Stupid question on voltage

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

If my lights never dim, and my voltage stays above 13 with the car on, does that mean I have plenty of juice to support my setup?

I would think the answer is yes.

System

about 2kw rms

130a stock alternator

stock battery

big 2 (no alt to bat pos replacement)

Batcap 2000 in rear (ouch! most uncomfortable)

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[93dakota 10+ year member]

as long as your voltage isnt dropping to bad then you should be fine

 

[DammitJames 10+ year member]

If my lights never dim, and my voltage stays above 13 with the car on, does that mean I have plenty of juice to support my setup?
I would think the answer is yes.

System

about 2kw rms

130a stock alternator

stock battery

big 2 (no alt to bat pos replacement)

Batcap 2000 in rear (ouch! most uncomfortable)

you pretty much wasted ur time on ur "big 2" the alt pos to batt pos is prolly the most important but as long as ur voltage stays above 13 you should be good

 

[power-fanatic07 5,000+ posts]

you pretty much wasted ur time on ur "big 2" the alt pos to batt pos is prolly the most important but as long as ur voltage stays above 13 you should be good

exactly what i was gonna say.

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

LOL I was thinking the stock alternator to positive battery post is less important than the 2 grounds.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

Anyway, when the car is running, is it a true statement to say you are running off of pure alternator until your voltage dips below the resting voltage of the batteries? Then by deduction, given that I only have a 130a alternator, and I'm not nearly eating through the juice it's providing (ie dipping below 13v), even at idle; there is no way I'm really pushing 2000w rms?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

I hope that question is clear to someone:crap:

 

[phemps 10+ year member]

LOL I was thinking the stock alternator to positive battery post is less important than the 2 grounds.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif
Anyway, when the car is running, is it a true statement to say you are running off of pure alternator until your voltage dips below the resting voltage of the batteries? Then by deduction, given that I only have a 130a alternator, and I'm not nearly eating through the juice it's providing (ie dipping below 13v), even at idle; there is no way I'm really pushing 2000w rms?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

I hope that question is clear to someone:crap:

i think i understand what your getting at? but to try and answer that, your alt is charging your batteries constanly if there is even a little dip in voltage, your alt is charging your bat back up the regulated voltage. clamp your amp if you can and do some math and you can get an estimate of how much power your amp is actually doing