[eyecon]

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with those Volt Stabilizer gizmos. Shark Racing and the like have them. They're supposed to increase power and efficiency in the low to mid range, but I'm skeptical. Since diesels don't have spark plugs how are these things meant to work effectively for diesels, or are these things designed for our petrol bretherin.  

[Shambles]

KKOM was after one of these a few months back. Didn't get any feedback from him...


https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,5293.0.html

[Mike SX]

As every Politician knows, people will only believe, what they want to believe.
An industrial unit is available as well, connected to any 3 phase motor, it is supposed to improve the power factor, a great con, they demo with a fixed load single phase motor monitored with an ammeter, not a true comparison.
Not to be confused with genuine power factor control equipment/variable load switching panel.

[Myowni30]

Just think about it 

If these so called add-ons really work to increase this and that and fuel econ' then the manufactures would not need to spend millions developing their engines etc.

Oh, we need better fuel econ' lets just bolt one of those 'Super Increase Fuel Electronic Modules' on. Job done boss 

[Master_Scythe]

Sorry for the bump, but I thought I'd enlighten the community to the 'idea' behind voltage stabilizers.

Most of the EBAY ones are junk. Often just a low level capacitor put in a box, then filled with silicone for 'weight'.
MORE often, they're simply a straight through wire with a box clipped OVER it and filled with silicone.

When I can find the link to prove my claim, i'll post it. There is a great site where someone has ripped apart a bunch of them and shows us what they're made of.

ANY improvement people are seeing will be from additional grounding (which in the perfect world, we wouldn't need, but contacts get dirty etc.).

The ADVANTAGE of a capacitor in your engine bay is that it 'responds' faster than your battery to voltage demands. So If suddenly demand a big draw, rather than the voltage dropping for a sec while the battery 'catches up' the capacitor will empty instead and keep it 'stable'. This theory (theory to some, proof to others, bullshit to some too) sounds all well and good, but the problem is you need a DECENT capacitor for this to work. ANYTHING that can fit in your palm, wont do ANYTHING, the ammount of current that can supply wouldnt power a light bulb for a second let alone something in an engine (or even cabin - eg. lights).

There are THREE things you 'easily' can do to an electrical system in a car that MAY show improvements.

1. 'The Big 3' Upgrade -  Altenator->Battery , Battery-> Chassis ,  Chassis->Engine. Simply upgrade to larger gauge wire to obtain less resistance and a better charge, better ground, etc. This is usually only needed for an Audio upgrade, but I always to the Engine->Chassis strap myself, just because i've had a car thats been eratic thanks to bad grounding.


2. Direct Grounding - Several things in your engine bay (sensors especially) rely on being part of the chassis for its ground\negative. Often the joins are dirty or just making bad contact. Simply buying a battery terminal which can take multiple heavy gauge wire, using this on the Negative terminal (though they're normally designed for positive, there is no difference), and directly grounding to the Chassis (default), the engine, and 'the opposite side of the car' (the furthest point away form the previous 2 groundings). This ensures proper grounding to the whole car\bay.

3. DECENT Capacitor - The theory behind a capacitor is a fairly solid one. When you demand current faster than a battery can respond, the voltage drops for a second and all the sensors change slightly. Possible causes are loud music kicks, a misfire in the engine (so the altenator slows), turning the aircon on to full from off, and a lot more. A lot of people put a capacitor near their amp in their music system to try 'smooth' the drain (the capacitor can recharge between bass-kicks). And in SOME setups, where the average drain is low, but the peak drain is high (eg. bass kick) this works quite well. The same theory can be applied to the engine. Parts such as the glo-plug, starter motor, various pumps, etc. They all want to go from OFF to MAX right away. A capacitor can provide this power ALMOST instantly, faster than a battery, and the battery can take its 1 second or so to start recharging the capacitor.



Keep in mind ALL these 'mods' are not required, and wont be of much use to anyone unless they enjoy tinkering or have a powerful audio system.

PERSONALLY I do all 3, as I run a sub, and have had an ANNOYING grounding fault in an older car. Also its just FUN to do things to your engine.

Hopefully I've managed to explain these 'mods' enough for people to understand. In rare cases, they can have effects, they're almost NEVER required, and the ones on EBAY are usually completely USELESS.

