Yellow top battery question
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 4 Registered: Oct-05 | im working with 2 hifonics 1605D amps and 2 RE audio SX 12"s. i dont plan on upgrading my alternator. would i need 1 or 2 to run this system without having power dips? |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4824 Registered: Nov-04 | Why in the world would you spend $170 on a yellowtop battery, plus isoloator (around $60), extra power wires ($30) and installation fee if done by a prof?? That'll end up costing much more than a HO alternator. Seriously, don't make the same mistake that a lot of newbies do/did. You won't need extra battery nor isolator with HO alternator. Not only that, you will be able to add other accessories, such as power inverter, extra bright spot lights, heater etc. Go read up on accessories thread. You will find links and contacts for HO alternator. Look for Nathan. |
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Bronze Member Username: Jake110011Jackson, Michigan Post Number: 34 Registered: Oct-05 | Nice amps, but he is exactly right, its cheaper and your better off with a HO alternator |
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Silver Member Username: MixmastaspigOkanagan, B.C Canada Post Number: 216 Registered: Sep-05 | What exaclty does HO mean, High Output is my guess??...and how can you tell what your current Alt is running at? |
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Gold Member Username: RovinTrinidad & T... Post Number: 1515 Registered: Jul-05 | usually when u see your headlights dimming its the 1st sign & if your ride has a battery voltage u can see it dipping low |
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Silver Member Username: James_gTN Post Number: 332 Registered: Jul-05 | Mike, Do a search on the year and make of your vehicle and you should be able to find out what size stock alternator you have. Matt, you need a HO alternator way before needing an extra battery. The alternator is what gets you your power while the engine is running. This is what gives you the 14+- volts for your amps. If that alternator can't keep up, you drop to 12.5 volts when the batteries kick in and you basically lose alot of power. |
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 5 Registered: Oct-05 | what if i just have 2 yellow tops wired to it? i mean that was my initial plan, or its a HO and a stock battery. im not gonna lie, i dont have that much money to sink into this yet, im only 17. |
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Silver Member Username: James_gTN Post Number: 341 Registered: Jul-05 | Go back and read Isaac's post again. HO alternators don't cost all that much. Contact Nathan at Excessive Amperage. If your alt. can't supply the needed current, it will eventually die anyway. Might as well get a HO alt. instead of wasting money on another battery AND replacing the alt. at a later date. |
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Silver Member Username: FandimReno, Nevada United State... Post Number: 344 Registered: Jun-05 | And honestly, an alternator takes less time to install, than adding a new battery with additional wiring etc. For instance, in my car, all I had to do was slide my belt off (using the tensioner to make it loose enough), unbolt 3 screws, rebolt new alternator, resecure belt, done. total time: 15 minutes. |
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 6 Registered: Oct-05 | would i have to run like 1/0 gauge wire from my amp to my battery now? and once i get this new alterntor, should i have yellow top under the hood? |
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Silver Member Username: RzarectorCoquitlam, Bc Canada Post Number: 715 Registered: Dec-04 | u really should have a yellowtop under the hood its not really meant to be a starter battery and will shorted its lifespan |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4840 Registered: Nov-04 | Mark S, I think you meant "shouldn't" not should. |
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Silver Member Username: FandimReno, Nevada United State... Post Number: 345 Registered: Jun-05 | Thing about not using a deep cycle under the hood, is the fact that if your voltage dips then, you're done for. Why even bother with one deep cycle, unless you're only going to be isolating it and playing your system with the vehicle off? Even with a HO alternator, at stoplights, etc, you can experience voltage dips if you're using full power, and having a non-deep cycle battery under the hood, and a deep cycle in the back, will still damage the one under the hood if your voltage dips too low.  Optima says the yellow top is a dual purpose (starer/deep cycle) battery, I use a pair of yellow tops, and seems to be just fine thus far. Figure I'd rather shortern it's lifespan to 12-18 months, than be replacing a damaged battery, AND alternator due to the battery, frequently. Seth |
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 7 Registered: Oct-05 | Seth, so ur sayin 2 yellow tops would work but it will shorten its lifespan to 12-18 months. so 2 yellow tops would work nicely? HO Alternator or Yellow top batteries? |
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Silver Member Username: James_gTN Post Number: 350 Registered: Jul-05 | A-L-T-E-R-N-A-T-O-R LOL. Methinks you're just waiting for someone to tell you to forget about the HO alternator. If you do, then good luck.... |
