Battery help...

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

OK well I am limited on what size battery I can put up front due to the area for the battery being so small. SOOOO im stuck getting a big one with a isolator in the trunk or 2 small batteries...1 up front and 1 in the trunk.

Not really wanting to spend more than $200 on a battery. EVEN THEN thats a bit much...but I understand you get what you pay for. Was gonna get a stinger battery off of someone on these forums for $110...but apparently hes not getting anymore. Not sure how big of a battery I should put in the trunk. Was considering a HC1400...not sure if its big enough though.

Currently running 1500 rms @ 1 ohm to 2 12s...soon to be putting a 4 channel amp in car that will probably be around 300-500 rms for comps. Will probably just run the comps off of the battery up front though...So I dont have to get too big of a battery for the rear.

SOO yea..what size of a battery should I put in the trunk? Currently got a cheap Wal-Mart Everstart 600 amp lead/factory battery up front with the big 3 and still getting slight dimming. Not extreme...but still enough to where I dont like how it looks on the outside when I push my subs. Car has a stock alt with 105-110 amps.

So yea...any advice? Other than taking a shotgun to the battery upfront since its from wal-mart //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

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[ahole-ic]

OK well I am limited on what size battery I can put up front due to the area for the battery being so small. SOOOO im stuck getting a big one with a isolator in the trunk or 2 small batteries...1 up front and 1 in the trunk.
Not really wanting to spend more than $200 on a battery. EVEN THEN thats a bit much...but I understand you get what you pay for. Was gonna get a stinger battery off of someone on these forums for $110...but apparently hes not getting anymore. Not sure how big of a battery I should put in the trunk.

Currently running 1500 rms @ 1 ohm to 2 12s...soon to be putting a 4 channel amp in car that will probably be around 300-500 rms for comps.

SOO yea..what size of a battery should I put in the trunk? Currently got a cheap Wal-Mart Everstart 600 amp lead/factory battery up front with the big 3 and still getting slight dimming. Not extreme...but still enough to where I dont like how it looks on the outside when I push my subs. Car has a stock alt with 105-110 amps.

So yea...any advice? Other than taking a shotgun to the battery upfront since its from wal-mart //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

Rather than wasting a bunch of money on batteries, save up the money and spend it on a DC alt. Replacing a sealed lead acid battery with an agm is the same as doing the big 3. You're just reducing resistance. You're replacing a higher esr battery with a lower esr battery. The only reason it is there is to start the car. It has a slight bonus of not allowing the voltage to drop below 12v. Your dimming is from the voltage dropping from 14v to the battery resting voltage. Adding a million batts won't help.

 

[MikeyF 10+ year member]

You should be alright with a 90-100ah battery. Check out the C&Ds from 1phateclipse, or the Stinger SPV70s. Not sure if BumpinBuick still has any, but he wanted $75 plus shipping. Either way, you'll be getting a nice quality battery, and still not going to spend $200. I also saw that you were looking at one of those 16v Kinetiks from 2loud4yourmorris, I would disregard that, as you probably won't be able to run a 16v battery. And to BCFosheezy, there is really no need to drop ~$300 on a H.O. alternator if all he is going to do is run 1500rms. Maybe if he plans to upgrade, but for the meantime right now, he would be fine with the batteries....

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Rather than wasting a bunch of money on batteries, save up the money and spend it on a DC alt. Replacing a sealed lead acid battery with an agm is the same as doing the big 3. You're just reducing resistance. You're replacing a higher esr battery with a lower esr battery. The only reason it is there is to start the car. It has a slight bonus of not allowing the voltage to drop below 12v. Your dimming is from the voltage dropping from 14v to the battery resting voltage. Adding a million batts won't help.

In theory this is correct, but in practice, I'd disagree. I was running 3kw off just a single yellowtop but with a 225A DC Alt and getting some pretty bad dimming. I added a huge 165AH batt to the back and *poof* dimming was gone. I understand the concept of voltage only flowing from a higher potential to a lower potential, and the fact that batteries theoretically do nothing until the voltage drops to their resting voltage, but like I said, they fixed the problem for me.

