When my sub hit. I've not noticed it before. Is this indicative of a future battery failure, or my need for a cap?

My stereo setup is in my sig. I'm not interested in adding another battery for weight concerns and space issues. The sub box already takes up too much space, and it's relatively small.

Thanks!

Pics:





(before I added a speaker grill)

 

When your lights are dimming, you are running the risk of your battery going flat. It will happen at some point, just can't tell you how long your current battery will last. The root of the problem is that your stereo system is drawing more amps from the car than the charging system can provide. So, adding a cap would be a band aid that might stop the lights from dimming, but won't save your battery. The cap needs juice from the battery too.

It really depends on how often you're playing your system loud in your car. If you do it all the time, might be a good idea to upgrade your alternator. If it's only on occasion, a cap should remedy the dimming lights.

The only way to 100% stop the lights from dimming and ensure your battery doesn't ever run flat, is to upgrade your alternator. The stock alternator is only 90 amps and is designed to power the car when it is stock. You've added somewhere around 100amps of power through your amplifiers. So, an upgraded 180amp should do the trick.

Like I mentioned, it depends on how you play your stereo in your car. That would lead you down which of the two paths will work for you.

 

Well I've never noticed it until today - and have had the system for about 4-5 months. That's why I was thinking it may be my battery?

 

Yeah, your battery is starting to go because over the past 4-5 months your stereo has slowly drained it. You have a problem with your charging system and it can't keep up with the demands of your stereo. You could replace your battery, but it the same thing will happen to the new battery after some time. Your best bet might be to upgrade the alternator.

 

Is that trivial or non-trivial in our cars?

And thanks for the reply.

 

happens in all cars

 

I wouldn't call it trivial since the car won't run without the electrical system. It just depends on how you want to approach it. You can buy a new battery, but your headlights will likely still dim. You'll have to replace the battery after some time because it will get run down by your stereo just like your current battery did. You can find a good battery for what $50-$70 at Autozone or some place??? A new hi-output alternator could run you $300-$400 plus installation. It's up to you, but new batteries won't solve the root of the problem.

Take it to a car audio shop (not Best Buy!!!) and have them do an electrical test to see what they come up with. See what they say, then go from there.

 

- I didn't mean is the battery trivial - is the install trivial of the non-oem bats. I've heard the optimas don't fit well.

I'd love to have a high-quality bat -don't mind spending money on it.

 

Sorry man I couldn't tell exactly what you were talking about

I had an Optima yellow top in my Evo when I had my stereo in my car. It fit right in the stock battery tray. I had a JL Audio 500/1 and 300/4 hooked up and they are power hungry amps. The Optima worked well for me, but I was still going to upgrade the alternator and keep the Optima. Anyhow, I sold my car stereo.

An Optima is definitely more powerful than the stock battery and is "built" for car's with high power audio systems. It would definitely be better than the stock battery and would provide a similar benefit of a capacitor. Would help a little with the dimming lights. Although, it would still eventually get drained because you're exceeding the output of your alternator. But, it will last much longer than your stock battery.

 

Awesome - where'd you get it? Remember which model? I heard they fixed the reverse order poles problem we had years ago.

 

Here's some information on the Optima Yellow Top.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/optim.../yellowtop.php

Might work for you for now until you can upgrade the alternator.

Another thing you could do in addition to an Optima Yellow Top is to upgrade the "big 3" wires. Google it and you'll find out what I mean. That also seems to help when combined with a battery like the Optima.

 

If you don't go the HO alternator route, or by-pass the cap...either get the Optima or a much higher cold-cranking amps batt. Just replaced my stock batt from Sept '03; been pushing a 1600w system since late '04 and just now replaced it for slower-start issues.

Got a group 35M Energizer battery from Sam's Club for $53 + other state fees and core charge. Believe it said 675 & 825...?

 

I disagree with going simply with a yellow top or blue top battery. I have learned from experience of blowing out the cells in these batterys from high wattage and amperage system. You need a new alternator, period. You will be wasting your money by just putting in a cap or a optima battery. Remember, the system is only as good as the weakest link.

For example, huge turbo on stock internals, something will blow. Same thing here, huge amps on stock alternator will fry the battery. Trust me, i have been doing this for years and have learned the hard way on all the systems i have done and installed.

 

Fair enough, but is 900W total huge amps?

 

I agree with what MRCole is saying (and it's exactly what I said earlier in this thread). The Optima won't completely solve all of your problems. The two Alpine amps that you have aren't that much drain on the stock electrical system (less so than the two JL Audio amps I had in my Evo). An Optima battery will help, but it won't be the ultimate solution for you. If you've got ~$500 (cost of alternator and install), you should get the alternator. If you don't, an Optima will be much better than the stock battery. If you can also upgrade the "big 3" you'll be in even better shape as that decreases the amperage lost from the alternator to the battery (the loss of amperage with the thin stock wire is quite significant).