redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

yeah more or less, its actually for a physics project for class lol

denlou

I can't even view the image, it looks like a huge picture but it's all in the top left corner.

Regardless it seems like over kill, major overkill... If you're only using 40-50 amps of power, the only thing I would maybe do is upgrade or replace the stock alternator with one that can crank more amps, but installing a secondary alternator that would never get used seems kinda silly. But whatever, your car.

If you can upload a picture we can view, I'll tell you if it'll work heh.

redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

well its in a paint file and everytime i upload it it looks like that, really small. And there aren't two alternators. One high output alternator. Two starting batteries wired in parallel and an battery isolator that goes to a deep cycle battery.

denlou

Oh okay, my mistake I've been following a few too many threads lol.

On second thought, you're only going to be running 30-40 amps off the battery, which is no worse than a few heated seats.

Maybe the batteries if run your system with the car off a lot, but the alternators are just a waste, you can only pump a few amps back into a battery to charge it anyway. I'd just keep the stock alternator system and make sure you have a good battery.

ecot3c inside

iTrader: (11)

question, big ass wing.. will it rattle?

redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

well a larger alternator would help to better charge two batteries (or 3) if i run an isolator and help if there is a heavy current draw at any given moment.
is that to me?

denlou

The average charge applied by a standard battery charger to a battery is usually around 2 amps, now assuming three batteries that's only 6 amps of power.

I beleive the stock alternator is 105 amps (correct me if I'm wrong)... Let's do some math

Power Draw:

Car - 50 amps (a liberal guess)
Your Stereo - 45 amps (a liberal guess)
Charging three batteries - 6 amps

TOTAL: 101 Amps in the worst case scenario

You may want to upgrade your alternator as its at the edge, that would be the only real needed upgrade. There's no way you're always going to draw 50 amps from your car and 45 from your stereo. That would be peak power for very short periods of time.

ecot3c inside

iTrader: (11)

well all of you are wrong. because if e=mc2 than who bought lunch?

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

had he not he could have ran it off the stock electrical and been ok. not "fine" but 3 batteries an alternator ect ect isnt necessary for a 600w rms setup

BlackWidowSS07

Ok, to start if you are only running a 600 watt system you are not going to need a extra battery or high out put alternator.

This is my set up:
2 Alpine Type R 12's (1000 RMS total)
1 1200 Watt RMS MA Audio HK602 amp (running 2 channel at 800 watts)
Line Out Convertor
3 Farad cap
Regular battery
Stock Alt


You do not need to do that type of a electrical overhaul for 2 10's and only 600 watts (unless they are someting like JL w7's @ 1000 RMS a piece and 2 1000 watt amps)

Run a power wire with an inline fuse from your battery to the amp (4 gauge wire), ground the amp to the rear seat posts in the trunk (4 gauge), add a line out convertor to have RDA connections, run a remote to an auxilary fuse, and possibly add a 2 farad cap.

Heres something to reference later. You do not need to upgrade the alternator unless you are pulling more voltage than the alternator produces. Get a cap wih a digital read out that shows how much it is pulling. Both my amp and cap have digital read outs. If you drop below 13.9 then you might want to think about getting what they call a "super capacitor." It look like a small car battery and you can pick up a 100 farad one for roughly $100-150 depending on the brand an that will solve the problem.

I have been doing stereo installs for 11 years now so if you have questions PM and I will give you my recommendations.

Monster Mach

read up on caps.. they are essentally useless...
as for dropping below 13.9 volts.. go a little lower.. systems are designed to drop to 11volts.. the car operates at 14.4 volts.. so .5 volts is not enough to worry about.. hell my old stereos would drop to 11.9 and play at 152.4 db

Op no need to upgrade your electrical at all.. do like the person above and add a fuse and 4ga add a digital voltage meter

get all your electrical from here
Amp Installation Kits, HDMI Cables
best wire in the biz...
YouTube - tehchode69's Channel

if your lights dont dim your not loud enough

denlou

Ugh... You might want to do your research again. Caps provide a buffer for the alternator so when the amplifier needs power quickly for say a deep base note it can get the power from the cap while the alternator catches up. This will keep all your electronics from burning out from under voltage.

brickloaf

sorry i didnt look at your diagram but you will be more than fine with the stock electrical with that system. a new battery would prob help with a little bit of dimming, but a 180a alt is complete overkill

brickloaf

ehh, cobalts run at 14.4v for the first 10 sec after start up, then drop to 13.8... i can make my voltage drop to under 12v with a t20001bd.. i know going below 12v isnt great for the electrical, but it still works..

and HID's dont dim, even with my voltage dropping to 12v my HID's dont dim at ALL

denlou

Do you know this for fact? This is my third cobalt and all three have run between 14.8 and 15.2 volts according to my radar detectors voltage meter well after the 10 second startup you're describing.

