snafu

Nice to see solid advice given here.

We made a BUNCH of 3/0 AWG custom cables for Ron's Gen 3 Dodge Diesel Truck. We also set him up with a lime green 370A Mechman alternator. He did all the installation per our guidelines. He supplied his own battery terminals and red wire covering . . . He brought it by and we put the carbon pile on it. Now, this thing is kinda' like D'Amore's honeybadger - it don't give a shit. The results were mighty impressive. The screen shot I captured was at idle (800 rpm). We also measured the voltage drop between the alternator and the battery which we had the carbon pile connected. The sun was in the absolute wrong spot at that time so the photos with the meters was washed out, unfortunately. However, who would like to guess the difference in voltage measurements between the two meters, given the following? 315A - at operating temp, at rpm Meter 1 - red to Alt output stud and black to case of alt Meter 2 - red to battery (+) and and black to (-) terminals on passenger side battery This is known as a voltage drop analysis when you look at the difference of voltage between any two points in a circuit. Ideally, we like to see such measurements differ by less than 3%. This shows us if the circuit is optimized or has room for improvement. Keep in mind that any voltage drop is voltage loss, and is converted to heat vs work. So, guesses? And by the way, all alternators have losses due to heat when mounted to an engine in an hot engine bay. We like to see that 15% or less under load while the alternator is at operating temp. So, this Mechman unit delivered the goods as always.

CE AUTO ELECTRIC SUPPLY CABLE Meets or exceeds full AWG (American Wire Gauge) specifications. Is made of Pure OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) and tinned for corrosion resistance. Has a soft, flexible 600V PVC oil resistant jacket. Is dry rated for between -40 to 105 deg C, wet rated for up to 75 deg C. Is BC-5W2 Marine Compliant. Yep. Be sure you're comparing apples to apples when shopping for cable sir. Just the tinning adds 8% to the raw material cost.

https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/battery-cable/

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SS is our oldest SMD Partner - dating all the way back to June of 2009 (wow!) . In that time, they've run some killer promotions and sales for SMD Members. This is the deepest one I can recall!

Still got it but it's likely going up for sale soon . . . Since the last post, I've put maybe 8k on the clock.

What you didn't tell us is what kind of vehicle this is. Many, and I mean many, late model vehicles have all kinds of challenges facing you in the digital domain that must be undone or normalized before installing new gear - equalization contours designed to make $3 speakers sound like $30 ones, fully active systems with each component having a narrow bandwidth of operation and / or delay, multiple position contours overlaid on top one another, etc. In addition, you could have some impedance mis-matching with your interface which could cause frequency response irregularities, etc. So, share a bit more.

And now . . . it's in full color! Check out this example I did for a positive battery cable assy for a builder that prefers to use all black cable. The red battery boot keeps things sane when it comes time to break out the booster cables. The smaller 8 AWG auxiliary cable goes to the under hood power center. https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/custom-cable-builder/ If you've not tried it by now, then check it out. Design a cable, take a screen shot of it, post it up here, and tell us what it's for. You can literally do this in minutes!

Thank you sir!

Ready. Willing. Able. We build the very best cables in the industry, bar none. I'll stake my reputation on it.

Check this out! Our CCB allows you to custom design cables to your exact specifications. AND, you can see the cable you've created before your very eyes as you're creating it! You simply have to try it - it's super simple on your PC or phone! https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/custom-cable-builder/ Try it out and let me know what you think!

I like it. While SD's post is lengthy, it's also accurate. When it comes to charging system design, here are the factors you must consider: 1 - Intended use of the amplifiers - music / SPL / both 2 - Duty Cycle of the media (a function of #1) - heavily compressed pop music (or rap / bass discs) has a duty cycle of 50%, sine waves have a duty cycle of 100% 3 - Voltage available 4 - Current required 5 - Voltage Drop you're willing to live with (SD uses 5%, I tend to like 3%) 6 - Law of Diminishing Returns Once you have these answers, then it's a simple process of using Ohm's Law to arrive at the answer to a question like this. #6 is an ass kicker for sure. For example, you add three additional runs of cable and pick up .2dB on the meter. That's not insignificant if you compete - could make the difference between winning and losing - but the human ear can't detect the delta. Then, you add three more runs and pick up another .15dB on the meter. That's a total of 6 runs to pick up a third of a dB. Again, maybe that's what it takes to win. But, where do you stop? Personally, I don't think 90% of the members here at SMD are die-hard SPL competitors. Keep in mind when we're talking about thousands of Amperes of current and minimizing voltage drop, every single thing matters. Are you using the best materials available to you? Are your terminations done in such a way that voltage drop has been minimized. Etc. This process is referred to as minimizing your losses and it's what all of the world's best designers and engineers utilize. SD - well done. PM me your stuff so I can mail you the TORK2.

Correct. Hence my above request for clarity in your explanation.

Really, it's all about current over distance and how that affects voltage drop. Maybe I should build a calculator for such on our web site . . . hmmm . . .