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Do I need a better battery?
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<blockquote data-quote="AcidicDreams" data-source="post: 3096458" data-attributes="member: 558974"><p>You DON'T need a bigger battery... here is why:</p><p></p><p>Your amps are designed to run at 14.somethin volts. Your alternator provides that 14.somethin volts and can produce X amount of amps before it can no longer provide enough juice.</p><p></p><p>At that point the voltage will drop, until the electrical system finds something that can provide the rest of the power it needs. That component is the battery at 12.8v (optimally)... When this happens your headlights will dim, letting you know that the voltage has dropped. Your amps are also producing less power at 12.8v than at the 14v+ your alternator is putting out.</p><p></p><p>Your goal here is NOT to use the battery, because that will get you stranded. The battery is there to START the car, not run the electrical system while the car is running. IF you are pulling power from the battery all the time it won't get charged. This is because when your alternator is running it's supposed to be charging your battery as well as providing power to the rest of the vehicle. So if your system is regularly pulling power out of the battery while the car is running then it won't matter what color/brand/cca rating your battery is. Eventually you would end up running the battery dead and being without the ability to start your car.</p><p></p><p>Your battery should be just fine if it's currently starting the car. 770 CCA at 0deg is just fine to start your engine. Being a year old the battery should have plenty of life left in it.</p><p></p><p>If you are getting dimming headlights first do the Big 3. The idea is that you are upgrading the wires that run from the alternator to your amps (and the return ground path) so that your amps, and the rest of your electrical system can make more efficient use of the power your alternator provides. The reason the big 3 is necessary is because the stock wiring is often too small and/or corroded by the time you install a stereo that is going to draw huge amperage.</p><p></p><p>If you aren't getting any dimming while playing your amps at full tilt you don't need anything, but doing the big 3 might be a good idea anyways and it's something to do... I like to do projects and i imagine you do too if you are into the car audio hobby...</p><p></p><p>So forget the battery, it's fine. Do the big three and if you are still getting dimming get a bigger alternator. However you shouldn't be having problems because domestic V8's generally come with large 120+ amp alternators which can run your ~1000w just fine in normal conditions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AcidicDreams, post: 3096458, member: 558974"] You DON'T need a bigger battery... here is why: Your amps are designed to run at 14.somethin volts. Your alternator provides that 14.somethin volts and can produce X amount of amps before it can no longer provide enough juice. At that point the voltage will drop, until the electrical system finds something that can provide the rest of the power it needs. That component is the battery at 12.8v (optimally)... When this happens your headlights will dim, letting you know that the voltage has dropped. Your amps are also producing less power at 12.8v than at the 14v+ your alternator is putting out. Your goal here is NOT to use the battery, because that will get you stranded. The battery is there to START the car, not run the electrical system while the car is running. IF you are pulling power from the battery all the time it won't get charged. This is because when your alternator is running it's supposed to be charging your battery as well as providing power to the rest of the vehicle. So if your system is regularly pulling power out of the battery while the car is running then it won't matter what color/brand/cca rating your battery is. Eventually you would end up running the battery dead and being without the ability to start your car. Your battery should be just fine if it's currently starting the car. 770 CCA at 0deg is just fine to start your engine. Being a year old the battery should have plenty of life left in it. If you are getting dimming headlights first do the Big 3. The idea is that you are upgrading the wires that run from the alternator to your amps (and the return ground path) so that your amps, and the rest of your electrical system can make more efficient use of the power your alternator provides. The reason the big 3 is necessary is because the stock wiring is often too small and/or corroded by the time you install a stereo that is going to draw huge amperage. If you aren't getting any dimming while playing your amps at full tilt you don't need anything, but doing the big 3 might be a good idea anyways and it's something to do... I like to do projects and i imagine you do too if you are into the car audio hobby... So forget the battery, it's fine. Do the big three and if you are still getting dimming get a bigger alternator. However you shouldn't be having problems because domestic V8's generally come with large 120+ amp alternators which can run your ~1000w just fine in normal conditions. [/QUOTE]
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