Noob Questions About Dual Input Amps,Multiple Batteries.

[HawkEye 0]

Hey all.Im going to be getting a AudioQue 3500d.1 and I was wondering about the dual power/ground inputs on the amp.My main question is a major noob one.How do I hook the amp up with the dual inputs?Like do I need a distrobution block for both power and ground or do I just run both power/ground inputs to the power/ground inputs on my rear battery or what?My second question is about adding a 3rd battery.Ive been searching the forum and I think I have to just run + to + and then - to - on the rear batteries right?Do I need a fuse when connecting the + to the other + on the rear batteries?I have a 220amp power bastards alternator so im thinking between that and a 3rd battery it should be plenty to power the aq right?My rear battery now is a deep cycle marine battery from walmart.Its the biggest one they had and I was planning on getting another one of them for my 3rd battery.Smart choice or no?

Thanks for any help that is given.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

you hook up 2 runs of positive and 2 runs of negative from your closes battery whihc I hope is like 1-HC2400 or 1-d3100 and that should be part of a auxiliary battery/ bank!

and yes you hook batteries in parallel, aka + to + and - to -

if you hook batteries in series each batteries voltage will tally up so if you hook 2 batteries in series (+ to - ) your final resting voltage will be 24~ vdc but in a car audio setup you don't ideal want that so that is why we hook batteries in parallel because when you hook them in parallel the voltage is seen on all brances as 12 volts no matter how many 12v batteries you hook up!

[HawkEye 0]

Ok so 1 HC2400 would be better than the 2 deep cycle walmart batteries that I was planning on doing?Also,I have a wet cell battery for my starting battery and ive heard its not a smart idea to mix wet cell and AGM batteries together.Is this true?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

well it isn't smart to mix and match batteries with a lower float. For example put a DMM (digital multimeter) on your starting battery with the car off and sitting for a about an hour and this will tell you the floating voltage on that battery. A Hc2400 should float at about 13.1vdc but if your starting battery floats at 12.3 that starting battery will be constantly drawing/ taking from the rear batteries. over time that isn't good does it happen.. yes will it continue to happen sure!

well that is the way I see it, so take my word as hear say at best lol!

also before I condemn the wal-mart battery what are the ratings on it? CCA, CA, and anything else readily available on the battery spec wise!

[CrazyKenKid 64]

o and in regards to fusing always fuse the + positive run regardless for safety reasons, and always fuse to the wires capacity, so if you are using KNU wiring I think its capacity is like 300amps~ but if you use another brand check with the manufacturing company for the wire specs and current capacity!

and don't use a distro-block to power your amp because look at it like this

1 run of 1/0 wire into the distro-block and 2-runs of 1/0 out of the distro-block(i don't think they make that), lets say the 1/0 input wire has 300amps flowing through it well guess what the maximum amount of current that your amp can pull from that single input is 300amps and that is the limit on it! so the distro would be more of a bottle neck!

[HawkEye 0]

ok here are the specs I could find on the battery.

875 Marine Cranking Amps

125 Amp Hours

205 Reserve Capacity

Not sure what 875 marine cranking amps is in CCA or whatever.If it helps you the part number is MAXX-29

[CrazyKenKid 64]

Reserve Capacity, (RC) is a battery industry rating, defining a battery's ability to power a vehicle with an inoperative alternator or fan belt. The rating is the number of minutes a battery at 80 degrees F can be discharged at 25 amps and maintain a voltage of 10.5 volts for a 12 volt battery. The higher the reserve rating, the longer your vehicle can operate should your alternator or fan belt fail. ( http://www.autobatteries.com/faq/index.asp )

875 not sure about it either but lets let someone else chim in. you posted it says 125 amp/hour (ah) I think that is how much the hc2400 is also, tell me some more about it, what is the cost and weight of this battery?

[HawkEye 0]

Well I work at walmart so I get a discount and can get one for about $70.As far as weight goes I believe they weigh around 65 pounds.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

umm interesting!

something doesn't add your rating is 205 RC (205=3.5mins) so in 3.5mins at 25amps the battery will be dead... I must be reading something wrong plus the battery has a 125 ah I don't' know we need a battery expert here lol!

also for that price what is the return policy.. as if to say if you get 2 of them in your car and you kill one or both of them because your beast of an amp murdered them what can you do? return them for money? in store credit? or what?

[HawkEye 0]

There is a 18 month free replacment but not sure about a warranty.I already have one of these batteries and I ran a aq2200 of it then I switched to a Planet Audio BB2 2400RMS amp and they both ran off it just fine.Im just trying to get the best bang for my buck.I would hate to spend $300 on a HC2400 when I could just spend $70 on another MAXX 29 battery.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

you say it ran those amps good as if to ask what was your voltage at full tilt? did you monitor your voltage at all? or how do you know you were good? also 2400rms is nothing compared to 3500 plus I think those AQ amps will pull a bit more? 3500 AQ is a new ball park?

[HawkEye 0]

Yes i monitered my voltage at all times.I have a stinger volt meter.The only problem I have is my idle voltage is WAY LOW.Like I usually idle around 12.5volts with my system off and when I turn my system on full tilt I drop to around 12.0 volts. I had my pulley from my stock alt on the new alt so I figured that was my problem because my new alt came with an overdrive pulley.So about a week ago I switched pulleys and got a smaller belt to accomadate the overdrive pulley and it didnt really help so I don't know what my problem is there. I have the big 3 done in 1/0 guage wire with the exception of my power wire running from my alt to my front battery.It's 2/0 but its not car audio cable.I got it from my local auto parts store.It only has like 9 huge strangs of wire to make up the 1/0 guage wire so I didn't know if this was some of the problem or not.

But as far as highway speed voltage its good.Around 14.6 with system off to 14.3 with system full tilt.This is around 2k RPM

[CrazyKenKid 64]

o cool! give it a shot try it out! worst case you fill 140$ worth of batteries right! best case it lasts lol!

[HawkEye 0]

Ok lol.Thanks for all your help.