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

You should be alright with a 90-100ah battery. Check out the C&Ds from 1phateclipse, or the Stinger SPV70s. Not sure if BumpinBuick still has any, but he wanted $75 plus shipping. Either way, you'll be getting a nice quality battery, and still not going to spend $200. I also saw that you were looking at one of those 16v Kinetiks from 2loud4yourmorris, I would disregard that, as you probably won't be able to run a 16v battery. And to BCFosheezy, there is really no need to drop ~$300 on a H.O. alternator if all he is going to do is run 1500rms. Maybe if he plans to upgrade, but for the meantime right now, he would be fine with the batteries....

Neither of the people selling those batteries have any left. The guy selling the Stinger SPV70s is the one I was talking about. When they were selling em I didnt have any money at the time.

Also the 16v Kinetics you can run at 12v...not sure how...But thats what the site said

 

[MikeyF 10+ year member]

Ahh, bummer, I haven't checked it out in a while. There are always SPV70s and C&Ds floating around for sale in the classifieds section though. Try to possibly find a big G31 Deka/Intimidator as well, I know there are a few on Craigslist around my area, so you may have some luck there, without having to worry about shipping.

 

[ahole-ic]

In theory this is correct, but in practice, I'd disagree. I was running 3kw off just a single yellowtop but with a 225A DC Alt and getting some pretty bad dimming. I added a huge 165AH batt to the back and *poof* dimming was gone. I understand the concept of voltage only flowing from a higher potential to a lower potential, and the fact that batteries theoretically do nothing until the voltage drops to their resting voltage, but like I said, they fixed the problem for me.

It's not a theory. It's proven reality.

Your scenario might have played out like you said but it's not typical.

This is because of the resistance between your source and the amplifier. By putting the battery right next to the amp, you allowed it to have almost no resistance. BUT since the batt can't charge to 14v, it's still dimming. It's not possible to simply add a battery and get rid of dimming, but it can reduce it. If you improved your grounds you would see a very significant reduction in dimming.

In my setup, my amp ground connects to a bolt that goes through the body. On the bottom side of that bolt it connects directly to the main support of the frame. I traced that up front making sure there were no welds in my path, and connected my big 3 up there. Once that is done, I clamp well over 2500w without dipping below 14v.

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Ttt

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Neither of the people selling those batteries have any left. The guy selling the Stinger SPV70s is the one I was talking about. When they were selling em I didnt have any money at the time.
Also the 16v Kinetics you can run at 12v...not sure how...But thats what the site said

You can't charge a hc16v with a 14v alt.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

It's not a theory. It's proven reality. Your scenario might have played out like you said but it's not typical.

This is because of the resistance between your source and the amplifier. By putting the battery right next to the amp, you allowed it to have almost no resistance. BUT since the batt can't charge to 14v, it's still dimming. It's not possible to simply add a battery and get rid of dimming, but it can reduce it. If you improved your grounds you would see a very significant reduction in dimming.

In my setup, my amp ground connects to a bolt that goes through the body. On the bottom side of that bolt it connects directly to the main support of the frame. I traced that up front making sure there were no welds in my path, and connected my big 3 up there. Once that is done, I clamp well over 2500w without dipping below 14v.

Ok well then I must have some sort of magical car, because the only thing I changed was adding that second battery and my dimming stopped. The battery is grounded to the same spot the amp was, and the amp is now grounded to the batt. I didn't improve any grounds, if anything it got worse because my amp's path got longer. I know in theory the back battery should be doing nothing until the voltage drops to it's resting point, but what if that resting point is closer to 13v? Then as the voltage drops when it hits that 13, the battery kicks in. Well at what voltage do headlights start dimming? I never put a meter on it so I don't know what it was dropping to before, but say it was going down to 12v, or maybe even 11v (lower than 12 seems more likely because I ended up blowing the amp because of it, so it had to be pretty low), well then by effect, that battery did help my dimming because it keeps the voltage from dipping low enough for the headlights to start dimming.

