15 volts

[corteznewbie]

daily i want my amp at peak rms i'm choken it so to say right now at 13.8 cuz of the ecu

[AMI CUSTOMS]

Bottom line constant high charging past 15 volts is not good ever on a 12 volt agm. People will say oh I do it, but there is alot of variables to consider that are not the same as your setup. Temperature makes a huge difference in what you can charge batteries at just to name one. It is your choice, but I wouldn't do it until you understand it more and realize what is going on with the battery when the voltage gets that high.

[AMI CUSTOMS]

daily i want my amp at peak rms i'm choken it so to say right now at 13.8 cuz of the ecu

Bring it up to 14.7 - 14.8 and see what your drop is?

[corteznewbie]

again the main question was where should i set it at so it drops only to 14.4 i never said i would put it to 15v just asked if it was safe

[AMI CUSTOMS]

again the main question was where should i set it at so it drops only to 14.4 i never said i would put it to 15v just asked if it was safe

See my post above, but if you aren't dropping when you are charging at 13.8 ecu controlled, then you probably won't drop at 14.4 if you alt can supply the current demand at 14.4 Volts. So you might just have to set it at 14.4 volts, it is hard to say exactly where it should be, there is some unknowns, like size of cable, how far apart are the batteries, big 3 done, what brand of cable, how far are the batts from the amp, do you have strong grounds? All that changes voltage....LOL

Edited October 17, 2010 by AMI CUSTOMS

[corteznewbie]

See my post above, but if you aren't dropping when you are charging at 13.8 ecu controlled, then you probably won't drop at 14.4 if you alt can supply the current demand at 14.4 Volts. So you might just have to set it at 14.4 volts, it is hard to say exactly where it should be, there is some unknowns, like size of cable, how far apart are the batteries, big 3 done, what brand of cable, how far are the batts from the amp, do you have strong grounds? All that changes voltage....LOL

all wire other than remote is 1/0 big 3 is done theres bout 12 13 feet between batt and bout a foot or so between sec battery and amp

[MECHMAN]

Guys, EVERY AGM battery manufacturer has a published 14.7 volt (or lower) maximum safe charging voltage.

AGM batteries absolutely can and WILL emit gas (his) when overheated. (I've done it many times) Internal cell temperature is a function of ambient temperature of the battery, charging current (amperage) and charging voltage.

In extremely hot Las Vegas summers, I have seen AGM batteries actually swell near the point of explosion being charged at 14.7 volts. In extremely cold climates, you can sometimes get away with higher charging voltages, especially if the alternator current going into the batteries is low.

If you want your batteries to last a long time, and don't want to run the risk of swelling the battery and voiding your warranty, just charge at 14.7 volts and be happy. The difference in performance between 14.7 and 15.0 volts is almost nothing, and the voltage will likely fall to the same point under a load anyway.

If you want higher voltages, do it right and buy 14 volt batteries.

[corteznewbie]

how much are 14v batteries? and i guys the battery rep for o'rielly better get his shit straight he told me they wont emit gas cause the the glass matting cells

[dugee81]

I ran my alt at over 15 volts.. My rear batts were seeing 14.9-15.1 so I can only imagine what my front kinetik was seeing. Needless to say, it sounds like a snake! Hisssssssssss lol

[PUNKYOU007]

I have 5 batteries in my truck, yellow top and the other 4 are Kinetik. I use an MLA that has a H/L setting. I have been running this setup for a while now, almost two years. I used to keep the MLA on high all the time. So far my Kinetiks are perfect. But my Optima... doesn't like it so much anymore. If i charge on high for more than 30 mins...it will start hissing and you can smell, what to me, smells like sulfur. So yes they will emit gas and it is not recommend to charge them that high...unfortunately.

BTW my truck has Charge up into 16volts on a cold morning with the MLA on High. On a normal day with it on high I sit around 15.3 and on low 14.7-.8