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Hey guys, I'm new to the subwoofer/amp world and today I installed my first system in my 8g. Everything looked and worked fine until an hour later i tried turning on my car and the battery was dead. All i have is the amp and the subwoofer connected. Am I missing something? I heard something about adding a "cap" ?
Subs:
x2 500watt
Amp:
x1 1k
well if you have a stock battery the dome lights and other things can drain a battery pretty good by them selves, when you add a system on top of that.... for a hour.... not a good idea just get a jump start and let it build back up. also check your remote wire (the blue one) and make sure it turns your amp off when the car goes off
if your thinking about a cap i would say get a AGM battery they do the job or a cap and a battery. they put out more constent power and last much longer than caps.
Thanks a lot as a matter of fact I do have the stock battery and after I installed the system, I did other work to my car while the dome lights and trunk lights were on for a good 20 mins plus testing the system. Ill check the remote wire too.
*whoops
your learning young grasshopper lol
Cap n battery ftw! lol
yeah looks like for your needs a 1 farrad cap will be fine. Good luck
Alright guys im in the process of getting my cap, but ever since my battery died the first time, its been dying on me randomly. I got the amp disconnected and checked the connections for any short circuits and everything seems fine. i dont know much about batteries, but mine some walmart brand battery that Ive been having ever since I bought the car.
Now, my bud at a local junkyard can give me a deal on any battery, so what type of battery should I look for?
gel cell..
Red, yellow, blue tops
stay away from yellow tops. Apparently those are not made for daily use. I had one and that thing was a nightmare. The red top has been cake though
Well tomorrow im going to get me a temporary battery while i shop for a new one. I'm planning to just go to the JY and pull a batt for one of their newest cars assuming that all batteries are the same, just find one that has the right size, right?
Wrong, batteries are specific to each car. Factors are cranking amps, group numbers, and more. Get a battery from another Galant or Eclipse to be safe. Or look up the group number and cranking amps and buy accordingly. Honestly though, your better off just buying a new one if this one is dead. Have a local battery shop charge it overnight and test it. Then decide from there.
Dodged a bullet there, thanks. As a matter of fact, there is a wrecked galant there and hopefully it has a decent battery. Im getting one from the jy since im paying pretty much nothing for it [10 bucks] but im definitively getting a new battery soon.
I beg to differ. You can put any battery in your car as long as its 12volts. Things like cranking amps, cold cranking amps, reserve power, tho determine if it will start your car and be able to power all your electronics.
To say batteries are car specific would not be accurate. You could get a battery more powerful than stock and it would work in your car just fine. It would be more accurate to say that you need a battery with at least X amount of cranking amps for a Galant. Im actually using an Optima battery made for a Honda Integra + Miata (group 51). The size is physically smaller, but the cranking amps are more powerful than stock, IIRC
You also shouldnt get the biggest honking battery you could find because it might not fit under the hood, or even the positive and negative posts might be on different sides
From what I remember hearing, having a battery that is either too small or too big, in regards to amps and not physical size, can damage your eletrical system. Im no expert at this either tho, so I would suggest doing the research for yourself, bcz Im going off of what Ive heard from mechanics in the past...
more cranking amps then whats needed will not hurt your electrical system, your sytem will only ask for the amount needed to crank the car never more. Having a battery withless cranking will over work your starter and distibuter and drain the battery to almost dead in cold weather when you crank the car.
Having a battery with more than needed is the way to go if ur wantn to run amps. However i did have a battery tray problem which wasnt too bad like QNZ said, make sure it fits. I also run a Hi output alternator(more than the car needs) And only problem ive had is a small surge in the lights every now an then simply bcuz it runs about .3 volts over 14.4v, which is good for my stereo though. All in all, Ive never had a problem from running a little over our cars Specs.
Thank guys, later today i will try to get the beefiest battery possible. The sticker of the battery should say the amps it gives right?[im not gonna go too crazy either] Also in regards to the alternator, where could I find a stronger one?
stronger you need to look online or at your local custom stereo install shop, they are called H.O.A-high output alternators. they can be purchased in two ways. prebuilt with standard stats, or you can have one custom made to the exact specs of your system(wouldnt recomened that route till your car is ABSOLUTLY finished).
top of the battery will give you the CCA:coldcranking Amps and the Amps its the CCA you need to match first , if the CCA is lower than what the car needs you will have issues starting the car in warm weather and most likly not get it started in cold if your in a snow blasted area.
Im using a 950 CCA, Cuz im running Powerful amps but like i said doesnt fit the tray very good. But size can depend on name brand also.
im using two shuriken batteries to power all of my goodies i have 4,500 cranking amps and NOTHING has blown out or blew up from too much power
Kill switch is always nice too for when those cops like to pop up out of nowhere at night