alt or more batteries

[500000watts 10+ year member]

im kinda confused on what i need.. my boat sound system is runnin 300 watts. which is nothing compared to what im doing this year.. anyway.. when the bass hits my volt meter would drop about 2 volts and after a while it would drop so low that my system would shut off for a few seconds until it regained power..

do i need to get a biger alt or can i just run another battery to keep the volts up?

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[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

a 2nd bat would only keep the volts up till it runs low, then ur alts gonna need to charge both batteries. Better to do alt. Or better yet alt and 2nd battery

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

do a new alt, adding an extra battery will put more strain on your alternator, and it would have a harder time keeping everything charged

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

when doing an alt good idea is to get one large enough to cover the average of your system while turned up that way even when listening it can charge

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

If your little system is dipping the voltage that much you need to check for corrosion on your wiring. There's no reason you should be getting any noticable voltage drop with an amp that small unless you have some bad connections or the battery and/or alt are shot.

 

[500000watts 10+ year member]

well the battery compartment is right wear my driver and amp are. so i just hooked the amp straight to the battery.. dont know if that could of caused it...

the thing that has me stumped is its a big v8 350 mag and i was always awear that biger engines have bigger alts..

anyway howmuch would it be for a new alt.. im in the process of getting new equiptment right now so the alt is far down the list

 

[500000watts 10+ year member]

im not gona have to re do the electrical stock wiring with an upgraded alt do i..

what do you think should do the trick 120amp aroudn there

 

[cha0 10+ year member]

my stock alt in my 95 volvo is a 100 amp. i dont know what "normal" is for an alt but 120 dostn seem like much of an upgrade from stock.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

my stock alt in my 95 volvo is a 100 amp. i dont know what "normal" is for an alt but 120 dostn seem like much of an upgrade from stock.

We're talking about a boat here, not a car.

 

[cha0 10+ year member]

lol, i thought he was just being a smart *** and saying he drove a boat, as in a big *** car. i offen refered to my old crand margue as a boat. sorry...

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

my stock alt in my 95 volvo is a 100 amp. i dont know what "normal" is for an alt but 120 dostn seem like much of an upgrade from stock.

that is probably not idle amps anyway. 120 amps at idle isn't a bad alternator.

 

[cha0 10+ year member]

i have no idea. i dont know much about it all i know is when i looked up the amps on mine it said it was a 120. so i guess i just figured that was about normal for a stock alt. what is "normal" for stock?

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

i have no idea. i dont know much about it all i know is when i looked up the amps on mine it said it was a 120. so i guess i just figured that was about normal for a stock alt. what is "normal" for stock?

they put in what is needed for the car. if your vehicle came stock with a bunch of electrical accessories, it will be larger. the head room, after stock accessories is what i would look at.

 

[500000watts 10+ year member]

how much is a new alt.. for like a 170 or somethin in the 200's

 

[CRAZYCORNUTS18 10+ year member]

like 350? correct me if wrong