Like I said I don't think it would pull enough to dim with 2 big batteries. I'd check. Your truck batteries if I were you
lol. thanks smartass :rofl::rofl::hug:
Elec draw
- Thread starter whitetrash21
- Start date
lol. thanks smartass :rofl::rofl::hug:
Like I said I don't think it would pull enough to dim with 2 big batteries. I'd check. Your truck batteries if I were you
Then you don't have a big enough sound system on your truck then Mike!!
But bad batteries and connections will "amplify" the problem!!
Then you don't have a big enough sound system on your truck then Mike!!
But bad batteries and connections will "amplify" the problem!!
Yah, about that.....
Two brand new Bosch batteries, 720 CCA..... less than 3 months old. Neither is putting out more than 200 CCA....... which explains a few other things I've been wondering about.
Now trying to get Bosch to warranty the f**kers. I seem to have the worst damn luck with batteries. This makes a total of 8 in the last two years on two different trucks.
I'm hard on mechanicals
.... Never thought I'd be beating up electronics as well.....Yeah. Gonna get ahold of Bosch Monday and see if they'll take care of it.
Time to pick some more people's brain. This electrical crap is getting old.
First test was done with both batteries in the truck, both still hooked up. Drivers side batt shows 12.55v an 334 cold cranking amps. Passenger side shows 12.55v but only 195 cca. Both are 770 CCA rated batteries. Both fail.
Second test was done with drivers side battery in the truck and pass side battery disconnected. Drivers side tests good at 12.6v and pass side battery needed to be charged. After a 45 minute charge, it too tests good with 12.67v. No CCA numbers this time though.
This is 4 days apart.
Here's my question.... Do our trucks pull power from both batteries evenly, or does it pull from one battery till it can't supply the necessary power and the open a circuit to the second battery????
The theory I had offered to me was that my amp, being hooked to the pass side (secondary??) battery draws it down and being the secondary it never gets enough charge to recharge it all the way.
Is this all bs or what?? I'm kinda going bat shit crazy trying to figure this one out
Thanks for anything you guys can offer....
First test was done with both batteries in the truck, both still hooked up. Drivers side batt shows 12.55v an 334 cold cranking amps. Passenger side shows 12.55v but only 195 cca. Both are 770 CCA rated batteries. Both fail.
Second test was done with drivers side battery in the truck and pass side battery disconnected. Drivers side tests good at 12.6v and pass side battery needed to be charged. After a 45 minute charge, it too tests good with 12.67v. No CCA numbers this time though.
This is 4 days apart.
Here's my question.... Do our trucks pull power from both batteries evenly, or does it pull from one battery till it can't supply the necessary power and the open a circuit to the second battery????
The theory I had offered to me was that my amp, being hooked to the pass side (secondary??) battery draws it down and being the secondary it never gets enough charge to recharge it all the way.
Is this all bs or what?? I'm kinda going bat shit crazy trying to figure this one out
Thanks for anything you guys can offer....
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Someone can correct me if I am wrong but our batteries are connected in parallel so you will see 12.5 volts but double the CCAs. It seems to me both batteries should receive the same charge from the alt. The passenger side bat may take a little longer since it is further away from the alt but there shouldn't be that much difference.
You might want to load test both batteries out of the truck. Don't know if this will make much difference. I got a second opinion when my wife's battery died recently and was told it had no CCAs. First guy didn't tell me that. He said the battery was good (12.5 volts). Luckily the battery was still under warranty so I got a free one.
I actually connected my amps to the red battery box in the engine compartment on the drivers side. I'm not running as many watts as you are but haven't had any problems.
Good luck! Electrical problems can be a PITA.
You might want to load test both batteries out of the truck. Don't know if this will make much difference. I got a second opinion when my wife's battery died recently and was told it had no CCAs. First guy didn't tell me that. He said the battery was good (12.5 volts). Luckily the battery was still under warranty so I got a free one.
I actually connected my amps to the red battery box in the engine compartment on the drivers side. I'm not running as many watts as you are but haven't had any problems.
Good luck! Electrical problems can be a PITA.
Ok. thanks for the input guys.
Another thought. Voltage regulator..... Its located on the alternator, correct?? If this fails, can it affect just one battery or will it affect both??
Both seem to holding a charge fine now, not sure wtf was going on earlier.
Another thought. Voltage regulator..... Its located on the alternator, correct?? If this fails, can it affect just one battery or will it affect both??
Both seem to holding a charge fine now, not sure wtf was going on earlier.
If the cap is discarged when you get it, don't just hook it up. These things are capable of pulling a hugh amount of current and will blow out a big fuse. When I was hooking up a 1F I took out 2 100 amp fuses before I figured it out.
First, if he buys a new one, it should be discharged (at least I would hope so - lol). I do agree with you that he can't just hook the cap up. He will need to use the supplied resistor that comes with the cap to charge it first. Then he can finish the connections to his amp. Below is a link to some info I found on the net for connecting a cap to an amp. This is what I meant by "easy to install".
http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audio_capacitor_installation/car_audio_capacitor_installation.htm
Time to pick some more people's brain. This electrical crap is getting old.
First test was done with both batteries in the truck, both still hooked up. Drivers side batt shows 12.55v an 334 cold cranking amps. Passenger side shows 12.55v but only 195 cca. Both are 770 CCA rated batteries. Both fail.
