Holy crap, SILENT intercom!

[Anticept]

Just wanted to share an experience that I've recently had. I still have the 22mF capacitor that comes standard with CTLS's from '08 on N566FD.

 

The issue that I have with the capacitors that comes with my CTLS, is that the connectors sometimes don't have a good connection to the capacitor tabs. Over time, corrosion builds up on the terminals, and the alternator whine gets worse and worse. Eventually they have to be removed and cleaned. Well, after cleaning, I took a long thin wire of solder, coated it with a little rosin paste, and folded it over several times, stuffing it into the connector and then putting it on the capacitor. I made sure that none of the solder wire was protruding out and touching the surface of the capacitor itself. I then applied a hot iron for a few seconds in the hole where the solder, connector, and capacitor tab met. I wasn't intending on melting all the solder (that would risk damaging the capacitor), just enough to make sure there's a good solid bond. I then applied another bead of solder over to cap it. Rinse and repeat for the other capacitor connector. I wish I took pictures of this as I did it this, but I didn't expect it to work so well.

 

In fact, it worked better than expected. There is ZERO alternator noise. I've turned up my headset, I've turned up the radios, I've done it all. I can't hear it. Meanwhile the other CTLS is still noisy as can be!

[mocfly]

Anticept,

Funny you never realize how much noise you have until it is eliminated. I was amazed when the new large capacitor was added and the grounds were re configured to contain the same potential.

Maybe a good idea to post a couple of pics.

This pic shows the mounting position of the giant capacitor.

[Anticept]

As an additional note: you can put several capacitors in parallel to achieve the same effect as one big one. Note, I said parallel, not series!