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Silver Member Username: FandimReno, Nevada United State... Post Number: 351 Registered: Jun-05 | What I'm saying is...with two yellow tops (non-isolated) I doubt it'll harm the batteries much using them to start my vehicle. Also, what I'm saying, is two yellow tops would work **VERY** nicely - in conjuction with a high output alternator. An alternator isnt much more than a yellow top, and so much more effective. Adding a 2nd battery to your existing setup, without a HO alternator, is just putting more stress on the alternator you have. it's bad karma man. Get a HO alt if you want to slam. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4850 Registered: Nov-04 | Think how much 2 yellowtop batteries will be. Then look at the HO alternator's price (around $150 - $250). There is no difference. You can't just slap on extra batteries either, you will need isolator. That cost extra $100 to your total. Then you have to factor in extra wires and connectors for them, d block, extra fuses etc. There is no way it'll be cheaper than 1 HO alternator. Don't try to replace HO alternator with extra set of batteries. Starter batteries are always better for starting cars, you can ask any manufacturers. Deepcycles are great for powering extra utilities in your car, including car audio. You can use the Yellowtop dual purpose battery, but it's expensive and it won't give as much power for cranking as starter. There's always a tradeoff, you just need to decide if it's worth it. Seth, if you're not using your car 3-4times a day, then Yellowtop will do nicely. It's the number of starts that effect the lifecycle. |
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Silver Member Username: FandimReno, Nevada United State... Post Number: 354 Registered: Jun-05 | Isaac, curious why starting hurts yellow tops? I'm not doubting you, just wondering the reasoning behind it. I realize they dont produce as many CCA's, (I have two in parallel, non-isolated), but just wondering why it'd hurt a deep cycle battery that's designed to be deep discharged, even...? |
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Silver Member Username: FandimReno, Nevada United State... Post Number: 355 Registered: Jun-05 | Then again...I'm pretty much forced into a deep cycle posistion... The largest alt I can get for my car, is 200 amps, and there are no dual alternator kits for the 3800 series II engine. I've checked...plenty for the LT1 at places like Summit Racing.. (There's one local in Reno..I'm lucky, heh heh) But running about 4kw RMS..My voltage is still gonna dip from time to time, so I dont want to damage a normal battery. |
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Silver Member Username: QuickshotCharlotte, North Carolina U.S. Post Number: 333 Registered: Aug-05 | forget alternators since you dotn want to listen...get you a nice 5 Farad Capacitor that will stop your head lights from dimming and its much more economical |
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 8 Registered: Oct-05 | alright alright, i just wanna be sure im makin the right decision here. unanamous vote here. also, my local car audio shops can sell me a ho alternator but says they cant install it. isnt there almost nothing to do to install a new one? |
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 9 Registered: Oct-05 | also, where can i find a 160-200 amp alternator? one local shop said they can get me a 200 amp for around 700......another said the businesses they deal with r closed today and tomarrow so they will get back with me on monday. im looking for a 160-200 amp alternator then. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4852 Registered: Nov-04 | Seth, all the batteries come with x number of starts before it fails. The starter models were designed with that in mind and will give more cranking power and higher number of starts. The Yellowtops, as you know can be very useful in certain applications, like car audio, power inverters etc. They can be used for starting, but that's not their strength, nor were they designed for it. Therefore, they come with lower number of starts. In sports cars that are used during summer, are great candidate for yellowtops. In cars that's driven 24/7 and 365 days a year, starter battery will be much better suited. You also know that, draining the deepcycle batteries completely also shortens it's life cycle too right? Sometimes, depending on the number of times it gets drained, it can effect 25% to 50% of the life span. |
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New member Username: LitewaitchampDanville, VA USA Post Number: 10 Registered: Oct-05 | back to my question, where can i find a good alt at? i found a decnt one at www.mralternator.com i think. that was only 160. would that be enuff? |
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Silver Member Username: James_gTN Post Number: 352 Registered: Jul-05 | Matt, Also try Excessive Amperage. Definitely do not buy one of those outrageously priced alternators from a local shop. |
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Silver Member Username: FandimReno, Nevada United State... Post Number: 359 Registered: Jun-05 | I agree with excessive amperage. 700 is outrageous for a HO alternator... especially not even installed. And Isaac, I almost never deep discharge my yellow tops.. Only happened when my HO alternator was out of order (had to get a replacement), and even then, only once before deciding on not playing my system, heh heh. If I could deep discharge a pair of optima's in paralell, sitting at a stoplight...or even a train... well... I wouldnt be very fond of Optima, lets just say that. ;) One of my fav. things about optima yellows, is how they maintain a 12v charge for almost their entire charge cycle. |
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