SnowDrifter

separately charge each battery, then check resting voltage after several hours. If they're within .1v, just wire as normal.

At risk of possibly splitting hairs: An alternator isn't meant for charging batteries. That being said, you have essentially 3 options for powering your system, depending on needs. All have pros/cons 1. Lots of alts / few batteries - lightest weight, most sensitive to 'overloading' as you're depending on your alts to supply power. Exceed alternator output and your voltage tanks. 2. Single alt / lots of batteries - sometimes a necessity depending on your vehicle. Won't have 'good' voltage but it's adequate for short demos / burps / etc. Play time will be limited and you'll need to be cognizant of your alternator temperature. Avoid idle time here. Spin the alt up and get those fans working 3. Many alts / many batteries - high power stuff. Most expensive, also the most robust.

Nice. Love that stuff

What's ambient temp? Amps in the sun? What does your cooling solution for them look like? As in - sitting underneath something, secured to box, etc etc. Also bear in mind you're strapped at a 1 ohm load, presenting 0.5ohm to each amp. I'm also a bit confused on your comment on gain matching. They're strapped, no?

I need to be honest with you boss, you're going to be adding a fair bit of complexity, weight, and money just for the privilege of not starting your car for some lunch time jams. I'm not sure that's worth it. Several hundred pounds and a few thousand dollars, plus the associated upkeep with this usage scenario.

1. Yeah that's going to take a LOT of battery. Like, 800-1000 amp hours worth of battery. 2. Yes, also yes. Depends what you can fit. You're going to need to find space for 8-10 group 31 batts, which would be in the 6-700lb range. You could potentially entertain lithium too. You'll want to have some sort of low voltage cutoff circuit. As far as head unit, you'd want to wire its power to your rear bank, leave front one totally isolated. 3. HO alt would do you nothing here. Car is off, and if you start the car and use the alternator to charge the thing, you'll toast your alt in short order. Even with a 300 amp alternator, you're talking about the thing running full load for 2 hours trying to charge the bank. That thermal load will nuke the poor thing. You'd want probably a manual relay / battery isolator for this purpose. Leave rear bank disconnected during play time / drive home, hook up batteries to charger, then when everything is topped up, you can turn the isolator back on for driving around. You'll also want to factor in how you'll charge these batteries. A single, off the shelf, 15-25 amp charger won't cut it for this. Might I inquire as to what you're doing that will have the car playing w/ the engine off for this long at that power level? Having this many batteries plus charger is going to add a fair bit of weight, cost, and eat up space in your vehicle no matter which way you cut it. Is having the car running, or a portable generator not an option?

160+ won't set it off. Oh and use a kydex holder. Leather is dumb IMO

I wouldn't sweat your current voltage, honestly. 12.7? You're fine. If you're itching to spend cash on an upgrade, 9 times out of ten, your best value and performance will be from an alt

I'm of the opinion that rather than loading up a couple hundred dollars in the parts cannon to shotgun everything, it would be a more appropriate use of time and money to determine where you fault lies such that it can be repaired appropriately. You can then optimize from there to get the best value per dollar.

Interesting @meade916 @TonyD'Amore

13.8 static voltage unfortunately doesn't tell much. Need to put a load on it

13.8v at the battery while your amp is going into low voltage protect?

What's your voltage at the alternator if you check via case + charging stud, then charging stud + chassis ground, when the issue occurs?

Hey there! Welcome to the forums! Unfortunately we don't allow comparison threads between brand. Historically they have been too much of a pissing contest between fanboys. Also: We have a couple different sections that might be better suited for this question. This are is more for website issues and bug reporting. I know we have a lot of subforums and it can make your head spin. ctrl+f is useful while you learn your way around