Lights still dim, time for second battery?

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

i may go with the hc1400 depending on my budget, but the hc2400 is always good to have in case i upgrade everything later. i'm going to try putting a second hc1400 in the front and see how that affects the dimming.

You can try to put it up front, but my guess is that it will not help as much as if you put it closer to the amps. I would assume that you will still have dimming after adding the second batt under the hood. Just my guess though.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

what can i get to stop the battery in the back from moving? i will put it in the back now, will get stinger battery terminals that have covers on them just to be on the same safe.

should i connect the welding cable with the 0 gauge knu cable? it's not long enough to reach the battery if i put it in the back. i could always get replace the welding wire since it looks more like a 4 gauge, knu is bigger if you compare them.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

You are going to need to find some way to keep it in place in the rear. There is no right or wrong way as long as it is held in place. Just make sure that the battery terminals are no where near anything metal that could short them out. That is your only concern.

As for wire, you should have 1/0 between batteries with an inline fuse at each end. You can use the rear battery as your distro block. Ground the amps to the rear battery now. Make sure to run the ground wire to the front battery just like you did the positive lead. Only difference should be no fuses on the ground wire and it should be a different color wire so you know which is which.

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

You are going to need to find some way to keep it in place in the rear. There is no right or wrong way as long as it is held in place. Just make sure that the battery terminals are no where near anything metal that could short them out. That is your only concern.
As for wire, you should have 1/0 between batteries with an inline fuse at each end. You can use the rear battery as your distro block. Ground the amps to the rear battery now. Make sure to run the ground wire to the front battery just like you did the positive lead. Only difference should be no fuses on the ground wire and it should be a different color wire so you know which is which.

ground the amps to the rear battery? run the ground wire from both amps to the negative terminal of rear battery?

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

seller said, "increase the rpm to 900rpm."

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

ground the amps to the rear battery? run the ground wire from both amps to the negative terminal of rear battery?

Yes. Remember DC electricity flows from the POS+ terminal, through your device, and back to the NEG- terminal to complete the circuit. If you make the path longer on the NEG- side, then you lose power and efficiency. Since the rear battery is going to be your primary source of power (since it is closest), then you want to ground directly to it. Then ground it to the front battery, either via frame rail or separate ground wire if you have a unibody vehicle.

 

[Big Red 10+ year member]

ok its been a while since i did this!

take your amps

take the fused ratting "say its 2 -30 amp fuses" that = 30 x2 x cars voltage 14.4=864 volts

you just killed your alt. and have no power left to run car!

now you said you have more then one amp! so you have to do that to all your amps add them up then put in enuff batterys to cover the cars alt load plus your amp draw on the cold craking amp specs of a battery

and if pos always go one better for that 60 sec run!

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!

my case i have

2-4000d= 8 fuses at 40 each x 14.4= 4608

3 mids amp=6 fuses at 30 x 14.4 = 2592

2 1400d= 4 fuses at 40 x 14.4 = 1152

truck needs 110 to run --------------- 110

total 8462

my alt =260 - 260

need = 8202

at 1000 cold cranking amps = 9 batterys! i put in 10 -1400batts

some batterys only put out 500 cold cranking amps!

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

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

 

[plyer3 10+ year member]

Yes. Remember DC electricity flows from the POS+ terminal, through your device, and back to the NEG- terminal to complete the circuit. If you make the path longer on the NEG- side, then you lose power and efficiency. Since the rear battery is going to be your primary source of power (since it is closest), then you want to ground directly to it. Then ground it to the front battery, either via frame rail or separate ground wire if you have a unibody vehicle.

currently both of my amps are grounded under the backseat. my 4-channel is under my seat and my mono is on my sub box. i can ground my mono to my rear battery, but that 4-channel will be much greater distance.

oh and big red - site says i need a hc1400 in front and hc1800 in back lol. im just going with two hc1400.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

currently both of my amps are grounded under the backseat. my 4-channel is under my seat and my mono is on my sub box. i can ground my mono to my rear battery, but that 4-channel will be much greater distance.
oh and big red - site says i need a hc1400 in front and hc1800 in back lol. im just going with two hc1400.

The sub amp is really your major current load and should be your main concern. The 4-ch amp can be grounded to the chassis. Just know that running a dedicated ground wire is still preferred. If you encounter any groun loop issues, that is the place I would look first.

2 HC1400 will be just fine. That online calculator is good for the most part, but it can be off a little now and then. It is just to give you a general idea, not neccessarily specific advice.

 

[plyer3 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.

 

[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