Big 3 and electrical for stock dual batt and alt?

[Joshoe]

This applies to every battery in the circuit. All batteries that are connected to each other in any way need to be the same type.

Oh, and pics! Sounds like a nice truck. Good luck on the install.

Sure will do! Guess ill show some pics of the engine bay and what she looks like..

Considering that all batteries need to be the same.. Could i go with two large batteries in my engine bay for running my truck AND amps.

Or would i still need one inside my truck for my amps?

[Joshoe]

Okay so here is a break down with pics of my current electrical system.. I have just found out i do not have two alternators!!!

Yes i had the assumption only on the fact that when your truck is configured ( throughChevy/ GMC). They have trucks configured with dual alts with dual batteries.. Seeing that i had Dual batts gave me the assumption i have two alts!

So without further a dew... Heres the run down.. (Click on pics to enlarge..)

Here's my baby with that good ol' DMax!

So first off we have the first battery. You can see it has a run of wire (just below the air flow guard). Which should aid in a clean install.

The ground of the battery is connected to the engine block.

As for the second battery... Starting from the bottom...

The first wire appears.. To be connected to the bottom of the engine.. Its as far as i could follow it.. (until i have help to wiggle wires thats what it appears..)

Secondly.. That is the connection from the other battery.

The next one with the red plastic near the connector.. Is my Power to alternator.

4th and 5th wires are connected to the fuel intake and air intake. (The wire that is connected on the 5th wire will be explained in next picture).

The ground of this battery seems to be ran ALL the way down and back to the transmission.. Thats as far as i could get within the small confinds of the engine below! lol

As for the last wire that was connected to the 5th connection of the second battery... It runs all the way to the fuse box(with the orange tape). Dont know if this would need to be upgraded..? Would that blow everything? But isnt that what fuses are for? lol

As for this... Examining the engine. My guess that this is where the sec on alt wouldve gone if i had one..

Well thats the rundown... The only thing im worried about now besides how much wire i need is.. Frying my electrical system on higher end truck!

I wish i had professionals around me to take care of it for me as electrical is the only thing when it comes to car audio that I'm not tottaly knowledgeable about. But just enough to make sure things dont spark or blow.

There isnt any shops around me that have really any type of experience or even knowledge or dont want that kind of liability.. (thats not even before looking at my electrical setup.. Just a Big 3 in general).

So looks like im on my own..

[CommGuru]

Looks like you have your grounds located. Just add a few good runs to them and a couple of big + runs from the alt to your batteries and you should be good to go.

Great looking truck btw.

[Tarball]

For batteries your best bet would be to switch over to AGM. Sawp out your front 2 then add to the cab. Biggest 2 upfront may be good enough for your plans. But then your amps will have to pull further when hitting a musical peak. May be a good case for a cap near the amp.

[Joshoe]

For batteries your best bet would be to switch over to AGM. Sawp out your front 2 then add to the cab. Biggest 2 upfront may be good enough for your plans. But then your amps will have to pull further when hitting a musical peak. May be a good case for a cap near the amp.

Yeah... That would be my best guess..

Took a Volt meter today and check my batts.. 12.2-3 not started on both batts. Then when started only showed 13.8 . Not even 14 volts!

I then proceeded to play music and the voltage dropped dramatically to 13.1-2 volts floating up and down.

Now im ONLY running a 1000w RMS mono amp with a 400 watt 4 channel. I really dont think thats really all too much to make my voltage drop that much. My alternator is 250 amps.

The batteries are the least of my worries.. I might not even need an alternate batt in the cab because i already have two batteries. The power from the alt is most likely the biggest of my problem/problems.

For the power out of my alt to battery already has a fuse on it. But it seems to be rated for 125 amps. (look at the picture above of the battery that has the terminal plate. It is the connection with the red heat shrink). Am i even gonna be able to get proper power with that fuse there or does it even matter? I mean the battery on the other side is just connect to the other battery with the alternator..

[Joshoe]

Looks like you have your grounds located. Just add a few good runs to them and a couple of big + runs from the alt to your batteries and you should be good to go.

Great looking truck btw.

Thanks man i appreciate it! It is by far my favorite truck i've had.

[Joshoe]

Okay fellas as far as getting Info on what I should do..

I have recently spoke to Jon from Sky High. As being that they have several GM vehicles. I thought what better ask the pros who have had experience?

So with a few e-mails describing my dilemma. He was able to give me this.

"Ok sir the wires that you need to upgrade are the positive from the alternator and the battery(s), and if there is a jumper positive from battery to battery. Then upgrade the battery ground and the motor ground. That should be the only ones to upgrade and it should not effect the fusing on the left battery."

So with this I shall do my Big 3 and hopefully see an increase in voltage!