I was tuning the EQ's on my car stereo tonight fine-tuning
the BassLink and fader settings while the engine was off.
I monitored the battery voltage so it does not drop too far.

I charged the battery at 12A after my tuning session
so it's topped off again, but would rather keep it charging
while I run the stereo with the engine off.

How many amps to use? (i can only select 2A or 12A
on my charger).

Thanks. :smile:

This is of course a guess, but bare with me.. I'm guessing that either charging setting will only prolong the drain. Most amplifiers draw about 20-50A while running, if you supply only a 2A or 12A charge, would it not still drain the battery? I know the alternator provides about 125A of power? You might get another 20-30min on the 12A charge.
Not sure if I helped or not, but someone with a better electrical knowledge should post!!

DM

DevilMini- thanks for your response, and i heard that adding a charger while running the stereo can lead to noise.

I wish there was a easier way.

If it was a normal car and had easier battery access (in the hood), i can
jump my yellowtop i have in the garage and unplug the car battery.
but on the MCS, my sub is sitting over the battery so such a pita to
unplug it each time.

any other options? I don't want to partially drain non-deep cycle batteries.

And i can't use the deep cycle in the MCS as my charger throws off
error messages when it is not directly connected to the battery while
charging... which defeats the purpose cause i would need to gain
access each time i charge.

running the stereo can lead to noise ...learn something everyday

wat the heck? did you forget to take your medication today?

I knew what you meant, Ken couldn't help laugh...

I use the 12amp when running "noise" in my garage LOL

Sid- you must be at that age where anything makes you giggle. jk

We like fartn to make kids laugh...It's TGIF Woodward's tomorrow

Ken---

I just use a bit of flex hose attached to my exhaust, and run it out of my garage. It's a little ghetto in design but it allows me to fine tune the audio without killing the batt. I've worked in my sealed garage at night for about 5 hours with no effects.. Your results may vary though..
Hope this helps..

DM

DM- thanks for the tip.

I was thinking about doing that too...and run a large fan on the
radiator to keep everything cooler.

You idled your Mini for 5 hours?

MSfitoy-- Not the whole 5 hours... Mostly just about 45 min on followed by 20-30min off.. But yeah I guess total time about 5 hours.. I'm planning to compete in SQ so I need that time for tweeking...


DM

I doubt you are pulling that much power from the battery unless you had it full on with the sub amp pulling max power. I would assume you would only be pulling 10 amps MAX. Most likely only 2-3 amps and hitting 10 or so on DEEP, LOUD, bass. I prefer to use the 2 amp setting if I am charging the car overnight or something like that (the 2 amp setting is more for a motorcycle battery). If I need a quick boost and want to get the car up to full charge in a few hours (with no drain), i'll use the 10 amp (I don't have a 12 amp charger). If you have one with a 50 or 100 amp engine start, only use it for 5-10 seconds at a time or it will boil your battery and mess everything up!! :(

I think next time you might want to say that it's only your opinion. Else you get yourself into trouble.
Ex: i'm currently running 3 Arc Audio 4150XXK at a max draw of 82A each. That's a Max draw of about (82A x 3amps = 246A) Keeping with the Math. I'm averaging a input voltage of about 5.7Volts so my average draw is about 115A.
Just to clarify. A middle to high end 4-5 channel amp will draw way more than 10-20 max. It'll even have a average current draw double what your talking about. If you don't believe me i'd be happy to send you the arc Audio white page pdf that states the max Amp draw...

Sorry for the spank but you can't say those types of statements with out an idea what a normal amplifier will put out or draw..

DM

So, you are telling me that all the amps are running at FULL amp draw the entire time. I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe. PEAK power, yes, but constant, don't think so. If that were the case, you'd be popping fuses left and right when a tough bass segment hits.

You also have to read the original post. He is talking about a Basslink, which i beleive is a 10" sub in a box with a 150 watt amp (or something to that effect). It isn't like he has 10 15" subs back there running 10,000 watts, dual alternators, 15 batteries, etc...

Please re-read my post. I stated that Max Draw is 246A. The average draw is about 115A.. Again this is only my system.

I understand he has a very modest system. The basslink runs a 20A fuse. That should equate to a average draw of about 7.5-9A give or take. With a Max draw of about 15-17A with the safety factor built in of course. Add up all the equipment he has is "probably" about a 15-20A Draw at aprox. 40% of volume. This is of course a guess because I don't know what's in his setup.

BTW if these modest power setups didn't draw that much power, why do all of the EE's that design the stuff want anywhere from 10g to 1/0g wire.

DM