(also, hi, first non-intro post)

[eyecon]

Wow, great stuff there. Snake oil it is then.

[Master_Scythe]

Found it!

http://peony888.com/VS/sobogus.htm

Enjoy those pictures, and have a read. Its pretty simple to understand and I got a few laughs and some decent rage reading what people get ripped off on\manage to sell.

Keep in mind, the one he makes at the end is still too weak to do anything really... If you want a 'voltage stabiliser' that WILL WORK (if there is any need is another story), get yourself a 1-5 Farad Capacitor (used in audio setups). THIS will be enough to stop huge voltage drops etc (eg. starter motor, AC compressor etc). Not much else will.

If you hooke dhis design up to a smaller circuit (eg. Direct to the ECU's power, rather than the shared main power, it MAY smooth some ripples....) but WTF is the point? Do the whole thing and do it properly, or dont bother!

[Lorian]

Post July 2009 European cars (and perhaps the new Australian models?) have bosch active battery management, where the alternator varies its output depending on things like temperature and state of battery charge, and if the car is accelerating or decelerating. It's possible that adding a capacitor would effect this functionality, and it's designed to help fuel economy.

You can tell a car with active battery management as it has an extra sensor attached to the positive terminal of the battery.

[Master_Scythe]

Nah, as long as they're wired in parallel (so, - to -, + to +) It wont affect anything. It just makes the battery 'hold more charge'. (battery AND cap). Afterall, a capacitor is just a really 'bad' battery, with a really fast reaction time.

[Dazzler]

Welcome Master_Scythe.. Sounds like you will be another handy person to have around... Thanks for the info..

Would be interested to know the story behind your unusual moniker and also what your line of work is (if you haven't already explained it elsewhere)

[Lorian]

Nah, as long as they're wired in parallel (so, - to -, + to +) It wont affect anything. It just makes the battery 'hold more charge'. (battery AND cap). Afterall, a capacitor is just a really 'bad' battery, with a really fast reaction time.

For sure, but I thinking if the cap was big enough it will probably upset the voltage sensor into thinking the battery was always well charged, and therefore cause the variable charging circuit to undercharge the battery.

[Funky]

You can tell a car with active battery management as it has an extra sensor attached to the positive terminal of the battery.

The Smart Charge Sensor is on the Negative terminal. It is easily damaged if the terminal nut is overtightened. Max 10Nm

[Lorian]

You can tell a car with active battery management as it has an extra sensor attached to the positive terminal of the battery.

The Smart Charge Sensor is on the Negative terminal. It is easily damaged if the terminal nut is overtightened. Max 10Nm

yeah, I have no doubt you are correct, the terminal on the right, it's pretty obvious for folk to see if they have one.

[Master_Scythe]

Nah it's smarter than that. It'll be a current sensor. When a battery 'fills' its resistance goes up. It'll sense its not absorbing as much current, and it'll stop.

If tghe capacitor is 'full' it'll pass that current to the battery, and suddenly, its not full anymore.

Its possible Hyundai cheaped out and put a really BAD sensor that wont work on there; but if its even a "beginners battery charger" Circuit it has the ability to know if the battery is full or not.

As i said, in parallel bateries just look 'bigger' in terms of mAh. volts and what not dont change.

[Lorian]

According to the specs the sensor transmits voltage, current and temperature.

It also says "tighten the clamp with specified torque of 0.4~0.6N.m, An excessive tightening torque can damage the PCB internal circuit"

[Funky]

The i30FDe tightening spec is incorrect on GSW. 

In the Original training docs it was stated as 10Nm.. However it was changed to 4.0~6.0Nm (0.4~0.6kgf.m, 3.0~4.4lb-ft).
Look at iX35(EL) or Santa Fe(CM) that uses the same sensor.

[Lorian]

That's cool at 0.4 its not exactly going to stay on very long!

Sent via swype & tapatalk on Android

[Master_Scythe]

Voltage will tell it if its functioning correctly, or if your battery is no longer holding charge.

Current will tell it when its full or not.

Temperature.... why hyundai? WTF does the temperature of your battery terminal have to do with anything? lol.