Electrical Question

[cobaltitaliano 10+ year member]

Hello all

I have a 07 Chevy Cobalt with the battery in the trunk. The electrical system is very important in these cars since it also powers the power steering. Thus, I am really going against hooking up my system to my stock battery. My system is:

dual 12" sundown audio e series subs (400 watt rms/piece)

AQ1200 watt amp (wired at 1 ohm 1200 watts rms)

I also have other electrical accessories hooked up such as aftermarket gauges and such so I'd rather buy a battery to just power the sounds system.

Now, I have tried researching about this and still don't know which kind/type of battery I will need.

I have looked up "car audio" batteries and they are like $50 more than a normal duralast or something of that nature. What is the difference? Could yall please help me out figuring this out I would greatly appreciate it!

Also. does this battery need to be hooked up to the altenator or can it just sit by itself and just power the sound system? (freind had a system that was just a battery connected to his system (ground/power) and worked fine and lasted till he got rid of the car)

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[cobaltitaliano 10+ year member]

bump....any info is greatly appreciated.

Do I need big 3, high output alternator, better battery..?

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

1 deep cycle agm battery(I like optima)big three to handle the increased demand on the charging system and set the gains correctly, your buddy that ran a battery with no means to charge it was an idiot!

 

[cobaltitaliano 10+ year member]

I figured as such^.

The electrical system in my car is 4 gauge wiring. 130A alternator so I suppose theres no real need for a high output one since ill be running only 1000watts max.

Would just a Kinetics1400 battery work then to keep up with the added wattage from the system? Or is there a cheaper/better battery option?

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

I just stick with optima's they have a good warranty and they sell them at advanced auto so no shipping if there is ever a problem and with car audio being so rough on batteries I like not having to ship it in, also 4g is fine for 1000w rms and 130amp isn't bad so just do the big three get the biggest agm deepcycle battery you can under the hood and I would think you'd be in good shape.

 

[cobaltitaliano 10+ year member]

Battery is in the trunk. Ive heard bad things about Optimas lately isnce they are now made in Mexico. Also, they are $50 more than a Kinitec1400 and Kinetics are rated higher and have better reviews..

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

Battery is in the trunk. Ive heard bad things about Optimas lately isnce they are now made in Mexico. Also, they are $50 more than a Kinitec1400 and Kinetics are rated higher and have better reviews..

What did you hear?...Please tell since I just recently bought a Yellow Top.

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

well with a no questions asked warranty they even replaced the one my wife broke the post on in a small wreck no damage to the car but it wasn't tight in the bracket and when she t boned the guy it shifted pulled tight on the wire and cracked the case like a year and change after buying it and got a brand new on the the spot! I also over charged one once causing it to vent and it was replaced too. I have never had an issue from one that could not be explained by user error.

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

I have had good luck with the Kinetics in the past.....but I have an old yellow Top on an old Allis Chalmers diesel tractor that I have to charge over night, like once every six months, because the electrical on the tractor is shot..I crank it and mow usually once or twice a week...Good batts. I just bought another yellow top for my wife's Suburban.

 

[SplAffair 10+ year member]

yup i accidently overtightened my optima and the post came off they replaced it no problem

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

yup i accidently overtightened my optima and the post came off they replaced it no problem

U can't do that with Kinetiks

 

[SplAffair 10+ year member]

U can't do that with Kinetiks

yup ill always run optimas just for that reason

 

[SilentAssasin 10+ year member]

youd be smart to purchase a HO alternator before even considering a extra battery! The extra batterys 1 and only purpose is for playing your system while the vehicle is off for longer before draining your batt. ....you could put 100 batts in your truck but without a big enough alt. to keep them charged, you will only keep ending up with dead batts. and not to mention it is horrible on your subs/amp to short them on the power they need!..... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsupwink.gif.129404938effda6ad9cca39e7f4b58a3.gif

 

[Villeza1 10+ year member]

youd be smart to purchase a HO alternator before even considering a extra battery! The extra batterys 1 and only purpose is for playing your system while the vehicle is off for longer before draining your batt. ....you could put 100 batts in your truck but without a big enough alt. to keep them charged, you will only keep ending up with dead batts. and not to mention it is horrible on your subs/amp to short them on the power they need!..... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsupwink.gif.129404938effda6ad9cca39e7f4b58a3.gif

Wrong. The battery act like a buffer. Yes, the power the amp uses is battery power but the alt will charge the batts back up. Having a H/O just means having the ability to charge the batts faster. Also, the alt is not going to be fast enough to provide the instant power to the amp that the amp calls for (since music is dynamic), the battery will do that and adding an extra batt will divide the instant amps of power between the 2 batts instead of just 1. This will also result in a smaller voltage drop.

If he were to just get a H/O alt, he would have the same amount of voltage drop, but once the load is over with, the voltage will rise back to it's starting point faster. In other words, he really just needs to do the big 3 and add an extra batt near the amp.

 

[Villeza1 10+ year member]

I do agree if the load is stronger than both the battery and alternator, then simply adding an extra batt will not suffice. Basically, on a daily basis, his voltage will always be low since the alt and batt cannot keep up. The alt would never have a chance to charge the batt back up nor will it be able to handle the daily stain of power from the amplifier. But in his case, it will be perfectly fine to do the big 3 and add an extra batt. Once you get past 2k+ total power daily, then a H/O alt is needed.