second battery question

[benz280se 0]

whatup folks. i am going to run a second battery in my car i know that 0gauge is the best but can i get away with 2gauge? i already have the whole car wired with phoenix gold pos and neg 2 gauge. would hate to have to buy all new wire if i dont have too. i am only running us amps 400, and esxq404 four channel amp with soon to be ssd 12's with copper coils. im thinking this would be okay but im not sure never ran two batteries before. sorry for all these questions but i m just now realizing that as loud as my systems have been i could get more out of them since ive found forums like this to help. thanks for any help you guys can give.

[jonbearsmt 919]

should be fine, fuse it

[BKOLFO4 29]

Is the second battery going near the amps? How far is it from the alternator to the second batttery? Is it the stock alt, or high output?

2 ga will more than likely handle the current, it is just the voltage drop you have to be concerned with. If the run is too long, you will drop voltage when there is a large demand for current from the alternator.

Brian

[benz280se 0]

the second battery is going to be close to the amps. in the trunk. the alternator is a stock one it is a 55 amp i think. the largest one for my car is an 80. there arent many people sinking money into a 74 benz280se so there arent very many aftermarket parts for it. i already changed the battery ground and i was going to change the alernator lead too but there is a wierd plug on it that i would have to splice into. the cable running from the front to i estimate about 13' after twists and turns and some slack in the trunk for upgrades. this car is long! everything is fused also. i can probably make an extra bracket for the second battery under the hood if that will help.

Edited January 31, 2008 by benz280se

[BKOLFO4 29]

No, it would be better in the back near the amps.

With the small alt, and only 13 ft of cable, you should be fine with 2 ga.

Brian

[jonbearsmt 919]

ewww 55 amps... thats no good for any type of load. im sure you will burn it up fast if you play alot.

i would put the second cell in the trunk, and run the thickest wire you can get from your amp to your cell,

you say that the output wire on your alt is a molded plug style? that sounds like a bad deal, becare with splicing.

brian is a very smart man, from what i know he does electric engineering for auto companys... did i spell that right?

who knows.

anyway, thats what i say

[benz280se 0]

thanks man i was worried for a minute, hell i thought 13' was a lot lol. ill be ordering the twelves in the morning. probably put the batt in before the superbowl(if i aint too drunk)

Edited January 31, 2008 by benz280se

[benz280se 0]

well, added another battery to the system (optima red) and got rid of that crappy cap. used 2 gauge wire since i already had abundance of it. grounded the amps to the battery and battery to frame, and man what a difference! even with the tiny alterator the increase in sound was amazing. i didnt realize how badly my mids and highs were distorting with my us amps drawing all that power. the bass is nice and hard lights arent dimming, this baby is ready for those ssd's. right now i have cerwin vega hed 15's in a sealed box that had to be re sealed after i blew it apart lol. i also found a guy that can make a 200amp alternator for my car for $280 shipped. if any body wants his email ill give it to you.

[johnecon2001 82]

Nice! Are you gonna jump on that alternator? Thats a great deal for that power.

[benz280se 0]

ill probably have to wait until just before summer cause money's gettin tight, but believe me i want that alt! ill even sell my fosgate p8002 (shameless i know) to get closer to buying that!

[shizzzon 461]

Make sure that you get the HOT amps at idle output for that alt. That's just as important as the max output.

[benz280se 0]

got it, thanks i would not have known to check for something like that.

Edited February 7, 2008 by benz280se