Jump to content

Multi-Amp Setup

04Silverado5.3

Recommended Posts

04Silverado5.3 New Member

04Silverado5.3

Posted
Posted

Right now Im running 2-12" Rockford Power HX2 subs with a Rockford 1501bd mono amp with some help from a 1-Farad cap. I also have a small Memphis amp powering my highs, but I want to add another Rockford 1501bd (1 amp for each sub) for more power.

 

Should I get another cap or upgrade my battery/alternator? or maybe both? Each sub RMS is 1000 and can peak at 2000, and each amp is rated at 1500+ watts. Just want to know how I can set it up without running my battery down too much. My highlights still dim even with the setup I have now. I can get pretty good deals on everything, so money isn't a big issue. Any advice or ideas?

Wingnut Senior Enthusiast

Wingnut

Posted
Posted

If the lights are dimming now, you are using too much for your charging system as-is.

 

You need a bigger alternator, possibly an extra battery as well....BEFORE you add another amp.

  • 4 weeks later...
maroonsilverado Enthusiast

maroonsilverado

Posted
Posted

money isn't an issue? well i'd get a big ol' altenator, a 2nd battery, and run a fat piece of wire from the altenator to the battery. a 5 farad capacitor wouldn't hurt matters any either :thumbs: upgrade the ground wire too.

 

i honestly don't think you could upgrade just the altenator and make it. that's alot of juice for 1 battery to supply. if anything i'd get a 2nd battery before i would a bigger altenator. i'm running 2000 watts RMS in my fiance's grand am, and all i did at first was add a 2nd dry cell battery in the trunk and add a piece of 4 ga. wire from the altenator to the battery under the hood. and it run on the factory altenator for a long time....about a year, before it died on her.

 

only thing about running 2 batteries is you have to run some type of relay to keep one of the batteries isolated while the ignition is off. if you don't you'll come out one morning and both batteries will be dead.

 

and if you add that 2nd 1501 you'll also need to upgrade your power wire. unless you put the 2nd battery by the system, then you could just run both amps off the battery with some 4 gauge wire. but if you run a power wire from under the hood you'll need at least 1/0 gauge wire going to a distribution block. not to mention a bigger fuse.

6Burgh Enthusiast

6Burgh

Posted
Posted

I would definitely add a cap if your lights dim when the bass hits and keep your eye on the volt meter. The cap will supply the reserved power needed for your amps that your alternator can't anticipate.

DSZ71 Enthusiast

DSZ71

Posted
Posted

There are several things to consider in this upgrade, and exactly what to upgrade as well. If you are looking at upgrading the alternator, say to something like a 200 AMP model, you MUST upgrade the BIG 3 in your truck. Here is a list of what you might need just for this upgrade:

1) battery positive to alternator (approx. 4’),

2) battery negative to chassis (approx. 4’),

3) engine block to chassis (approx. 5’),

4) 4 ring terminals,

5) heatshrink (to cover ring terminals),

6) flex loom

I would estimate the total cost of supplies to be $50-100, depending on the wire size/color and connector type. Its recommended to use either 4 ga or 0 ga cabling.

 

Here is a link for more information: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120517

 

Then comes the alternator. There are many choices to chose from, but I would like to recommend two. Iraggi Alternators (custom made) and Mean Grean alternators. Some have done well with Ohio alternators too.

 

After this is all said and done, you would need somewhere between 300-500 AMP at any given time to run your system. If your alternator can do 200 AMP (the advantage of higher quality alts like the ones I listed is they will do that at idle). You should be fine with adding some more Caps. The 2nd battery is not needed if you upgrade everything listed above. Good luck

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Chuck FB
      Towing In Loose Gravel

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I agree, there is no one answer fits all as every rig is different, one may be pulling some little aluminum fishing boat while another is towing a monstrosity that weighs a lot and hopefully the owner if the rig has some prior experience to know what drive mode they should choose.    It also struck me and this is from watching a few of those boat ramp escapades videos in the past, Ford being one of the vehicles that has the auto front axle hubs and sure enough its found out that one hub has crapped out and won't engage and may not have manual hubs to even select on both sides so they are on the boat ramp stuck with no four wheel drive and spinning .... they flat out need a tow to get up the ramp and deal with the vehicles new found issues. That can happen to all brands of pickup, finding out either four wheel drive or 4 low isn't working right at the time its needed it to work as some electronic crap has failed. 
    • Chuck FB
      Towing In Loose Gravel

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      Its possible you never had the joy of the crappy boat launches we tend to have around here or really some of them are just grades down to the river if its a river scenario and the conditions change all the time with the river levels and silt deposits. Some of the lakes we went to years ago, there was no such thing as a cement pad that went down into the water that the trailer stayed on, it was gravel maybe up to the water line and then duck crap much beyond that so sinking the boat tires into mud. Of course some of the more established lakes had a cement bar type boat ramp but sometimes it was covered in green slime closer and certainly within the water and a two wheel drive had all sorts of fun if one had to touch that slime with the rear tires.    A neighbor of mine had made a comment years back with his chev truck that was probably about the same year as yours but a half ton extended cab 4x4 and he a a fiberglass boat with an inboard so it wasn't a feather weight and he had gone out to one of the large popular lakes in the area and don't ask me how this happened but he was in two wheel drive as he figured he didn't require four wheel drive for that boat ramp and somehow upon pulling the boat out he twisted one of his drive axles. I suspect it must have spun and then grabbed on the cement ramp and shocked it to the degree of twisting it. He would have had the standard 8.5 or whatever it was axle housing as the 9.5 ring gear like my truck has also has larger drive axles as far as I know. Anyway he was feeling a vibration driving home and had it checked out and a shop found that the tire/hub was wobbling because of the axle had twisted so in went a new drive axle. After that bad experience he said he made sure to put it into four wheel drive to lower the stress on the rear axle. Of course that is where an HD truck can handle a lot more stress and no doubt these newer half tons with their larger ring gears probably have larger drive axles as well to match vs back in the day. 
    • asilverblazer
      2027 GMC Sierra: Official Discussion

      By asilverblazer · Posted

      Desirable - as in does someone WANT one, aspire to have one. Could reasonably buy any car they want and CHOOSE these instead.    I didn't watch the video, why did they win?
    • Atlas
      Towing In Loose Gravel

      By Atlas · Posted

      The use of absolutes like "always" to describe gear selection, and giving free advice at a boat ramp sounds like a recipe for disaster. It's a boat ramp, not a farm, for starters.   IMO gear selection should depend on the obstacle. If low range is working and this is a slower speed, controlled ordeal, I'd keep using that.
    • diyer2
      Towing In Loose Gravel

      By diyer2 · Posted

      I had a boat for many years, never had a problem even with a 2 wheel drive 93 Silvy for 20 years. Good tires, proper use of the gas pedal worked.

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...