I just bought a bad ass system for my car and i'm going to add another battery. I don't know a lot about hooking this up so I need some help. If anyone can tell me what parts to buy and how to install that'd be great. Thanx!!!
Invest in some really good capacitors and you might not need to add another battery. You can replace your current battery with an Optima battery which could help a bit.
Can't really help with the install part...take it to a pro if your dealing with something that big (competition amps and subwoofer wise).
www.kronosperformance.com / 732-742-8837
Capacitors dont work so well.
Think of you car's charging system as a river, and your battery as a lake at the end of the river. Now, add a capacitor, being a pond that comes before the lake. If the water comes down and there isnt enough to fill the lake, it wont even touch the pond.
So... If you dont have enough power to charge your battery, you wont have a whole lot to charge the cap.
First, I would suggest upgrading your alternator wire. Pick up a good 4 AWG wire and run it from the power terminal on your alternator (only wire on there, marked with a red sleeve) to the positive side of your battery. Some people put in a fuse, but is not required (125-150 Amp). There is no need to remove the old one, just leave it there (still connected). REMEMBER when you are doing this that these wires are hot with 12v, do not let them ground out to your car! You may want to remove your negative battery terminal, then you'll be safe.
Second, An Optima YellowTop or other Deap-Cycle battery would help a lot. Deep Cycle batteries can get drained lower safely, and recharge much much quicker. Optima YellowTops also come with a one year warrenty specific for audio systems, so if you kill it, you get a new one.
If you upgrade you ALT/BATT wire, and get a new battery, that should be a great start. Only cost you about $100 + a half hour of work.
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
i wish i could find a yellow top for under $100
oprima red top for 120 i got works mint
neosandstorm:
But since the system is drawing off of the capacitor itself as long as there is enough juice in the battery to run everything it would be fine right? Thats the whole idea isnt it when the system hits it takes juice from the capacitor instead of the battery which wont draw from the other accessories. This is just what I heard.
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Madjack wrote:Like I said before, building an engine like ours (2.2 or 2200) is a painstaking chore , since there is so few custom made parts. It's frustrating to me too, but that's what I like about doing this engine, it's the challenge.
^^ The capacitor will discahrge 0.000000001 seconds before the battery does. After that they discharge about the same. A cap will LOWER the amount of draw on the battery up to about 0.2 volts. If you listen to songs that have a bass drop that is half a second long and only once every 2 seconds, a cap would be perfect... anything more then that (which is everything) and they begin to loose their effectivness, and fast.
I have had experiece with all these setups (done them to my car, in this order):
A: Stock ALT, Stock Batt, 1.0 Fared Cap, Stock ALT wiring
B: Stock ALT, Stock Batt, Two 1.0 Fared Caps, Stock ALT wiring
C: Stock ALT, Optima YellowTop, 1.0 Fared Cap, Stock ALT wiring
D: Stock ALT, Optima YellowTop, Stock ALT wiring
E: Stock ALT, Optima YellowTop, 1.0 Fared Cap, Upgraded ALT wiring
F: Stock ALT, Optima YellowTop, Upgraded ALT wiring
Option A is obviously the cheapest. Also seen as the "easy way out". It is also the least effective.
Option B showed little difference from option A.
Option C I noticed a good amount of difference, but bass drops still dimmed headlights.
Option D I noticed almost no difference (so the cap was doing almost nothing).
Option E worked wonderfully.
Option F is the best.
The stock alternator in our cars is 105 Amps, across the board, which is high for most stock cars. Upgrading the ALT/BATT charging wire is by far my recomendation for a starting point. 4 feet of 4 AWG wire and an optional 150 AMP fuse will cost you about $45. If you have a system less then 600 watts this may be all you need to do.
The Optima YellowTop, being deep-cycle, is able to handle deeper draws without blowing up, and recharges much much faster then a stock battery. It recharges at about the same rate a capacitor does, thats why the cap did nothing for me when I put in my YellowTop.
When a battery is used, a powdery solid forms on the plates of the battery. In a deep cycle battery, there are many many more plates (the Optima is arranged in spirals). Having more surface area on the plates lets this powder build up in smaller amounts per inch, and more evenly. When the battery is re-charged, this powdery stuff must be on the plates so the chemical reaction can be reversed to charge it. Since there is more surface area, this is able to take place much faster. It also allows for a discharge much faster.
As batteries get old and used, this powder will fall off the plates. If this happens, the abttery cannot be recharged since that chemical is not there to re-react. The optima's have a spongy-like material between the plates, making it nearly impossible for this to fall off.
ANYWAYS... I recommend ALT/BATT charging wire upgrade as a first step. And a deep-cycle battery (optima or otherwise) as a second step.
If you are a serious car modder check Optima's website for sponsorship information... thats what I did
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
^^ Wait... I mean... CAPS are great!!! Buy the one I'm selling
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
96sunfire wrote:oprima red top for 120 i got works mint
the Optima RedTop is not a deep-cycle battery, but instead is a starter battery. In this situation it would not be what you want.
Granted, it IS better then stock, but for high-draw systems (audio or otherwise) the YellowTop is prefferable.
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
hwp many watts is your system goin to be running? if its goin to be 1000+ watts you might have to upgrade the alternator to at least a 150 amp high output too.
^^ Upgrading the alternator is also a next major step. For anything under even 1500 watts, in my opinion, upgraded alternator wires and a deep-cycle battery will be enough.
Although, if you've upgraded wires and battery and still experience noticable power problems, a new alternator would help a lot.
I do not recommend caps in any case.
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
I'm going to be pushing the most 1600watts, where is a good place to find a high performance alternator for an 04' Cav
1600 watts max power or rms? it makes a difference... im at like 1600 peak but 900 rms and my stock alternator and battery are fine. But id imagine if were speaking rms then you might have to upgrade some things. An Optima battery would be first, then the alt. I only think caps are for sound quality. The battery still needs to charge the cap so using a cap as a bandaid for a poorly charging system isnt the answer. Caps are only there for power spikes to keep the sound clean.
Just hit me, a cheap way to improve the flow of electricity in the car is to better ground the battery.
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98' Pontiac Sunfire SE
ok i have the same problem so today i went to auto zone to try to get some help but talking them was like talking to my car so does anyone know where i can order the wire, or know of a good one to go pick up
They also tried to make me buy a more expensive altenator
i bought my 180 amp H0 alternator for $239 shipped from.. www.4alterstart.com. you have to call though becuase they only have a 2.4l cavalier on their site.. but they have one for a 2.2; just call. i havent had any problems with my alt yet and it is also a direct bolt on as well
For wire, try posting in your ragional forums to see if anyone knows
otherwise, the cheapest stuff you will find is a car audio place, and it will be sold by the foot.
Also, I know batteries plus sells wire, but not a very wide selction.
If nothing else, check out APlusPerformance here on the .org...
www.aplusperformance.com
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
I just bought an Optima Red battery and it works fine with my car... What would the differnece be between the Red and Yellow? Thx!
The Optima RedTop is a "Starter" battery. It offers higher Amp output which can start cars a lot faster, and easier in weather extremes.
The ability to offer higher Amp outputs will help you with your system and electrical problem, HOWEVER the voltage can still drop easier then it can in a YellowTop because...
The Optima YellowTop is a DeepCycle battery. It is able to handle fast and deep power losses, and is able to recharge significantly faster. It does offer higher amperage output then a stock battery (by far) but the RedTop still offers more amp output.
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
