should i buy a power cap or another battery

[thegrad1112 1]

looking to up my reserve power for my system in a 2008 grand prix.i currently have a 220 amp singer alt.with a 3 year old yellow top that has been used and abused. the yellow top has enough power to power the car perfectly but drains fast unless im drivin around.im running a 1200 watt rms amp and am going to a 2k soon...just looking to up my reserve power as cheap and as smart as possible.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Buy a NEW battery and another one for reserve.

[edouble101 314]

Electrical reserve can only come from a battery.

Instantaneous power in short bursts comes from caps.

Your battery drains fast with the car off? Did you do the Big 3?

[thegrad1112 1]

yes it does drain fast with the car off....had the yellow top for about 3 or 4 years with alot of stereo abuse on it...cant afford both batts right now ...just want to add another in the trunk for now..yes i did the big 3 all o gauge copper wire

[edouble101 314]

I wouldn't add another battery without replacing your yellow top first.

A bad battery will kill a new battery.

[bassahaulic 155]

I would never play the stereo with the car off without a large battery bank.

I've got 5 extra G31 batts and I won't even play bass at 1/2 volume with the car off.

[Sencheezy 689]

replace that yellow top first. Or go charge it over night to see if it makes a difference.

[///M5 2,833]

With only 1200w and a 220a alt you should not need anything. There is something wrong...

[edouble101 314]

With only 1200w and a 220a alt you should not need anything. There is something wrong...

For whatever reason he plays his system with the vehicle off.

[///M5 2,833]

With only 1200w and a 220a alt you should not need anything. There is something wrong...

For whatever reason he plays his system with the vehicle off.

I am aware at what the first post said, but it also asked for:

as cheap and as smart as possible.

Which to anyone with a thought process would mean the car is on.

[ssh 924]

What's your resting voltage (car sitting for a few hours)?

What's your float voltage (after the engine is off)?

What's your voltage at idle with the stereo off?

What's your voltage at idle with the stereo on?

You could try giving it a good charge (low amperage) over night, and see if that helps, but if it doesn't, and if the alt is working fine, then more then likely it's time to replace the battery.

1 old battery not holding a charge + 1 new battery is not better then 1 new battery. So don't act a fool.

If your blasting the stereo with the car off for moderate lengths of time then that's going to drain the battery, and shorten it's life-span.

[shizzzon 461]

And why would you play with car off anyway?

Is your engine about to go?

I have sat in park for over 2hrs at idle before with no problem.

Engine bay was hot as hell because i had the hood down but i only lost 18th of a tank of gas from a 4cylinder.

[Jason Witt 65]

I had a bad battery which caused bad voltage drops. Luckily I caught it in time before it really got hairy and ruined my rear batts. After I changed it out, voltage sits around 13.3v at full tilt. I am running 5k on 12v electrical, and have zero issues now.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

And why would you play with car off anyway?

Is your engine about to go?

I have sat in park for over 2hrs at idle before with no problem.

Engine bay was hot as hell because i had the hood down but i only lost 18th of a tank of gas from a 4cylinder.

Why would you play with the car on? Increased unnecessary wear on the engine, releasing more hydrocarbons into the air, wasting fuel, etc. . .

[shizzzon 461]

not full tilt.. and only for 2-3 seconds at a time.. I was doing burp testing for competition.

I would do this literally like 3-4 times a month.

[thegrad1112 1]

why waste gas ...way i see it good build should be able to go a few minutes wide open without dying.....i built an explorer for my friend and he demos for like 20 minutes with car off and he goes from 15.5 to 15 volts ....hes running about 4k in amps and 1 kinetic.....my motor is not bad ...has 20000 and have since 10000 ....i put matainence before my system.......my alt is 3 months old and it starts at 14.4 and drops to 13.88 ater a few no system .(even asked singer he said it was normal in some applications)....thats no worry...alt is warm by then.....just when i stop the batt drains with the system on........LIKE I SAID BATT IS USED AND ABUSED FOR 3 TO 4 YEARS WITH ALOT OF SYSTEMS........have tried slow charging and didnt help.....will replace the one under the hood and get one for the trunk

Edited September 4, 2012 by thegrad1112

[ssh 924]

why waste gas ...way i see it good build should be able to go a few minutes wide open without dying.....i but an explorer for my friend and he demos for like 20 minutes with car off and he goes from 15.5 to 15 volts ....hes running about 4k in amps and 1 kinetic.....my motor is not bad ...has 20000 and have since 10000 ....i put matainence of my system.......my alt is 3 months old and it starts at 14.4 and drops to 13.88 ater a few no system .....thats no worry...alt is warm by then.....just when i stop the batt drains with the system on........LIKE I SAID BATT IS USED AND ABUSED FOR 3 TO 4 YEARS WITH ALOT OF SYSTEMS........have tried slow charging and didnt help.....will replace the one under the hood and get one for the trunk

Word.

