Car Audio 101 - Battery Tutorial

DIY with Mike Stiers
http://www.maxxsonics.com

Study this tutorial and get the most out of your car audio investment by understanding your electrical system. It takes power to make power and if you don't have it, you will not get rated power from your amp and you decrease reliability.

Back to Basics -- Car Audio 101
By Mike Stiers
So you've decided to upgrade your car stereo system? A great deal of research and planning should go into this purchase since there is a lot to consider. Do you desire a nice upgrade of your factory speakers, are you looking for a Sound Quality overall of speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers, or are you designing a vision-blurring SPL machine? It is important to make a list of exactly what you are looking to replace or add to your audio system so that you can prepare your electrical system for the investment to come.

Many people do not realize that their vehicles' factory electrical system was not designed for aftermarket audio equipment. In fact, most factory electrical systems can only handle an audio system of 600 to 1200 watts. The lower end of the scale being the smaller vehicles and most foreign rides, and the upper end being large trucks and sport utility vehicles. As you increase demand, you need to look at upgrading your battery, alternator and most importantly your "Big 3."

BATTERY
The battery provides reserve to the engine during starting, discharges current to accessories, acts as a buffer between the alternator and all accessories and after market audio equipment, as well as powers everything active in your vehicle when the vehicle is off but in the Accessory (ACC) position on the ignition. Your battery or batteries are extremely important in determining what aftermarket audio equipment can be added and survive in your application. As the demand becomes too great for the alternator and the voltage begins to drop, the battery is relied on for its' reserve power until the demand is reduced and the alternator can recover. This is why batteries are commonly rated in several ways. The most common rating is Amp Hour (AH) rating. This is a unit of measurement for battery capacity, obtained by multiplying a current flow in amperes by the time in hours of discharge. (Example: A battery which delivers 5 amperes for 20 hours delivers 5 amperes times 20 hours, or 100 ampere-hours. So, this 100AH battery can supply 5 amps per hour for 20 hours before dropping to 10.5volts. At 10.5volts, the battery is fully discharged.) Since manufacturers use different discharge periods to establish their own AH rating, Reserve Capacity is relied on heavily in the industry to
simplify battery selection. Reserve Capacity is the number of minutes a battery can maintain a useful voltage under a 25 ampere discharge. The higher the minute rating, the greater the battery's ability to run all of your electronics for a longer period before recharging is necessary. Deep Cycle batteries are different than starting batteries because they have been specially designed for multiple complete discharges without losing reserve capacity, but Cranking batteries will lose reserve capacity quickly with repeated hard discharges. This is why Deep Cycle batteries are ideal for the high demand of aftermarket car audio amplifiers. Once you have determined the audio equipment you are interested in for your purchase, you should contact a reputable battery manufacturer for their recommended battery based on total wattage in the aftermarket audio system. This could mean a simple replacement of your factory battery or adding additional batteries depending on what you have planned for your amplifiers.

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[REAPERGEE]

Whats up MIKE! Big fan of yurs n i kinda need yur car audio intelligence.. i have 4 12 inch kicker comps all wired to a 1ohm load powered by one hifonics brutus 1000d. all with i believe 4 gauge wiring. i have a brand new duralast gold battery as a starter of course. and thinkin about adding a kinetik hc600 as a secondary battery in the back. i have a 90 amp alt. what do you recommend?

[MaxxsonicsUSAInc]

@REAPERGEE Sounds like you have planned this out very well! The HC600 should do the trick, but if the HC800 is within your budget I would recommend that model instead.

[8320884]

what is the best thing to go with on a battery for car audio amp hours amps or cold cranking amps and what is the difference from a regular lead acid battery to a AGM battery does an AGM battery perform better?

[MaxxsonicsUSAInc]

@8320884 CCA is a rating used for starting batteries. Amp Hours is ideal, but all manufacturers rate the batteries differently. Lead Acid batteries are tradition starting batteries. AGM are maintenance free batteries and typically superior in car audio applications.

[Whoa2007]

Awesome video, with great explanation and detail ... One of the most well rounded instructional or informative videos I've seen on technical topics. I've been researching car audio lately and interested in fine tuning or improving my current setup, this video along with your alternator video has given me a great starting point ... Thanks for your contribution ...

[MaxxsonicsUSAInc]

@Whoa2007 Thanks for the feedback!

[puddle331]

@MaxxsonicsUSAInc thanks:D

[eppi1064]

@MaxxsonicsUSAInc thanks a lot.

[MaxxsonicsUSAInc]

@garygross7 Every application is a bit different. I have seen additional batteries added to a factory alternator and the only issue was a overall charge voltage drop from 14.4 to 14.1V. XS Power or Kinetik would be excellent resources for the proper battery in your application.

[MaxxsonicsUSAInc]

@1hakunamatata7 I have used XS Power and Kinetik batteries with great success.