How important is the battery?

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

850cca is a big battery.

In my experience having that current capacity is the key. Yes you can get a higher performance, much more expensive battery, with impressive specs, but unless your system is an extremely high power set up that you run near its peak all the time I seriously doubt you'll see any improvement by running a high dollar battery.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

i would go agm at least ..no water needed, no corosion....higher capacity if you buy right

 

[shadow_ 10+ year member]

If you are going to sit with it parked and not running a lot, a good battery is needed. If you are driving around a lot while the car is running you will need a good alt. A battery really doesn't have purpose once the car is running.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

How important is fuel for your vehicle?

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

If you are going to sit with it parked and not running a lot, a good battery is needed. If you are driving around a lot while the car is running you will need a good alt. A battery really doesn't have purpose once the car is running.

hmm so alts kick out 100% power all the time? it isnt rpm dependant? people dont listen to music loud while driving slow or stopped?

 

[mile098 10+ year member]

its rpm dependant but the alt doesnt go at full throttle all the time, depending on the 'wore out' of the batt...check the voltage drop and the dimming lights...if the voltage doesnt go below 13.5-7 while engine running and the lights dont dimm ure good...

competition wise im not gonna say cuz then u need a better battery for every milivolt counts

 

[94Mazda626 10+ year member]

it's not a bad idea to charge your battery on a charger every once in a while. over time it loses it's charge and since an alternator can only maintain (at best) the status of a battery, it cannot improve it, i.e. charge it.

Say again? The purpose of the alt is to power the car while it's running, also as long as you are not asking too much out of the alternator it will charge the battery. A battery charger usually puts out about 14.4 volts and what a coincidence so do most alternators (my car I usually see about 14.7-14.9 volts running).

And in response to another post on here, yes the alternator is what the system will run off when the car is running. The battery will add some power if the voltage drops below about 12.5 to maybe 13 volts otherwise it doesn't even really need to be there. The battery is a storage device so you have power to start your car. if you don't believe this you can find a stone dead battery that won't take a charge put it in your car, use another battery to boost it so you can start your car, take the booster cables off and your car will continue to run. At least untilk you turn it off and try to restart it.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

its rpm dependant but the alt doesnt go at full throttle all the time, depending on the 'wore out' of the batt...check the voltage drop and the dimming lights...if the voltage doesnt go below 13.5-7 while engine running and the lights dont dimm ure good...

competition wise im not gonna say cuz then u need a better battery for every milivolt counts

hmm so lets say i have a real 2200 watts on a 160 amp alt ...... there is no way that if im doing 70% percent of full power that i wont be getting a good sized drop. add that to the fact most hi output alts put out 50ish percent power at idle and the car needs power... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Say again? The purpose of the alt is to power the car while it's running, also as long as you are not asking too much out of the alternator it will charge the battery. A battery charger usually puts out about 14.4 volts and what a coincidence so do most alternators (my car I usually see about 14.7-14.9 volts running).

And in response to another post on here, yes the alternator is what the system will run off when the car is running. The battery will add some power if the voltage drops below about 12.5 to maybe 13 volts otherwise it doesn't even really need to be there. The battery is a storage device so you have power to start your car. if you don't believe this you can find a stone dead battery that won't take a charge put it in your car, use another battery to boost it so you can start your car, take the booster cables off and your car will continue to run. At least untilk you turn it off and try to restart it.

wow you have just explained how to damage an alt lol

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

Alternators are NOT battery chargers and should never be used as such.

 

[mile098 10+ year member]

hmm so lets say i have a real 2200 watts on a 160 amp alt ...... there is no way that if im doing 70% percent of full power that i wont be getting a good sized drop. add that to the fact most hi output alts put out 50ish percent power at idle and the car needs power... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

when involving a current draw of 160A of course u need a good battery and stock one just doesnt cut it posssibly even the alt...but i got a rf bd 1000.1, when i wire it down to 1 ohm the 80 a fuse i have on it doesnt burn out even after a longer period of listening...and at 1 ohm it puts out, well not sure since its not rated but well over 1.3 kw...my front stage amp doesnt draw over 40, ive measured the voltage drop on music and when engine running the V's dont go under 13.9, frequency wise, goes down to 13.5 or so(only measured it on frequency once)...my alt is 120 A,why would i change my battery?

 

[SethPhillips 5,000+ posts]

alt's are like battery chargers but id say more along the lines of a battery tender...

car on.. alt's powering everything.. batt is just for reserve...

car off... batt's powering everything...

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

Play a test tone and see if the fuse pops then.Music is transient therefore your not alwasy pushing the full wattage threw the fuse constantly,just in short bursts.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

when involving a current draw of 160A of course u need a good battery and stock one just doesnt cut it posssibly even the alt...but i got a rf bd 1000.1, when i wire it down to 1 ohm the 80 a fuse i have on it doesnt burn out even after a longer period of listening...and at 1 ohm it puts out, well not sure since its not rated but well over 1.3 kw...my front stage amp doesnt draw over 40, ive measured the voltage drop on music and when engine running the V's dont go under 13.9, frequency wise, goes down to 13.5 or so(only measured it on frequency once)...my alt is 120 A,why would i change my battery?

your system isnt doing the power you think it is because there isnt anyway for the real world #'s to fit.....it would take 120 amps at 13.5 v to get your 1300 watts.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

I'm just going to hitch this question to my previous one b/c they are dealing w/ the batt.

So the battery in my car keeps dieing.. It's a 140$ battery, and "n2audio" said 850cca was big.. It has a 90amp alt, but keep in mind I have had all of my audio stuff (aside from deck and 4 speakers, no external amps) un-installed... Why won't my battery stay charged? It just doesn't really make sense to me..

Anyways, the battery is getting charged right now.