battery power question

[TinyGiant]

the wife and I go to a drive in with friends often in the summer and now that i have the woofer in the car i am worried about draining my battery watching a double feature with the sound up. I was curious if there was something i could do to ensure that i dont kill the battery by leaving the engine off..

would a volt meter be able to give me an idea of when the battery is getting low?


I wouldnt want to run the car the whole movie.. so it would be nice to run it the bare minimum.


Thanks!

[IllusionX]

a 2nd battery running in parallel with the original one would be a wise choice to watch movies at a drive in.

though, i did let my system run 1.5hrs without any problems.

anyways... the oem panasonic battery is a quick high amperage battery.. and depleting it completely is a very bad idea. At least, don't do it too often, or it will kill the battery quicker.

So running a 2nd deep charge battery is the best thing to do.. ie, optima yellow top in the trunk, and a red top in the engine bay :P

[TinyGiant]

so get a second battery and run the + to + and - to - ?


doubling my power storage but keeping the voltage the same?

will there be adverse gas mileagle effects like the engine cranking to fill the second battery?

[TinyGiant]

with my custom woofer box in the back i fear i dont have any room for a second battery

[lita_g]

I've never been to a drive-in, but why would you need to keep the car on during the movie?

[TinyGiant]

they brodcast the audio over the radio.. so if you want to listen to the audio you have to tune in with the car radio

[lita_g]

they brodcast the audio over the radio.. so if you want to listen to the audio you have to tune in with the car radio

It makes sense now. Thanks.:redface:

[TinyGiant]

np

[battleversiontc]

bring a portable radio that runs on batteries

[YarisSedan]

Just get a optima yellow top battery. I left my headlight on for 5 hours once and my car still started!

[Tamago]

I use a Kinetik HC600 for all my power needs.. it's tiny, sealed, and would probably provide plenty of juice for a double feature.. you should be able to find one for around $100 on ebay

[TinyGiant]

bring a portable radio that runs on batteries



big screen...big sound...

we usually do the radio route.. but it would be nice with the system

[IllusionX]

Just get a optima yellow top battery. I left my headlight on for 5 hours once and my car still started!

yellow top is not good for cold starts.. Actually, it's not made for you to drag 600Ah in a short period of time. It will kill your battery if you use it for start ups.

so get a second battery and run the + to + and - to - ?


doubling my power storage but keeping the voltage the same?

will there be adverse gas mileagle effects like the engine cranking to fill the second battery?

obviously..
but as for the gas mileage.... some said that putting more loads on the alternator worsen the gas mileage.... but i just don't think so.

[talnlnky]

few ideas.

1) throw in a switch & relays that will "rewire" your ohm loads on the fly. Not sure what your ohm load is right now... but instead of doing parallel, or parallel + series wiring, you could flip the switch to control the relays to turn it strictly to series wiring. Yeah, it'd reduce the overall output of the subs, but keep in mind the reality of deminishing returns with subs due to power compression/voice coil inductance rise. I doulbt you'd notice the 3-10dB change (depending on your curent wiring) enough to really justify killing the bat.

2: Buy a small deep cycle battery, and before you go to the drive in hook it up by connecting it to your ground point, & distribution for your power cable.

3: if you got the controls to electronically cut out the 40hz & down content before it gets to the amp, say through a Sub Sonic Filter... that'll help save A LOT of energy. remember that every octave you drop, you double the amount of power to maintain the same sound level. Meaning... 20hz takes twice the power to produce as 40hz, and 4times that of 80hz.

[TinyGiant]

so could i just bring a car bat with me and hook it up with jumper cables when we watch the movies? that might be the easiest route... rather than carrying an extra battery all the time .. and investing in more switches/wires relays..

[talnlnky]

so could i just bring a car bat with me and hook it up with jumper cables when we watch the movies? that might be the easiest route... rather than carrying an extra battery all the time .. and investing in more switches/wires relays..

yeah... that'd work. I highly reccomend getting a sealed deep cycle... no worries about fluid loss/spillage, and they are designed to be fully discharged and charged again... They usually also are great at "overcharging"...I remember my blue top optima would rest @ 13.4v (car off, fully charged)... high voltage is great for stereos.

[TinyGiant]

cool thanks for the help!

[Tamago]

best fuel economy:

go to a regular theatre.. remember to shut off the yaris while you're inside :D

[TinyGiant]

best fuel economy:

go to a regular theatre.. remember to shut off the yaris while you're inside :D


$8 for two movies at the drive in.. or $9.50 for one movie .. its still more cost efficient to run the car :)

[Tamago]

$8 for two movies at the drive in.. or $9.50 for one movie .. its still more cost efficient to run the car :)

soo then what's the point of this thread? :wink:

[TinyGiant]

to see if i can do it without running the car..

i think i am going to just get a second battery to bring with :)

[Tamago]

to see if i can do it without running the car..

i think i am going to just get a second battery to bring with :)


keep that KinetiK HC600 in mind :)

[RagnaCaT]

LOL!