HID's won't dim, they'll flicker. Big difference.

BlackWidowSS07

Ok dude, let yours drop to 11 or so for a long time and watch who is going to be replacing there alternator first.... me or you? YOU will hands down. My amp's digital read out stays in the 13 range and my capacitor drops down to the low 11 range depending on what I am playing (and I am hitting 144.3 dB)

If you upgrade the electrical system you wont need an cap
If you DONT upgrade the elctrical its not a bad thing to have

All I was saying to the guy is that an electrical overhaul of that nature is not required for an 800 watt system.

Do what you want man, but you are going to spend way to much and wa to little UNLESS you are going to add monster ass stereo that requires this in the future

Monster Mach

i have never had to replace a alt or batt or amp due to power dropping to low.. i have seen other people do it.. but i have not.. Why? because i know what im doing... i used to hit 150s all day the only problem i ever had was the paint peeling off my roof from the 15s. nothing electrical.. he doesnt have to worry about his alt doing anything with only 800 watts.. i had that to my door speakers alone... caps are a bandaid.. for the price you can go and get a actualy battary and not have to worry about the cap recahrging in time and your system dropping to low.. a batt will have enough juiceto power your system for hours on its own and discharge fast enough

denlou

I don't think you get what a battery, alternator, or capacitor does...

Here, lets break it down.

Without a capacitor...

- Stereo hits a deep base note quicker than the alternator can keep up, this pulls the voltage from around 14.5 volts to a not so happy 12 volts or less, seeing as the battery can only provide you 12 volts. Then the voltage regulator on the alternator finally realises this and boost voltage back up to 14.5 but by that time the base note has finished and now it's pointless. Meanwhile there was distortion due to the rapid voltage shift.

WITH a capacitor...

- Stereo hits a deep base note quicker than the alternator can keep up, this pulls voltage from the capacitor while the alternator has a chance to catch up softening the blow and keeping the voltage relatively stable and causing no distortion.

But hey, you're the self-proclaimed expert!

redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

well I also have a large amount of other electronics in the car that normal cobalt does not have which is why I was thinking it would be a good idea to upgrade the electrics. If I did do anything I had planned, what would be the priority item(s) to get?

denlou

*sigh*...

Alternator I guess...

BlackWidowSS07

what other things are you trying to run? lets start with that?

the small system doesnt need a upgrade like that, but if you are going to do the flux capacitor mod then you might need to ...... ahh hell..... Im not going to go there lol

Monster Mach

if you buy a correct battery 12 is not what it rests on.. kinetic will rest at 15.2 volts all day long.. so keep your expertise on check..

just read this.. i dont feel like typing this all out
Capacitor or car audio battery

redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

um my car has several aftermarket gauges, some aftermarket in car computers, the stereo, some warning lights

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

sounds like nothing too crazy. if anything id say a deep cycle battery and the big 3 (or at least batt ground)

denlou

Well if you buy a 15 volt battery, no **** it's going to provide you 15 volts. And actually since you want to a dork about it, these would technically be the voltages of batteries you could buy... 12.6, 14.7 and 16.8

You posted that link as if that forum was some sort of authority on car audio systems, it's no more an authority than this thread is.

There is still going to be a voltage drop no matter what battery you use, and softening this with a capacitor is going to help the equipment sound better and last more than five years.

I'm not blaming you in particular, but this forum in general is full of people who think just because they own a Cobalt the various laws of engineering physics do not apply to them. Open up just about any household or industrial electronics equipment and you will see at least a half dozen capacitors of various capacities sitting in between the electrical socket and the expensive electrical components.

You're all hung up on the voltage thing, it's not about having voltage, it's about having stable voltage.