Cap or battery?

[DirkDiggz]

I'm planning on running 13w7/1000:1 and 450:4 for my highs. I know the stock electrical system will not be able to handle the setup without the lights dimming. Would you guys recommend to solve this problem cap or battery? And what size of battery or cap.

Thanks for the help

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[btdickey99 5,000+ posts]

battery

 

[btdickey99 5,000+ posts]

maybe even look into doing the Big3

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

you could start by just upgrading your stock battery to a deep cycle/power cell along with the Big 3.

 

[DirkDiggz]

What would be a good deep cycle battery for my charger? I also discovered my stock alt is running at 160amps it should be good enough for now.

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

battery and big 3

done

 

[mile098 10+ year member]

battery

 

[aaustinikiki 10+ year member]

whats the big 3?

 

[AllDayMJ 10+ year member]

2nd batt, and Big 3 w/ 1/0ga. use the search button..there is stickys on it..the big 3 question has been asked 10,XXX times..

 

[07montecarlo]

ohhh nooo...

read the stickys

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

battery and big 3


done

x2, 1/0 wire

 

[PuffDaddy_d 10+ year member]

We need to ask ourselves... how is a 12v battery going to prevent a voltage drop on a 14 volt electrical system?

With any real current draw from your stereo, voltage drops are going to happen. The goal is to reduce their severity or at least make the drop more of a smooth slope. As stated already, upgrading the Big 3 wires under you hood will help to improve current flow across your entire electrical system. However, simply switching to a deep cycle battery isn't going to provide you with any more power than your current battery, nor will it somehow keep the voltage up at 14v. The only thing a deep cycle is really good for is draining/recharging multiple times. It operates at 12v just like a standard lead-acid battery; therefore, it alone will not prevent your voltage from dropping or headlights from dimming.

Obviously, the heart of your electrical system is the alternator. It provides the 14v and the current necessary to power your system. It may not be the most cost effective upgrade, but if the goal is to actually prevent voltage drops, then upgrading to a high-output alt should be your next consideration. You can spend $150 on a deep cycle battery and still get the voltage drops, or you can spend $200-300 on a new alternator and rest assured that you have helped to solve the problem, rather than merely putting a VERY expensive band-aid over it. And when it comes to installing an additional battery, you're just placing another load on your stock alternator which already is having trouble keeping up.

 

[WhoSayWho? 5,000+ posts]

We need to ask ourselves... how is a 12v battery going to prevent a voltage drop on a 14 volt electrical system?
With any real current draw from your stereo, voltage drops are going to happen. The goal is to reduce their severity or at least make the drop more of a smooth slope. As stated already, upgrading the Big 3 wires under you hood will help to improve current flow across your entire electrical system. However, simply switching to a deep cycle battery isn't going to provide you with any more power than your current battery, nor will it somehow keep the voltage up at 14v. The only thing a deep cycle is really good for is draining/recharging multiple times. It operates at 12v just like a standard lead-acid battery; therefore, it alone will not prevent your voltage from dropping or headlights from dimming.

Obviously, the heart of your electrical system is the alternator. It provides the 14v and the current necessary to power your system. It may not be the most cost effective upgrade, but if the goal is to actually prevent voltage drops, then upgrading to a high-output alt should be your next consideration. You can spend $150 on a deep cycle battery and still get the voltage drops, or you can spend $200-300 on a new alternator and rest assured that you have helped to solve the problem, rather than merely putting a VERY expensive band-aid over it. And when it comes to installing an additional battery, you're just placing another load on your stock alternator which already is having trouble keeping up.

Good post, I guess. Did you catch the part where the guy said that he is just planning this sytem? Or where he said he already had a 160amp alty?

 

[PuffDaddy_d 10+ year member]

Good post, I guess. Did you catch the part where the guy said that he is just planning this sytem? Or where he said he already had a 160amp alty?

Ah! Good catch. I totally missed that part about the 160A alt, but if that's stock, then the auto manufacturer obviously thought that the car came with enough bells/whistles to warrant such a large alt - makes me wonder how much of that 160 he has left for additional car stereo equipment.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Also, while your car is running, the batt will charge pretty high...much higer than 12V. I put a DMM on my batt right after I tuned my truck off, and the batt was sitting at 13.8V.