Thread: Maintaining constant power while car is idling

I have a voltmeter and obviously it drops below 12 volts otherwise i wouldnt be having this problem. I dont have subs.just an amp(2 X 100 watt) a laptop and 2 standard speakers(200 watt each).All i want to know is if anyone can say for sure that a 1 farad cap will stop the laptop from cutting out when the car is idling at traffic lights for eg.

Damo642

Yes its a possible solution but would only work upto a certain point.(ie id prob have to set the revs to 11-1200 for it to be able to handle all volume levels up to max)
In hind sight i think i am looking for a solution where it will work even when the car is switched off.For this it looks like a second battery is the way to go but i need to find out about this first cos i onyl want it to kick in whenthe ignition is turend on and im not sure how this can be done.

What i want/need is a second battery in the boot that only kicks in when the ignition is turned on and charges aswell. but sits there charged when laptop etc is turned off.

Damo642

Im going to try this and report back to u guys

http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=9

Here is what it says:

"Installing a second car battery is a fairly simple procedure. All you need is two wires, and a battery. Regardless of what you have heard from morons who think they know everything about electricity when it comes to car audio, all you need is some realy cheap plain jane copper wire. Anything from 12 ga on up is probably adequate thickness since copper is an excellent conductor. The battery size is up to you, just make sure the standard voltage is 12V.

The best location for an extra battery is in the trunk, since there is probably no room in the engine bay without heavy modifications, and you probably don't want a big heavy battery sitting in the cabin of the vehicle.

If you have a car audio amplifier installed, the installation is that much easier. All you need to do is ground the grounding wire from the negative (-) terminal on the battery to the same place you grounded the amplifier. Then run the power cable up to your other battery and attach it to the positive terminal (+) or just attach it to the power cable to your amp where it meets your amplifier. The hardcore attach the power cable right to the alternator, but I have it attached to my amplifier and i have had no problems with power drains, even using a 12 ga. cable with an 800W amplifier. However you do it, it will work and you will now have at least twice the stored power available that you once had before.

This takes a huge load off of the alternator, extending its lifetime, and allows you to install more audio amps or other electrical devices. No more headlight dimming or crummy sound from the subwoofers"

It sounds like a good idea to me.

Damo642

One thing here lads.

If i attach the power cable to the amp then the battery will always be on.
But if i attach it back to the + on the main battery it will have to run through the key power ignition in order for the system to get power.
Which is the way i want it to be.

This is the way i need to do it right?

Damo642