Extra battery or Replace Battery (need help)

[diffrnt]

ok. well I just put that 8awg wire between my alt. and battery and Ive noticed pretty good difference in how much less voltage drop Im getting.Right now I have

1.extra 8awg between alt and battery (small red box)
2.a 4awg wire ran from my battery ground to a random body ground nearby
3.and my amp's 4awg wired straight to the red box

number 2 might sound a little off but Im pretty sure it helped even if only a lil bit.

with all of this, Ive noticed a not huge but a very good difference compared to how it was before any of that extra wiring. Definitely dont feel like I need a big battery like the one they wanted to sell me. but Im not sure what to do yet b/c I still gotta put the other amp in there with my high's and see how much that draws from everything.

If I were you, I would run 4awg from the battery + straight to the alt, bypassing the red box. The red box contains a fusible link and is there for safety. Also run your amp wire (with the appropriate fuse) straight to the battery +. This should help with your dimming issues.

 

[Eagle]

good point. a fusible link IS resistance.

 

[ROBERTOcritser]

and that cant hurt anything? isnt the fusible link there in case something screws up and it keeps from ruining stuff? How about this, what is the fusible link for?

 

[diffrnt]

You're right, good point. I have been using the set up I recommended to you for over a year and haven't had any problems. Well then, upgrade the wire to at least 4awg using the fusible link or add a fuse in the 4awg wire from the battery + to alt. All you are trying to do is, provide the least resistance for current flow.

I also upgraded my main battery to a Deka Intimadator. I needed a new battery anyway and the Deka had the same specs as a Optima yellow top, but alot cheaper.

 

[ROBERTOcritser]

I actually have a Deka battery right now.Its not an intimidator but its just black and has a big number 75 on the side and its say MAINTENANCE FREE and LONG LIFE like 5 times on it hahaha. couldnt really see anything else. and how did that work out? How much did you pay and did it really help enough worth getting one?

 

[diffrnt]

The Intimidator is an AGM battery. You will have to google it for some info as I have forgot the main advantages of it. Since my battery was on its way out, I decided to get this battery because a friend of mine who is heavy into car audio suggested it. I did alot of research on different kinds of batteries before settling on this one. One thing I do remember is that it can ran down completely and charged back up without having any problems. It did help to lessen some of the dimming. But if your battery is fairly new, I would not change it.

 

[ROBERTOcritser]

Ok. We have all of this info and what I have done is listed up there.... what should I do next? I plan on putting another amp in there so should I get the 0awg wiring kit or wait til the amp is actually in there or what?

 

[Eagle]

Fuible link is a Fuse.
it is there incase someone removes a positive cable and drops it while the truck is running... or incase someone hooks up jumpers bass ackwards. you've already defeated the fusible link by adding a wire from the alt to the battery.

I never liked fusible links because they are mostly irreplaceable in the field, and yet another failpoint. I'd rather use a straight wire, or at WORST a 150 -200 amp mini ANL fuse.

With less resistance and checkable by the naked eye, mini-ANLs are relatively easy to change (crescent wrench) and relatively inexpensive. Very small oem-look holders are often used in motorcycles.

 

[ROBERTOcritser]

Fuible link is a Fuse.
it is there incase someone removes a positive cable and drops it while the truck is running... or incase someone hooks up jumpers bass ackwards. you've already defeated the fusible link by adding a wire from the alt to the battery.

I never liked fusible links because they are mostly irreplaceable in the field, and yet another failpoint. I'd rather use a straight wire, or at WORST a 150 -200 amp mini ANL fuse.

With less resistance and checkable by the naked eye, mini-ANLs are relatively easy to change (crescent wrench) and relatively inexpensive. Very small oem-look holders are often used in motorcycles.

so since those 2 wires are running from the alt to red box (battery) should I just replace both of them with 1 piece of 4awg? Id rather just have one wire there instead of 2.... just looks better and its not hard to do

 

[Harry Seaward]

.........Just remember that two batteries wired in parallel sans isolator will pass small amounts of voltage back and forth when the engine is not on and will discharge each other and ruin each other.......

I agree with most of what you said, except for this one. My Ram Turbodiesel (with the OEM electrical system) uses 2 batteries wired in parallel. The toaster element-like grid heaters pull 180 amps at pre-start to heat the imcoming air wihen you crank. That's over 2000 watts, and more than a single battery can provide. I replaced both OEM batteries after 2 years with Red Tops. That was 5 years ago, and they're still running fine. Granted, if one battery takes a dump, yes, it will pull the other down. But if you start with 2 fresh batteries, you'll get many years of service out of them before you have to worry about what you describe above.