[shizzzon 461]

um.... running a vehicle that has an alternator is by far more efficient than having it off and playing for long periods of time.

All you are doing is cycling the battery(ies) with greater DoD which will result in the long run with a short battery life and anyone that knows you do this will refuse to buy used batteries off of you as well.

Then when the vehicle is turned back on, you risk frying the rectifier inside the alternator.

This isn't a matter of opinion, but fact.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

um.... running a vehicle that has an alternator is by far more efficient than having it off and playing for long periods of time.

All you are doing is cycling the battery(ies) with greater DoD which will result in the long run with a short battery life and anyone that knows you do this will refuse to buy used batteries off of you as well.

Then when the vehicle is turned back on, you risk frying the rectifier inside the alternator.

This isn't a matter of opinion, but fact.

1. Pretty sure he doesn't care about that,

2. That's a worst case scenario and pretty sure he won't have to worry about that either.

[thegrad1112 1]

yup......like i said the batt(yellow top )has been beaten on.....why would u buy a used batt.....thats just dumb in my opinion.....u dont no what ur getting.....this batt has never seen under 12 volts in it whole life....never seen under 13.4 volts in the gp......i beleave my amp isnt helping the case either....im running one hifonic brutus 1200 d wide open on a havoc witch is known to handle 2k all day.....i run my system all day every day wide open(i allow the car to charge back up from starting and let the sub warm up) then its on. i think a bigger amp may help the cause too

[ssh 924]

yup......like i said the batt(yellow top )has been beaten on.....why would u buy a used batt.....thats just dumb in my opinion.....u dont no what ur getting.....this batt has never seen under 12 volts in it whole life....never seen under 13.4 volts in the gp......i beleave my amp isnt helping the case either....im running one hifonic brutus 1200 d wide open on a havoc witch is known to handle 2k all day.....i run my system all day every day wide open(i allow the car to charge back up from starting and let the sub warm up) then its on. i think a bigger amp may help the cause too

yup......like i said the batt(yellow top )has been beaten on.....why would u buy a used batt.....thats just dumb in my opinion.....u dont no what ur getting.....this batt has never seen under 12 volts in it whole life....never seen under 13.4 volts in the gp......i beleave my amp isnt helping the case either....im running one hifonic brutus 1200 d wide open on a havoc witch is known to handle 2k all day.....i run my system all day every day wide open(i allow the car to charge back up from starting and let the sub warm up) then its on. i think a bigger amp may help the cause too

A bigger amp may help reduce strain on your electrical, or add?

[thegrad1112 1]

way i see it if audio equitment fails ....time to go bigger and better.......boxes are the only thing that scare me not my install of every thing else

[thegrad1112 1]

yup......like i said the batt(yellow top )has been beaten on.....why would u buy a used batt.....thats just dumb in my opinion.....u dont no what ur getting.....this batt has never seen under 12 volts in it whole life....never seen under 13.4 volts in the gp......i beleave my amp isnt helping the case either....im running one hifonic brutus 1200 d wide open on a havoc witch is known to handle 2k all day.....i run my system all day every day wide open(i allow the car to charge back up from starting and let the sub warm up) then its on. i think a bigger amp may help the cause too

yup......like i said the batt(yellow top )has been beaten on.....why would u buy a used batt.....thats just dumb in my opinion.....u dont no what ur getting.....this batt has never seen under 12 volts in it whole life....never seen under 13.4 volts in the gp......i beleave my amp isnt helping the case either....im running one hifonic brutus 1200 d wide open on a havoc witch is known to handle 2k all day.....i run my system all day every day wide open(i allow the car to charge back up from starting and let the sub warm up) then its on. i think a bigger amp may help the cause too

A bigger amp may help reduce strain on your electrical, or add?

thats what im afraid of but wont get a bigger amp till i get 2 new batts

[ricksi30 923]

I just wanted to type in red font.

But I agree, replace the battery under the hood first, then add a second battery.

[ssh 924]

I just wanted to type in red font.

But I agree, replace the battery under the hood first, then add a second battery.

Don't worry I waste a lot of time here too.