Battery...
01-31-2007, 07:21 PM
#1
Battery...
Ok, so I am still a little confused about giving my system the proper amount of power. If I throw both of my amps in and use most of there potential what is it going to harm? I know I will be pulling more amperes than my alt puts out but does that hurt anything? If I have 0 gauge power and ground wires will my amps be able to pull the right amount of electricity if my alt isn't very good? I know my lights will dim horribly but will it hurt my car (specifically my alt and electrical system) if I crank up the system? I usually run my system about 1/6 and only crank it up to show it off to friends which means I don't beat on the system constantly. Input would be greatly appreciated. Thanx guys.
01-31-2007, 09:03 PM
#9
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 91
(GrizZz here, wife's PC)
K, first, dBDrag's street classes are not allowed to run their engines in the lanes. So you can put a 10,000amp alternator on the car if you wish, as since the motor is off, it doesn't matter. In Street A & B, you're only allowed one battery, in the stock location. In Street C and Streetmax, you're allowed a second 800ci or smaller battery. In Superstreet and beyond, there are (almost) no limits to what you use for batteries.
Hooking up old batteries with new ones isn't as "scary" or bad as everyone makes it out to be. If you're simply paralleling (permanantly) a new battery to an old one or different sized one, yes, that would be bad. But if you're doing so through a solenoid switch as above, it's fine, as the batteries are disconnected from each other when the vehicle is shut off. When the vehicle is running, you have the alternator doing it's job, so the two sets of batteries still don't even "see each other".
Myself, being the local "battery dude" has it's advantages. For daily use my van has one spiralcell battery under the hood, and two more in the back (deep cycle variety), just for the stereo. The two in the back are simply paralleled together. The cable connecting them to the front battery is connected to a solenoid switch, not an isolater. Solenoids do not drop a volt, as isolators do. When the vehicle is shut off, the front battery is seperate, the stereo is connected to the rear batteries, and I can park and play XBox for three to four hours at 60-70% volume, in 5.1 Prologic. Start the engine and drive away... All batteries are now connected to and receiving a charge off the alternator. For competition, I add two 8D CAT batteries, and a single cell from a locomotive battery. This gives me 14.5v on battery, I don't need to run my engine even though I can in my division. For weekends at the lake, I'll take along an extra CAT battery or two and just booster cable it to my rear batteries, so the stereo can play for ten hours or more at decent volumes. Since it's just for a weekend, it won't hurt anything.
An amplifier (generally speaking here) is designed for 14.5 volts. So, when you dial in your system (with motor running of course), you're dialing it in while it's got 14.5 volts. If you overwork your alternator OR battery OR both, your voltage is gonna drop. That is BAD. Your amp is now dialed in for 14.5v and only receiving 12.5 or less. This causes the amp to clip, and also causes things to create excessive heat. And *poof* you just fried your voice coils...
The car itself, yes, if you're maxing out the alternator regularly, you're gonna burn it up. And if you're working your battery(ies) to hard, it'll give up the ghost too.
www.allstart.net/batadv.htm
K, first, dBDrag's street classes are not allowed to run their engines in the lanes. So you can put a 10,000amp alternator on the car if you wish, as since the motor is off, it doesn't matter. In Street A & B, you're only allowed one battery, in the stock location. In Street C and Streetmax, you're allowed a second 800ci or smaller battery. In Superstreet and beyond, there are (almost) no limits to what you use for batteries.
Hooking up old batteries with new ones isn't as "scary" or bad as everyone makes it out to be. If you're simply paralleling (permanantly) a new battery to an old one or different sized one, yes, that would be bad. But if you're doing so through a solenoid switch as above, it's fine, as the batteries are disconnected from each other when the vehicle is shut off. When the vehicle is running, you have the alternator doing it's job, so the two sets of batteries still don't even "see each other".
Myself, being the local "battery dude" has it's advantages. For daily use my van has one spiralcell battery under the hood, and two more in the back (deep cycle variety), just for the stereo. The two in the back are simply paralleled together. The cable connecting them to the front battery is connected to a solenoid switch, not an isolater. Solenoids do not drop a volt, as isolators do. When the vehicle is shut off, the front battery is seperate, the stereo is connected to the rear batteries, and I can park and play XBox for three to four hours at 60-70% volume, in 5.1 Prologic. Start the engine and drive away... All batteries are now connected to and receiving a charge off the alternator. For competition, I add two 8D CAT batteries, and a single cell from a locomotive battery. This gives me 14.5v on battery, I don't need to run my engine even though I can in my division. For weekends at the lake, I'll take along an extra CAT battery or two and just booster cable it to my rear batteries, so the stereo can play for ten hours or more at decent volumes. Since it's just for a weekend, it won't hurt anything.
An amplifier (generally speaking here) is designed for 14.5 volts. So, when you dial in your system (with motor running of course), you're dialing it in while it's got 14.5 volts. If you overwork your alternator OR battery OR both, your voltage is gonna drop. That is BAD. Your amp is now dialed in for 14.5v and only receiving 12.5 or less. This causes the amp to clip, and also causes things to create excessive heat. And *poof* you just fried your voice coils...
The car itself, yes, if you're maxing out the alternator regularly, you're gonna burn it up. And if you're working your battery(ies) to hard, it'll give up the ghost too.
www.allstart.net/batadv.htm
01-31-2007, 09:31 PM
#10
Grizzled! I love yer posts cuz they are always so long and a really good read. Haha. OK, I was going to ask that if I dialed in my amp at 12.5 volts will my equipment be good, then I realized that when my voltage went back up I would be over powering my subwoofers. So I am now starting to realize that maby I MUST get a better alternator. Or what if I went with something like your set up, an extra battery and soloniod switch. Is that hard to set up? Maby expensive?
