Lights still dim, time for second battery?

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

i could ground the 4-channel amp to the rear battery's negative if it's better for it.im gonna need to use that 0 gauge knu from the front negative to the rear negative battery. would it be fine if the power is smaller than the ground? the knu ground will be bigger than the power welding cable.

For sure ground the 4-ch to the rear batt if that is where the POS+ is going. Just remember this, whatever wire you run for the POS+ side, run that same wire for the NEG- side. Always run them back to the same power source.

So to wrap up, if the POS+ wire is an 8 gauge running to the rear battery, then run an 8 gauge ground to the same battery. Your wire size should be dictated by the input on the amp. If the amp has an 8 gauge input, that is the size you use. Going bigger would be a waste of money and going smaller is a fire hazzard.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

yea all the amps are 4 gauge, the batteries are 0 gauge. i'll try that wiring method when my battery comes. just bought it.

now, i may have to increase my rpm to 900, from what the ebay seller told me. ill see if my mechanic can set that up for me. how much gas mileage will i be losing? lol

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

Did you question why he wants you to increase your RPMs to 900? Did he say that a different pulley would work as well? Maybe a different pulley and smaller belt would be a better solution than to raise your idle. Just my 2 cents. I am an electronics guy more than mechanical.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

he never mentioned anything about the pulley, just said to increase to 900rpm. i asked him about the pulley when i contacted him, but i'll ask again.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

ok he's sending me a smaller pulley, but he suggests to increase the idle to 900rpm by going to any mechanic. i'm gonna go to my mechanic soon and ask him to increase the idle to 900rpm. i hope it makes a difference

 

[TurdFergueson2 5,000+ posts]

also rember 00% of alt company bench test theere amlt specs at 2000 rpm! most new cars dont drive at that rpm range so u can fig your losing a 1/3 the rating on daily driving!

try using this site and rember to put in all amps mids and highs

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/calc.asp

Mechman alts come with a dyno sheet. I'd have to look and see what mine was rated at 2k rpms

Also that Kinetik site doesn't take into account the size of your alt. It just assumes the batteries needed to run the wattage you put in the box. I am running a HC-800 with a Red top. I have 2900 total watts give or take and I believe it suggested I run 2 1800s or 2000s. I get no dimming at all with my setup, but I have the 250 amp Mechman in the mix as well.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

ok he's sending me a smaller pulley, but he suggests to increase the idle to 900rpm by going to any mechanic. i'm gonna go to my mechanic soon and ask him to increase the idle to 900rpm. i hope it makes a difference

Never heard anyone actually suggest throwing your cars tuning out of wack to get it to work. You are adding wear and tear to an engine that you are JUST trying to speed up to turn your alt on.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

ill try the pulley first then. looking for that belt now. i'm having someone install this since ill probably mess it up

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

I would wonder about the alt because it almost sounds like it was not ment for your vehicle. Some guys a year or so off here were buying alts off ebay and ended up having to turn their idle up to about 1100....a good aftermarket alt should do at least 50% of its full power at idle and come with the parts to do so for YOUR vehicle. otherwise they are just selling an alt..it may fit but is it really for your car?

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

****, may have to get new alt then. wasted $160 on this alt. im gonna try the second battery and if it doesn't help, then time for new batt. i was saving up my money for the alpine pdx.4-100 but may have to use that for the alt.

where can i get a better alternator for my car? links? i have a honda accord 99 4 cy 2.3li

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

I would look up known brands like Ohio gen, mechman, dc power, excesive amprage and iragi...that alt you have should work but i would question how they came about to say you just need to turn up your rpm when a reasonable thing to do would be to simply have different sized pullies to make it work correctly to begin with. In my book you buy an alt for a year and type of a car you buy it to WORK when you put it in not just because it fits.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

hmm ill check those out haha. im always like that, never find out what is right before going to buy it.