What to do on 2400w system. Battery or Alternator?

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Do it right the first time. It's cheaper in the long run.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

One thing to consider is battteries are heavy.. You can do a battery for 250ish and alts are usually about 500, but after a year of ownership, the alt is cheaper. If your listening to music alternator upgrade is bettery than batteries in general, as well. Extra batteries just keep your voltage from dropping out of the 12's as the charge they hold over their resting 12.x volts is usually pretty minimal. Until you get several batteries and 500+lbs of weight, your not going go use batteries to keep you in the 13's or 14's on music.

If your just burping and want things to stay on and make power, dropping to 12v is fine so go with batteries. If your playing music and want to keep steady voltage, get the alt.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

The thing most seem to not think about is the batteries need power coming in to charge. If there is no power to give them they don't charge.

 

[big scott]

^^ thats a good point.

what i would like to know is...

whats the best why of adding extra battery's in the back if they are different from the under hood battery ?

i have a yellow top under hood and plan on replacing it down the road as its getting old but is still working great.

do i just connect them all together or do i NEED a Battery Isolator ??

and if i need a isolator what amp rating do i need ?

im just confused .

sorry op for this but figured this will be good to know.

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

you don't need an isolator or to change the up front battery unless you plan on going to a 16v+ setup.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

This is what the isolator will do. If they are needed is up to you.

If you drain down the rear battery bank it will **** power from the starter battery until they all plane out. It could **** it down so far the car won't start. A ISO will prevent that. It's normally needed when the rear battery severely overpowers the front. It can and will **** it dry.

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

I ran a batcap 8400 in the rear with no isolator and my front battery (yellowtop G34) never went dry.

must be magic.

You should never drain down your rear batteries more than what is needed to start your car and get the alt going. If you do drain them all the way down, then you have more issues than what an isolator will solve

I ran an isolator when I had an 18v setup. and the isolator failed and sent almost 20v through my car.

 

[Joseph7195 10+ year member]

This is what the isolator will do. If they are needed is up to you.
If you drain down the rear battery bank it will **** power from the starter battery until they all plane out. It could **** it down so far the car won't start. A ISO will prevent that. It's normally needed when the rear battery severely overpowers the front. It can and will **** it dry.

Lol, Suck is a banned word. I sure hope they never add a section dedicated to automotive vacuum systems. Nobody will be able to understand anyone.

 

[big scott]

i asked because i had read that if the back battery's are different from the starting battery you should isolate them.

also i dont use the radio without driving the truck so i should not be draining them down.

i just want to make sure im going to do this right.

want to add at least 2 extra battery's in the back.

also what i meant about my yellow top its getting old its about 14 years old and it does work good but not sure how much more life it has. so i wanted to get my back battery's then ill replace the front battery with a good audio battery. plan on getting the same battery as im going to use for the back so they all match.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

I ran a batcap 8400 in the rear with no isolator and my front battery (yellowtop G34) never went dry.
must be magic.

You should never drain down your rear batteries more than what is needed to start your car and get the alt going. If you do drain them all the way down, then you have more issues than what an isolator will solve

I ran an isolator when I had an 18v setup. and the isolator failed and sent almost 20v through my car.

I'm sure you did battery maintenance also.

 

[Syphlyn]

Sounds like getting an alt is the better way to go. At least the best point to start. I can get mine from MechMan for $350. 240A G series alt. I never burp or listen to music while parked just when I'm driving.

thanks guys //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[sharkman]

Yeah i have the same issue. But my stock alt is 80 amps. So i upgrading mines to a 130 amp alt. Then just throw an old battery in back until i get enough for the d3400. I might only keep my setup for about year. The amp i just picked is a mb quart 1600. I dont know how much of the rated power i will actual see butbi just dont want to be stuck somewhere cuase my truck went dead