a 12 volt difference between the cap and the power wire.  This is where the spark comes from.

Your cap is going to be charged if you have it inline with your power wire.  It will "discharge" only when it is sitting for a long period of time and not getting any power.  

A cap can hold it's charge for a very long time.  If you ever take it out you will want to fully discharge it.  If you don't you will be in for a nasty surprise if you touch the wrong part of it.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

it discharges when the the power wires are removed from it, and depending on the size it could vary (not years, hours)

it recharges when you hook it back up to the battery (its not recharged like your cars AC)

if it has been disconnected for a couple days you are safe to remove it