Help on electrical backup?

[96 lude 10+ year member]

For the wiring I was planning on doing 1/0 or 2 gauge to a distribution block and from there 4 gauge to the amps. And for the ground should I use 4 gauge or bigger? I was thinking about grounding them all individually. The other day I saw something and wouldn't it be easier to put all 4 grounds into a dist. Block and then a 12 inch or so ground wire from there

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

1/0 is a minimum wire size for your four amps. you can reduce down to 4 awg to each amp from there. a 250A ANL fuse holder at the front battery is required.

You can run a 4 awg ground from each amp to a distribution block, then 1/0 from there to the floor.

you want a very good ground, i recommend bolting to the floor.

this is how my amps are grounded.

i used silicone to hold the ground dist block in place in this pic. silicone is an excellent adhesive for holding things to metal in the car. and it is removable (with some effort). it just stinks for a while. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[96 lude 10+ year member]

Ya I been taking some pics here and there.

Also should I run 1/0 gauge or 2 gauge to a dist. Block then from that 4 gauge to my amps.

 

[96 lude 10+ year member]

Sorry my bad didn't show that I posted my last post.

 

[CAT MAN 5,000+ posts]

1/0 is a minimum wire size for your four amps. you can reduce down to 4 awg to each amp from there. a 250A ANL fuse holder at the front battery is required.
You can run a 4 awg ground from each amp to a distribution block, then 1/0 from there to the floor.

you use fatmat? ho aboutpeel n seal

you want a very good ground, i recommend bolting to the floor.

this is how my amps are grounded.

i used silicone to hold the ground dist block in place in this pic. silicone is an excellent adhesive for holding things to metal in the car. and it is removable (with some effort). it just stinks for a while. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

you use fatmat what about pel n seal

 

[96 lude 10+ year member]

Ok 0/1 it is then. Haha. Well thanks keep_hope_alive you've helped me out a lot.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

examples of multiple amp wiring

when i had an amp and processor in the spare tire well:

then i added a full size spare and move the gear to the other side

i also redid the power and ground distribution. the passenger side amp is now grounded to the floor separately from the driver side amps. the goal for grounds is as short as possible and to the thickest metal on the floor. that expanse of metal is a better conductor than wire (in some cars). dedicated ground wiring to the batteries is another option (if you want to use 2x as much wire). grounds should always be the same size as power wire.

covers on and mats on the floor (which i use to protect the amps/subs if i load up the trunk with stuff)

one good batt up front and an HO alt

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

for batteries, i like side posts for audio and top posts for factory. i didn't have to cut my factory battery connections. i just added my 1/0 power wire and 4awg big 3 wire to the side posts. I run a Group 34/78 battery up front.

for the back, marine batteries give you posts with wing nuts that are perfect for adding multiple large wire terminals to. I am very happy with Die Hard Platinum and the warranty is awesome.

whatever you do for multiple batteries, you need to keep a few things in mind.

1. the batteries need to be equal in technology. they need to have the same charging characteristics and float voltage or the weaker one will **** the stronger one.

2. trunk batteries need to be sealed, which is why we said AGM (absorbed glass matt). AGM are sealed batteries and can be mounted horizontally. standard lead acid batteries will off-gas explosive and toxic gas and can spill battery acid. you can tell the difference because they latter will have removable caps for refilling water.

3. trunk batteries need to be securely mounted. you can get battery containers that have plastic housings and lids that you can strap down to the car. you can get battery brackets for like $6 that will let you clamp them down. you must ensure the batteries never move, so the wiring connections are not stressed. keep in mind a hard short can cause a battery to explode or start a fire. something you don't want in your trunk/car.

4. all connections to the positive terminal of a battery that serve a load should be fused. you do not have to fuse short jumpers that connect batteries together unless the wire used is more than 12" long. that means multiple batteries should be side-by-side. you should fuse the wire that connects the front and rear batteries, at each end. the reason is to protect the batteries from a short if that long wire run is ever compromised. i've seen many occasions where the power wire front-to-rear has been damaged from screws, metal edges, etc.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

oh, and preludes are cool. yours got an H22A? i love those motors!

 

[96 lude 10+ year member]

Oh hw what battery would you recommend for me to get. Brand name, size

 

[96 lude 10+ year member]

oh, and preludes are cool. yours got an H22A? i love those motors!

Ya it had an h23 but I did the whole swap by my self. Yes I love the h22 motors.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Oh hw what battery would you recommend for me to get. Brand name, size

I recommend Die Hard Platinum. Made by Odyssey to military specs, best warranty in the business. assuming you have a Sears near you. if not, i would still strongly consider it.

Otherwise, tell me what stores in your area sell AGM batteries and what brands they carry (just call around and ask). You can find them pretty much anywhere these days. Brand is less important than the technology and Reserve Capacity (RC). You want as high of a RC as you can get. Also make sure the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) is at or higher than what your vehicle recommends.

For size or Group, it depends on what fits your vehicle. Most online sellers will tell you what fits, just look it up. As i mentioned, i recommend top and side post to make adding wires easy (and it saves you time and money associated with battery terminals).

I've ran Optima before. They are fine.

 

[96 lude 10+ year member]

With my build would you recommend 1 or 2 batteries. That's including the front one. Also I was wondering about the kinetik brand. There a little cheaper. And I've heard there great batteries for systems.