Second test was done with drivers side battery in the truck and pass side battery disconnected. Drivers side tests good at 12.6v and pass side battery needed to be charged. After a 45 minute charge, it too tests good with 12.67v. No CCA numbers this time though.
This is 4 days apart.
Here's my question.... Do our trucks pull power from both batteries evenly, or does it pull from one battery till it can't supply the necessary power and the open a circuit to the second battery????
The theory I had offered to me was that my amp, being hooked to the pass side (secondary??) battery draws it down and being the secondary it never gets enough charge to recharge it all the way.
Is this all bs or what?? I'm kinda going bat shit crazy trying to figure this one out
Thanks for anything you guys can offer....
Batteries should be tested seperatly when wired up in a series or parralleled set up. If your regulator was bad you would see a steady high or low voltage with no load, and dramatic increase or decrease of voltage with a load change or applied load. The CCA applies to the charge reserve of the batterires state. When a battery is fully charged you should let it sit a day to let it deplete the cap charge its holding before you load test it.
If you have a load tester with this function, the battery does not have to sit for a day before being tested. Sounds to me like the passenger battery would be suspect. When batteries are hooked together they share load, charge state, and capacity. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need more help on this. Have a great day.
This is where mine is connected as well. And your right-they are connected in parallel.
Wes those batteries need to be load tested out of the truck. If they don't pass, then there are procedures to follow which involve stuff like a 20 min fast charge and re-load testing, giving the batteries a 24 to 48 hr slow charge (2-3amps) and then re-testing again, and a few other things. Also it is important that your batteries are tested with a temp. of about 75F. Less than that and it affects your batteries capacity.
To load test a battery, you need to first remove the surface charge to see if it is even holding a charge. What I do is quickly apply a load to the battery and then let it off. If I am load testing them, I use the load tester to do this. If the voltage recovers quickly and returns to 12.5-12.6 volts, then I proceed with a load test.
Connections and cables are also important as far as charging and discharging capacities are concerned. You should not have any more than .2 volt drop across any terminal or cable. If you do, then you need to change cables or clean connections. Also there are resistance values for certain thickness cables over so many feet. If you exceed this then you need to replace the cable.
Lots of boring and possibly confusing info here, but if Trent comes to Vegas in Jan and you haven't got it figured out yet, I promise I will give you hand to get it figured!!:thumb:
Just a tip though-bad ground connections will F you around in ways not thought imaginable!!!
Sorry mate but I believe your wrong here.
Batteries will actual gain surface charge to them by as much as .5volts above actual when left sitting. I've seen many a battery that had been sitting for a couple weeks and said it was 12.9 volts with the multi-meter but wouldn't pass a load test-or even recover from a quickly applied load to remove the surface charge. The only way to remove the surface charge is to apply a medium load quickly (.5 seconds) to the battery. Turning on the headlights for a few seconds will even remove the surface charge. Letting them sit won't do anything to reduce surface charge until the battery becomes discharged.
Also remember folks a battery that reads 12volts at 75*F is a fully discharged battery!!
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Headlights were flipped on both times before the batteries were tested. Second time they were tested independantly, both passed, and I've been driving it ever since. Truck starts like its supposed too, I'm not seeing any lights dimming. Not sure what was going on. I already pulled all the ground straps I could find and cleaned them, didn't make a difference. Cables, from what I can see lok in good shape.
Im just driving it for now, see if it acts up anymore. Take you up on that offer if you come down, Dale...
Thanks again ppl. :hug:
Im just driving it for now, see if it acts up anymore. Take you up on that offer if you come down, Dale...
Thanks again ppl. :hug:
Sorry mate but I believe your wrong here.
Batteries will actual gain surface charge to them by as much as .5volts above actual when left sitting. I've seen many a battery that had been sitting for a couple weeks and said it was 12.9 volts with the multi-meter but wouldn't pass a load test-or even recover from a quickly applied load to remove the surface charge. The only way to remove the surface charge is to apply a medium load quickly (.5 seconds) to the battery. Turning on the headlights for a few seconds will even remove the surface charge. Letting them sit won't do anything to reduce surface charge until the battery becomes discharged.
Also remember folks a battery that reads 12volts at 75*F is a fully discharged battery!!
I sure hope you aren't an electrician because half the info your giving out is incorrect. I was trying to make it short and sweet and try not to confuse everyone with the technical info so they wouldn't get lost. You do know a few things to get you into trouble but you shouldn't call out something you obviously don't know the correct information about or when to apply it. The intention of letting a fully charged suspected battery sit a day is to see if it will deplete itself due to a shorted cell (without proper equipment), or use a load tester, if you have one, with the surface charge function which will do the same thing. A battery will gain half volt over surface charge from sitting fully charged, like you said, ONLY if it is a brand new, perfect condition, fully functional battery with no problems. Oh, and 12 volts is not a fully discharged state of a battery, mate. Beware though, volts is not the primary indicator of actual charge state, reserve capacity is. (refer to your 12.9 failing battery you mentioned above if confused). You can also refer to your five time over discharge rate scale for batteries for charge voltages if you have cheater cards. You can find this in your book if you know what I'm even talking about. Sorry, had to do it. Looks like you do alot of reading, but if you are a real electrician you should know what I'm talking about. Have a great day.:hug:
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