additional battery Options

[7aek]

im runnin 2 subs and 2 amps and my battery can't take it. im thinkin about gettin 2 optima red top and a capacitor.

anybody know how to wire all this? i'll use one optima will replace the battery i have rite now. the other will run all the electrical accesories. thanx for ur help.

[Supersprynt]

Just use the capacitor...its like a battery in itself. A second battery is unnecessary. In fact, just get a better battery. I was running 2 amps and 2 12'' subs and i had a little bit of headlight dimming, but thats it. A power cap will be fine. you dont need a second battery. Not to mention you gotta hook it up to your alternator.

[Clipsetuner]

It just depends on your whole car, my car didnt have A/C so I had a really crappy Alternator. I was running 2 12" Kicker comps at 600rms, and 2 12" MTX thunder 4500's at 380rms and no matter what I did always dimmed and would cut out after just a few minutes on. I would recoomend,
1. New Battrey ( yellow toppper )
2. Redo your grounds
3. a big enough Gauge of wire to your amp, and ground.
4. drop like 300$ and get like a 25 farad cap
That should slove all your problems.
DTE

[celimanST]

I don't recomend a yellow top because your altinator will stress trying keep charged. Go with a red top I know some guys that compete on world class level and all they use is red tops and capacitors.

Oh, if you have never installed a cap I don't recomend it if was done wrong it could explode like a stick of dynomite it would definately mess your car up and maybe even injure you in the process. Be careful.

Peace.

[Yobbe]

Caps are easy to install, just read the 3 step manual

+ are you running your stereo with the engine on or off ? Cause as I am sure you know its mainly the alternator that feeds the stereo while you drive.

Have you checked the price for a better alternator ?

[Pali_playa]

Just use a Capacitor....there not hard to install...Heres how

Youll prob only need a 1 Farad Cap

From the battery Connect it to the cap...go from there to a distributor block...ones with fuses are recomended. from the block go to each of your amps. ground the cap and each amp by itself...dont use one ground for all 3. and where u ground be sure to scrape off paint in that area.

BTW...dont drill into gas tank. someone in my bay did that once

[Yobbe]

You only need a capacitor if you are having problems delivering power to the amps when it needs it the most ...

As long as you dont loose the bass on hard beats etc, there shouldnt be any need for one ...

[Jaws4God]

I have a problem like this but because of my Air Compressor running and draining a lot... would a cap help in my situation? or do i need to do something else?

[djultimate]

I have a problem like this but because of my Air Compressor running and draining a lot... would a cap help in my situation? or do i need to do something else?

That depends on how much current your compressor draws. What is the compressor for? An air horn (i've seen it done before). If so, a capacitor may help because that is not TOO much current, but if you are drawing a serious amount of power, you may want to either replace your battery with a Deep Cycle battery, or add a Deep Cycle as you 2ND battery. Adding a 2nd battery might also put more of a strain on your alternator causing it to lose some of it's lifespan.

It's hard to give a good answer without knowing what kind of current you are drawing with the compressor

[Jaws4God]

idk how much current either... its a 1/4 horsepower compressor for the air suspension... I just know it really dims the lights and I can hear the compressor struggle for power when the car is idling or off..

This post has been edited by Jaws4God: Dec 6, 2005 - 1:54 AM

[Niskyspy]

Easy to install if u kno what ur doing and if the cap is old.
If ur using a new cap u'll need to charge it before you put it in.

[SoundSlut_dotcom]

they all seem like altenator problems

[dustin15brown]

25 farad cap? NOT NECESSARY... ask anyone... 1 farad is recomended for every 1,000 watts of power you are running....

[mikew04]

Uh, yeah, I'll agree with that one.

How do you know your battery can't take it? Did it die on you? Headlights dimming?

Take your car to autozone or equivelent and they will check your battery and alternator for you for free. If those are fine, then upgrade your grounds and do the big 3 like clipsetuner said and see how that works out for ya. If your headlights are still dimming look into getting a high output alternator. That is what is really needed if you want to run a system with high amounts of power.

If you can borrow a cap from a friend, or get one for cheap or free, then by all means install it and see if that helps. But realize that it won't get rid of the problem, it will only cover it up for a while.

[Clipsetuner]

Talk about a old subject, back of the days of my white couper.

Any other quesions?

DTE

[mikew04]

wow, didn't even realize the date on that one.

[soulshadow]

anyways you can run two batt. just make sure you connect them in a series. or + to + and ground to ground.

If you connect it like - to + or end to end, your gonna blow your electrical systems cause it'll overload the systems. It never hurts or has been done to run 2 batts.....