accessory battery?

[93sickblazer]

hey yall,
new to the forum so if this is the wrong thread i apologize, looking for advice on an accessory batttery for my project. i have a sub but thats not the real reason to this. i recently built a roof rack for my blazer and i have 9 offroad lights on the rack itself and 2 on the bumper. before i kill my regular battery i want to know if i should get a deep cycle battery or just a regular battery. going to put in a battery isolator also so any advice is greatly appreciated. once again if this has been dicussed or wrong thread i apologize in advance. ps all headlights and off road lights are custom fitted hids

 

[eric.s.t]

My honest opinion on something like this would be getting a better alternator. Most of the power being used on your truck is from the alternator. Basicly, you could unplug your baterie while the truck is running, and everything should work... unless you have stuff plug in stritckly to your baterie

 

[93sickblazer]

[im going to run all the lights and amp and such off the battery. and im going to eventually get a winch and use that battery for it also. little lost on this stuff

 

[kamokevin]

I agree that you will definitely need a new alternator with a higher amperage rating. 11 auxiliary lights plus headlights all using HID and all running off of your stock charging system is a recipe for disaster. Once you upgrade the alternator, you will want to research dual battery setups since there are several different types. Here is a good place to find help with the different types: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/

 

[93sickblazer]

thanks for the site, and advice. got some more research to do now

 

[1998ECSB4x4]

For a deep cylce battery theres none better than XS Power. They are proven the best time and time again in the lanes.

 

[Half Assed]

what is the total wattage on the lights and amp?

assuming they are 35 watt HIDs, times 15 lights (holy crap lol!) is 525 watts. Guessing a 500 watt amp. That's 1025 watts divided by 12 volts is about 85 amps. Plus about 50-60 amps if you have the blower motor on and the wipers on. Another 10 amps for other exterior lights and stuff. That's about 150 amps with everything on.

Look at the AD 244 sticky at the top of the audio/electronics forum for a factory 140 amp alternator.

As for the dual battery, get a dual battery boat switch from an auto parts store or boating store. Use a deep cycle for the second battery. Sears diehard AGM batteries are good.

 

[Chevyguy78]

Im running 2 110w off road lights Warn XD9000 winch and dual optima batteries with 130 amp alternator even with heater on high and high beams on I have no issues as of yet. Its non 525watts like yours but its still alot of draw. Just my 2¢

 

[BigV]

A 500w amp does not consume 500w all the time. Typical subs run an average of 10A or less and peak around 40A. Unless you are throwing a party and your truck provides the music

You might take a look at this Voltage sensitive relay. We install them in our safety trucks. It disconnects the two batteries when the engine is not running. Our trucks sit with lights flashing and radios on for long periods. This relay allows the secondary battery to power the truck with the key off. The primary battery has a full charge for starting. Once the engine is running they are both connected.

There are a couple of advantages to this setup. One is no voltage drop during starting and no voltage drop like with diode based isolators.

Highly recommend you run two matched batteries. We run marine deep cycle batteries. They can handle a deep discharging better than standard starting batteries.