Battery in back question

[woodplock7 10+ year member]

Hey right now im running around 1600 watts and i have a 200a alt, and 2 out of the big 3 done (never got around to finishing it all i have left is engine block to chassis but not sure which bolt to use on engine block) in 1/0guage wire and a yellowtop up front. My question is should i get another type of battery in the back whether it be a yellowtop or kinetic, if i did get this battery i would run it in 1/0 guage.

Because everytime the bass hits my lights dim and i drop down to about 12-12.2 volts. I would like to stop this so i can be sitting at atleast a constant voltege where my lights dont dim. Thanks so much

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[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

finish off the big 3 and another battery wont hurt. i would go with a kinetik 1800 or larger.

 

[knocturnal74]

a capacitor is what your looking for if you want a constant voltage and to stop your lights from dimming.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

a capacitor is what your looking for if you want a constant voltage and to stop your lights from dimming.

a cap wont stop anything from diming if it has long bass lines...all it will do is slow it down. for the price of what i know a good cap costs i'd rather have a battery

 

[Qbenjamin 10+ year member]

For starters, what battery do you currently have up front now? Who did you get your alt from?

 

[5.0 LSC 10+ year member]

i would go with a kinetic in the back...i have alot of dimming issues...believe it or not a big help is getting an hid kit...draw much less current than stock halogens

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

do not go with a capacitor, it is useless in your application knoc quit giving advice that is not true. a cap will not help him, up grade your electrical the right way, dont just put a band-aid on it. finish off the big 3, and a battery in the back wont hurt at all.

 

[woodplock7 10+ year member]

ya i know caps are useless 90%of the time i wasnt even planning on getting one... but anyways

i have a yellowtop g34 i belive up front would it matter if i put lets say a kinetic 2400 in the back?

also when running the wires i would run battery up front positive to battery in back positive, and fuse near both positives? then for the ground up front do i keep it where it is to the chassis? and then reground the battery in the back to another part of the chassis in the back?

i think this actually might be off topic but i really want an HID kit but im not sure what will work with the 99 grand am :\.. hehe

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

Hey right now im running around 1600 watts and i have a 200a alt, and 2 out of the big 3 done (never got around to finishing it all i have left is engine block to chassis but not sure which bolt to use on engine block) in 1/0guage wire and a yellowtop up front. My question is should i get another type of battery in the back whether it be a yellowtop or kinetic, if i did get this battery i would run it in 1/0 guage. Because everytime the bass hits my lights dim and i drop down to about 12-12.2 volts. I would like to stop this so i can be sitting at atleast a constant voltege where my lights dont dim. Thanks so much

The only way to ahieve that is more alt. power. (expensive and not realistic in a daily car) Dropping to 12.2 isn't bad with the lights on...that is where the battery power kicks in. Adding another battery won't stop this, only let it stay at that voltage longer.

Have you measured the dimming with a DMM? Turn the car off and let the bass hit, do the lights dim then?

Finish the big 3.

Another battery needs to be the same type, it doesn't have to be the same brand. AGM to AGM.

 

[woodplock7 10+ year member]

Ok so i finally got around to measuring the dimming again and i found out that with the car off with the lights on i drop to 11.6v on a constant bass note and with the car on i drop to 11.8v. The lights dim with the car on and off. My alt is an EA 200a alt. Also how do i find out i a batter is agm? sorry for the noob questions. And if im dropping that low only off 1600 watts and a 2nd battery wont help what would i do if i wanted to run 2500 watts or something? Idk if i could get a bigger alt for my car.

Thanks for the help

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

the battery will state that it is a sealed agm somewhere on it. batteries that are are kinetik, oddyssey, deka intimidator, optima yellow....

 

[hoxie08 5,000+ posts]

is there a thread describing how to set up with a second battery here? I might need to in the future, so im kinda interested..

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

Seems like djman's post was overlooked so I'll say it again.

Adding batteries will not keep your voltage at 14+ volts. The only thing that will keep your voltage that high will be the alternator.

Realistically it's very difficult for a daily driven car to have that kind of alternator power. I would say add a couple good batteries and have a good enough alternator to keep them fully charged all the time. That way you might drop to 12.x voltage, but that's not bad, and you should never drop below that.

 

[lostdaytomorrow 10+ year member]

You're only running 1600 watts and a 200 amp alternator can't keep up? Something doesn't add up here. And you also have a g34 up front?

1. Finish the Big 3.

2. Let us know if you have any other accessories that are using current from your alternator (TV's or anything in the car)

3. Find out if your alternator is working correctly and actually giving you 200 amps like it should.

4. I assume you're doing these test with the RPM's at about 2000 right? Getting the peak of the power curve for the alternator. If you're measuring the voltage at idle then that's a problem because the alternator can only put out about 90-100 amps at idle most likely.

5. How long have you had the alternator?

 

[woodplock7 10+ year member]

1. ya i know i gotta finish the big 3 just havent really been in the mood to do it cause im kindof confused on where to bolt it to engine block cause im not quite sure what it is. Like i think i know what it is and i followed what i believe to be the stock wire but its going to be a pain and the ass to get that bolt out and back in.

2. I have nothing else just the amp and the HU

3. Not sure how to find that out any suggestions?

4. This could be my problem im doing it at idle not 2000rpms

5. Had the alt for about a month.

ya i found it strange that i couldnt stay above 12 volts with only 1600 watts.