 

[dustyshot 10+ year member]

Well, I am not quite sure the volt that dimming starts, but I did have a normal battery put in my mitsubishi mirage coupe 99 about two or three weeks ago. Dimming was massive. I was afraid to listen to music at night. LOL! So I did not want to pay $600 for an alternator. I searched online for batteries and did not want to order and wait for long time for it to come or pay more than $20 shipping for next day delivery. So I went to Kinetik site and check for my car on what battery to get. There calculator goes by RMS your using in wattage for what battery you need. I was using 550 rms and then I found out my dealer that sells them is 2 blocks away. I saw on the Kinetik site their prices are high. So I look for prices elsewhere and they were half of what Kinetik sells them for. The place I went to was Sound Warehouse. I ask them for hc800 none were in stock. Then I asked for hc1200, and still none in stock. Then I ask about the hc1400, and yes they were in stock, and before he gave me price, I was planning to spend $200. He told me for the hc1400 was $200 and I was heck yeah, because I thought the hc800 was going to be that high. The hc1400 is almost double of the hc800. So I got it.

Today I just went to walmart got a distribution block for 4 gauge in and two 8 gauge out for my two amps. I already had two 10" kenwoods kfc-w110s 8 ohm subs in sealed box bridged on a crunch 1100.2 amp into 4 ohm mode. Then the other amp was from a bass package, fusion amp 450 watts max with 12" fusion sub in ported box. After all that I had to reground the two amps because the fusion amp was just flashing the red light and green light would not light up. I took car over to Sound Warehouse and the guy there made a very tight ground on both amps. I gave him tip for the trouble. I was blown away of how loud the car was. My freshner hanging from the rear view mirror was bouncing up and down. I had stock speakers in door that did not match the pioneer 6x9 5-ways I have in rear, so I went to Best Buy, because Sound Warehouse was busy with installs. Best Buy put in two 5 1/4 pioneers in doors at 140 watts max rms probably 30 watts. Now the sound is more even in cab and bass is unbelievably loud. It sounds like I got 4 12's in trunk, but only 3. LOL!

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

bubbagumper's situation is similar to mine. and though i wish, my car is not magical.

The battery becomes the source for draw when the alt cant keep up and there is drop. Then, when the bass is not hitting, the alt has the ability to recharge batt. Unless he is playing nonstop tones, a batt CAN get rid of dimming. It acts as a buffer and reservoir for the cars electrical. The end. It is not a way to increase voltage, since the alt charges. But it can help maintain a safe voltage. Especially when the draw is not radical. 1500w is not 4kw. And his 110 amp alt should be ok with a little buffer room.

Shuriken is a decent buy. I run the BT35 and it is doing fine for me. Not the absolute best, but very affordable and so farr, reliable.

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Bleh found a HC1800 about a month old for $150 local...not sure if it would be overkill or not and not sure if it would kill my alt with the 600 amp battery upfront...

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Kinetik High Current Power Cells

 

[ahole-ic]

bubbagumper's situation is similar to mine. and though i wish' date=' my car is not magical.
The battery becomes the source for draw when the alt cant keep up and there is drop. Then, when the bass is not hitting, the alt has the ability to recharge batt. Unless he is playing nonstop tones,[b'] a batt CAN get rid of dimming.[/b] It acts as a buffer and reservoir for the cars electrical. The end. It is not a way to increase voltage, since the alt charges. But it can help maintain a safe voltage. Especially when the draw is not radical. 1500w is not 4kw. And his 110 amp alt should be ok with a little buffer room.

Shuriken is a decent buy. I run the BT35 and it is doing fine for me. Not the absolute best, but very affordable and so farr, reliable.

I bolded your statements, like bubbagumper that are contradictory. If a battery cannot raise the voltage and maintain it at 14v then how can it get rid of dimming since dimming is the drop from 14v to 12v? The question was asked where dimming starts. The real question is where do you notice it? It starts as soon as the voltage drops any at all. You probably cannot detect it until it has dropped almost a full volt, down around 13.5v.

The ONLY way adding a batt could reduce dimming is if you're replacing a high esr batt with a low esr batt. Other than that, it just isn't possible.