Dual Batteries?

[RedneckRicer]

i used to have problems with the lights dimming, and lost one alternator to my sub. i was only pushing 300 watts too, i wanna know if i can get a battery relocation kit, and instead, hook up and second battery to make, so to say, a bigger battery, so the alternator has to work less?

[pimp86LX]

well...that sounds like a lot of work...if you can't draw enough from the alernator, try getting a cap, and/or heavier wire

i'm running a 500w system on 4g wire and a 1/2 farad cap

and i have no worries with my puny little alternator

[RedneckRicer]

i was kinda tryin to avoid buying a cap, because i can hook up another battery A LOT cheaper

[pimp86LX]

than a cap?? i can get a cap for about $120 and a batter for about the same (thats a top-o-the line one mind you)

i just though it'd save some effort

[RedneckRicer]

my dad works at an equipmet place.... i can get a top of the line industrial battery ( the same as normal, just holds a lot more juice ) for free and the wires for a little more

[pimp86LX]

NICE...go for it dude!

[shepherd79]

well, here is your problem.
first of all i am running 500 Watt system in my car and i never had a ny problem with light.
1. check your alternator and battery. take it to autozone and they will test it for free.
2. most likely your battery is going dead. so go get the biggest battery you can find and same time it should fit the stock.
i am have 750 CCA battery and never had anyproblem. it is something in your charging system.
By putting another battery in your car you are going to put even more stress on the alternator which means both batteries won't get enought juice and your car will start crappy and the stereo will not run at full power.
I would check the alternator and battery. it is free.

[89accordlxi]

I agree with shepherd. A second battery will only but extra stress on your alternator. Plus, with 2 batteries, I think you need to get some kind of isolator to keep the charge of one battery from running to the other or something like that.
Best advice is to have your battery and alt tested to make sure they are both in good condition. Then you might want to try running a cap to assist the battery when hitting the low bass notes.

Good luck

peace...

[88LXi68]

I am running two batteries. One in the engine bay and 1 in the trunk. everything works fine

[jigga225]

Man that dual battery thang is gonna be a lot of work
Whay you NEED to do is go to mralternator.com and get a 130A alternator.
Because when you put 2 bateries, your stock alternator will have to maintain 2 batteries...
Myself, I'm runnin an autotek 750.1, Class D, about 850 watts off stock alt with a 1 farad lightning cap.

-What's that comin around the corner-you can hear but not see?
-12 inch Kicker VRs spinnin rims yah thas me

[shepherd79]

well the problem with alternator no one makes high output alternators for our cars. Unless i missed somehow.

[jigga225]

Originally posted by jigga225
Man that dual battery thang is gonna be a lot of work
Whaw you NEED to do is go to mralternator.com and get a 130A alternator.

'nuff said

[RedneckRicer]

200 bucks or 30 or 40 bucks for something that'll pretty much do the same...... my minds made up

[Vanilla Sky]

even if your alt is good now, it probably will be fried to a crisp when you've had two batteries in for a week... it's gonna create more drain on it to keep both batteries charged...so yes, $200 now is a better deal than $30 now and $200 later

Derick

[accordlx]

I run one very large deep cycle marine battery. My lights never seem to dim very much and my bass or system never distorts due to a lack of power.

[shepherd79]

let him do this guys, he will fry te alternator and he will comeback and ask for our help. you will see.

[RedneckRicer]

with two batteries they both don't drain at the same time. its basically like having a battery that has more capacity to hold it, yeah if i put the battery in there dead, it'd hurt, but it'd be fully charged

[kennycm]

Summit racing has a kit that you can hook up two batteries with for $100 you can look at it I guess. I ordered it but i don't know how it will work out.

[Vanilla Sky]

ya, but if you're pulling enough to need that, then your alt will have to be able to keep the charge up on them, and it will work more than it should

Derick

[RedneckRicer]

i've seen it work on other cars that have less amps coming from their alternator. what i'm trying to say is that they DO NOT drain the same amount. instead of one battery taking all the load, each takes about half.....so its the SAME.... just more power to tap into when needed.

[Vanilla Sky]

are you using the second battery for the entire car, or just the sound system?

Derick

[RedneckRicer]

it'll be hooked to the entire car's electrical, but when the bass hits hard enough to dim the lights, it'll have a deeper power to pull from, so it won't dim because there will be ample power stored there.

[Vanilla Sky]

what i would do is get the largest battery (capacity) possible for the tray, and use a similar one for the stereo, but have them isolated... so just one powers the car, the other powers the stereo...

Derick

I'd say you'll be needing an alt in the next year or so, no matter what you do though... could just be that the battery in there is dead... my car did the same exact thing, excepth with the stock stereo, lol

[87DXHatch]

www.caraudioforum.com

Ask them and you will get some hard facts, not just speculation.

I have read that caps do nothing but put a bigger load on the electrical system... but that has been debated all over the internet for a long time. I have also read that the one sure way to upgrade your electrical system is to get a rebuilt alternator...

And I think there are some sites that will make alternators special for your car that put out around 200 amps, but it costs 600-800...

[RedneckRicer]

i just put a new alternator in a few months before my auto tranny went down