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Technical | How To / Capacitors for starting improvement
« on: April 15, 2022, 03:18:51 PM »
The big deal, in my opinion, is the often questionable starting capabilities of SOME of the Kymco EFI models. There seems to be an absolute minimum voltage while cranking of about 9.5 volts. This is definite, in my experience, with the DT300i and UXV500i.
I have read and watched so many capacitor articles since 2018 that it pushed me to actually try a set of these "supercapacitors." Amazon had six for 25 bucks. These are 500 Farad 2.7 volt devices a little larger than a standard "D" dry cell. Hooked in series the capacitance is 83 Farads 16.2 volts.
Years back when I first played with radios a 350 uf (micro farad, millionths of a Farad!) was a big capacitor, both physically and electrically. These days technology has reduced the sizes of all components drastically. The 2.7 volts is a never exceed value. Voltages beyond that the component breaks down, explodes, ceases to operate as it should or all the above! So you put them in series to add the voltage capability and to provide a service factor of a couple of volts.
I have conducted charging experiments. Advice is to put a turn signal bulb in series with the capacitor bundle for the first charge since the initial current is huge. Once they have some voltage the connecting current is more reasonable. CAUTION! Once these things are charged up they are more dangerous than a storage battery! Because they can produce short circuit currents very bigly huge! Not any more voltage dangerous than 12 volts but spark dangerous. You are a potential victim if hot and sweaty.
I put this thing in parallel with the lawn & garden battery in the UXV 500i to see what happens. Now the L&G battery was a big improvement over the OEM Kymco battery but that first revolution would stall the starter. You would have to hold the start switch to get it to spin continuously for a start. With the capacitor bank it started on the first revolution with no hesitation! That's the way it SHOULD work, people!
Imma gonna leave it on the sxs for a couple of weeks to see how it works after setting idle and will report. Be advised, disregard the youtubers that have replaced the batteries in their cars in favor of full-time cap banks. The charging systems are different in cars than these bikes!
See picture...
I have read and watched so many capacitor articles since 2018 that it pushed me to actually try a set of these "supercapacitors." Amazon had six for 25 bucks. These are 500 Farad 2.7 volt devices a little larger than a standard "D" dry cell. Hooked in series the capacitance is 83 Farads 16.2 volts.
Years back when I first played with radios a 350 uf (micro farad, millionths of a Farad!) was a big capacitor, both physically and electrically. These days technology has reduced the sizes of all components drastically. The 2.7 volts is a never exceed value. Voltages beyond that the component breaks down, explodes, ceases to operate as it should or all the above! So you put them in series to add the voltage capability and to provide a service factor of a couple of volts.
I have conducted charging experiments. Advice is to put a turn signal bulb in series with the capacitor bundle for the first charge since the initial current is huge. Once they have some voltage the connecting current is more reasonable. CAUTION! Once these things are charged up they are more dangerous than a storage battery! Because they can produce short circuit currents very bigly huge! Not any more voltage dangerous than 12 volts but spark dangerous. You are a potential victim if hot and sweaty.
I put this thing in parallel with the lawn & garden battery in the UXV 500i to see what happens. Now the L&G battery was a big improvement over the OEM Kymco battery but that first revolution would stall the starter. You would have to hold the start switch to get it to spin continuously for a start. With the capacitor bank it started on the first revolution with no hesitation! That's the way it SHOULD work, people!
Imma gonna leave it on the sxs for a couple of weeks to see how it works after setting idle and will report. Be advised, disregard the youtubers that have replaced the batteries in their cars in favor of full-time cap banks. The charging systems are different in cars than these bikes!
See picture...