Powercore 20....

onecrazy95civic · Post by **onecrazy95civic** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:10 pm

Should I be worry about:

1. Catching fire?
2. Cap leaking?
3. How should I know if the caps need replacing?
4. Hon can replace the caps if need to?
5. Anything else?

Thanks

winno · Post by **winno** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:52 pm

I was looking at a 15 or a 20 for my system but heard the horror stories about both.

Would be interested to see what's said here myself because if I can do it, I probably wouldn't mind adding one to my system...somehow.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:53 pm

can you see a bunch of smaller caps inside? i think those are the ones with the problem...

jbob0124 · Post by **jbob0124** » Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:54 pm

I've always wanted one, but like winno said, the stories I've read doesn't seem worth it. If its just faulty caps going bad, then wouldn't a simple recap solve that problem?

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:57 am

Yeah there is a huge array of caps... if even one of them starts to leak out the bottom, the whole thing can short out. That much capacitance going through a little short like that can produce quite the smoke show, if not start a small fire in the trunk. Unfortunately besides looking for bulging, you can't really see if the caps are leaking out the bottom at all.

The 15's are much more reliable by comparison. Some of us bought a set of caps from a store on closeout, which were all blown! I haven't seen any other ones with issues aside from the three we got in that shady deal though. Alumapro still has 15F replacement cores for $150 as well.

The Golden One · Post by **The Golden One** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:20 am

yea i got one off of fleabay the guy said he had ran three 2250's off it it and it looked perfect.it lasted about a month then it must have ended in a very bad way.i had got in my car one day and couldnt figure out what the smell was i thougt it was nothing i guess because it was in my trunk.so i listened to some tunes and all my amps were working but the smell whouldnt go away.so i popped the trunk and saw where it looked like the power core had been on fire so i unhooked ever thing as fast as i could.for good measure i took a look inside my 0.3 and most of my input caps were leaking and i had just replaced them not even a month before.well i went ahead and replaced them again and the amp is working fine now

Post by **Eric D** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:43 am

If this is for your triple Reactor installation, I really hope you just skip the Powercore altogether. It would be a shame for one to go up in flames and take out 3 Reactors with it.

If you need a cap, get an Alumapro, and bury it in the installation somewhere. No one will ever know.

stuartyp · Post by **stuartyp** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:58 am

Not good i just bought one

.What is the main problem with them why do they go on fire

.I just got it carbon wraped too nightmare the fella i bought them of was a pg dealer and said it worked fine i havnt tried it yet what can i look for inside it.

The Golden One · Post by **The Golden One** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:10 pm

mine was probably overly abused buy to guy who owned it before me having 3 2250's in one system can cause massive voltage drop.a capacitor that has had big voltage dips is going to wear way faster than one with a more steady voltage.

onecrazy95civic · Post by **onecrazy95civic** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:43 pm

Here's a pic of the Powercore and it look likes it has numerous small caps. So if this is such a problem why didn't PG do anything or have they? Is there a fix for this or hope for the best? When you say leaking caps are you saying it will make my amps caps leak or the Powercore caps may leaks? Is this problem current with the earlier version of the Powercore 20 or any version? And yes, the powercore will run my 3 Reactor amps and the Ti DD10. So I really want to use it...it' brand new!!!

The Golden One · Post by **The Golden One** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:51 pm

i did some research and tried to find some replacement caps for the power core because pg dosent service them any more.those tiny caps are called super capacitors the ones in the powercore have pg wrote on them i cant remember the specs on them but super capacitors cost way more than regular ones.the only reason my caps leaked in the 0.3 was because of the powercore going bad

stuartyp · Post by **stuartyp** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:51 pm

im for using mine as a distro block for my 900.7 and my 1000.2 in a sq system probly overkill but will look good

stuartyp · Post by **stuartyp** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:10 pm

here is the inside of a power core

longboard · Post by **longboard** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:36 pm

yep there the bad ones with all the small caps total fire hazard right there had one go in a install luckily only to itself out and the board it was mounted too but i wouldnt trust one again
the later 15 farad were alumapro guts a totaly different beast and reliable hell alumapro are still selling the caps!!

onecrazy95civic · Post by **onecrazy95civic** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:47 pm

Without opening mine and removing the "void" sticker I would say it is the same as shown on "stuartyp" pic. Well I'm still going to use mine but will have to be vigilante about it. Does it need to be cool down or can it be inclose? Does it have tendency to get hot or overheat?

longboard · Post by **longboard** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:05 pm

niether if the caps have leaked they go bad and internaly short

seriously i would open it up pull the cap board and replace it with alumapro internals that way it would be safe and reliable

onecrazy95civic · Post by **onecrazy95civic** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:09 pm

longboard wrote:niether if the caps have leaked they go bad and internaly short

seriously i would open it up pull the cap board and replace it with alumapro internals that way it would be safe and reliable

Who can do that? Or who knows how...how much would it cost?

jbob0124 · Post by **jbob0124** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:11 pm

Eric D wrote:If you need a cap, get an Alumapro, and bury it in the installation somewhere. No one will ever know.

Do they have something similar to the powercore?

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:33 pm

jbob0124 wrote:
Eric D wrote:If you need a cap, get an Alumapro, and bury it in the installation somewhere. No one will ever know.
Do they have something similar to the powercore?

The PG 15F Powercire is an Alumapro capacitor, but with the relay built in so it doesn't require the end user to wire it up externally.

I have only heard of 3 15F Powercore failures so far, and we bought all three from the same store... they probably did something nasty to them.

onecrazy95civic · Post by **onecrazy95civic** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:56 pm

stipud wrote:
jbob0124 wrote:
Eric D wrote:If you need a cap, get an Alumapro, and bury it in the installation somewhere. No one will ever know.
Do they have something similar to the powercore?
The PG 15F Powercire is an Alumapro capacitor, but with the relay built in so it doesn't require the end user to wire it up externally.

I have only heard of 3 15F Powercore failures so far, and we bought all three from the same store... they probably did something nasty to them.

...Powercore 15F...what about the 20?

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:00 pm

onecrazy95civic wrote:...Powercore 15F...what about the 20?

What about it?

Basically you just need to find yourself a 15F powercore if you want it to be reliable.

onecrazy95civic · Post by **onecrazy95civic** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:17 pm

Alright, I think we beat the subject around enough...basically don’t trust the 20 trust the 15. Use the 20 at your own risk and peril. But what has me wondering is if PG knows about the disastrous potential of the Powercore 20 is why PG has not issued a recall or something along that line. Wouldn’t they be held liable if anything goes wrong, like catching fire? Anyway it still will go in and I'll send an email to PG to see what they have to say about it.

Post by **kg1961** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:21 pm

im sure if it was under the 90day,1 year warr. or even 3 years but we are far from that new or not
sorry they do that but it is what it is...

gridracer · Post by **gridracer** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:35 pm

Considering PG has been sold twice since that powercore was built the new owners AAMP aren't going to do anything for you. Good luck with using it there is a good chance you will have a fire hope you buy good insurance for that show car

Stryker · Post by **Stryker** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 4:04 pm

onecrazy95civic wrote:Without opening mine and removing the "void" sticker I would say it is the same as shown on "stuartyp" pic. Well I'm still going to use mine but will have to be vigilante about it. Does it need to be cool down or can it be inclose? Does it have tendency to get hot or overheat?

seriously???? just get an alumapro and use the innards if you must have the PG cover. otherwise there are many other safer alternatives with more farads to be had.

Powercore 20....

Powercore 20....

power core

20

oitem