Big 3 help

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Jun 20, 2012 | 12:01 PM

#11

vcjester

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ymmot04

The two boxes behind the seat are the Monsoon Amp (the black one) and the OnStar Control (the silver one). I ended up removing both in the end = P

Looks like that thread probably answered your question, but I ran the bigger wire just from the alternator to the under the hood fuse box which you can see right in front of my coolant reservoir. I didn't see any reason to upgrade the wire running back to the battery since it was of sufficient size to carry the amperage my alternator puts out down to the battery, and my equipment is hooked directly to the battery under the back seat.

I kinda see where you're coming from. That wire supplies the starter so you'd think it would be more then enough to supply the amps. Then again, they probably expected high amp loads for only a few seconds during start up. :P

I just threw in some cheap amps for the subs, that I bought at (embarrassed to admit this) Walmart because the whole system was a spur of the moment thing at the time. They're A/B amps and I'm going to pull them out and replace them them with one HiFonics Brutus class D, which should lessen the amp draw significantly, but I think in the end I'm going to have to upgrade my alternator because that annoyingly correct Mr. Math says so...

Thanks for the help!

Jun 20, 2012 | 03:37 PM

#12

ymmot04

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It all depends on how big you want to go. I'm running my factory alternator and my system has never had any problems, my lights don't dim at all even at full volume, and my voltage always stays above 14V. My one Audison amp provides over 1500 Watts of power with a maximum current draw of 110A according to specs http://www.audison.eu/index.php?page=product&id=13.

I have actually metered it and found it'* putting out about 5% more wattage per channel than what it is spec'd at. The second battery is really more important in my opinion. My main battery died of old age this year (It was 8 years old) so I replaced it with another solid state battery from stinger. Another benefit to these is no more need for the hose to empty gasses from the battery outside of the car.

I'm not saying the alternator wouldn't help because it surely would, but I never had to touch mine and a battery is a lot cheaper than an alternator...

Jun 24, 2012 | 11:26 PM

#13

black_friday

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From: Cincinnati, Ohio

simple formula for charging systems- 1 charging or battery amp for every watt your aftermarket amplifiers put out combined. It may seem like a bit much but its tried and trued. If you arent running a super major wattage system. a stock alternator with a big three upgrade should be fine. maybe a second battery as well. I am just running my stock alt with a big three upgrade on one amp that puts out about 600 peak to my mids and highs and its perfect but when I add my sub amp I may need to install a second battery