Do I need a bigger battery or alternator?

colemanyoungerinalaska · Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:17 am

dekas are good sold at oreillys as the super start agm31t carquest has them too i think as the ngt extremes iirc.

JeremyC · Post by **JeremyC** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:16 am

I would replace the stock battery before I added a second.

I've ran a two battery setup before, even without an isolator. But I killed my alternator and had to buy a replacement.

Since I know the civics don't come with a very stout alternator, I would try and keep things as simple as possible. Or limit the draw the alternator sees. Which means spending more money, and running an idolater if you do decide to run a second battery.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:56 am

I would replace your stock battery with a decent AGM and add a second smaller battery. I have NEVER killed an alternator from battery draw and i have drawn thousands times more power than Jeremy. Even on stock alternators you just cant be hammering on your stereo for hours on end. All the isolator will do is stop the battery from draining if you are running with your ignition off. So if your sitting in a parking lot with your car off and system on a lot then an isolator is needed. If your using it like a normal person you wont need an isolator.

BTW Jeremy what the hell is an idolater? :)
If you killed an alt simply by running 2 battery's you were running way more power than him or something wasn't wired correctly. Even in my van with 12 batteries i ran a single alternator and had 0 issues and never even hurt that alt. All without an isolator. They only make sense if your sitting for long periods of time without running your car they dont stop your alt from working hard they simply stop the car from drawing from one battery so you cant drain your main battery if your jamming without charging. The amount of power he's running will be no problem for 2 decent battery's and a stock alt. even on a good day max he will draw is only 100 amps for hundredths of a second at a time.

Robert Wollenberg · Post by **Robert Wollenberg** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:22 am

Yeah ... what these guys said!

JeremyC · Post by **JeremyC** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:38 am

I actually wasn't running that much power, but I did kill the alternator. I really don't know for sure what did it, but it was in a two battery setup without an isolator, so I really can't advise someone to do it.

Swapped it out with a little higher output one, and the new one lasted till I sold the car.

So what type of isolators are you looking at? The last time i looked at one it did a little more than just limiting current draw to one battery. It would also limit what battery the alternator was trying to charge, that way the alternator only had to deal with charging one battery and running the car. Not trying to charge both batteries, and run everything at the same time.

JeremyC · Post by **JeremyC** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:40 am

idolater 1. One who blindly or excessively admires or adores another.

I actually had to look it up.

Damn AUTOCORRECT.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:52 am

Then your alternator was dying. I wouldn't blame your setup for killing your alt if you cant be positive that's what did it. There are so many other variables. Were not talkin about 5000 watts here were talking about barely a thousand (on the high side) for a few seconds over a few minutes. A single good battery would prob be fine the second battery i suggest is really just a buffer to take the quick spikes from the amp from going to the alternator which in turn kills the alternator. In my buick for 4 years i ran the stock battery with 2 kinetic 600's on the stock alt of 100 amps for 4 years with 0 issues on well over 2000wrms true power. Worst come to worse you can always upgrade to an isolator if you really think you need it. In my opinion its a waste of money if your not gonna be parking lot jamming.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:54 am

what isolator are you talking about? Ive been trying to find one that does what your talking about all morning lol

Stinger S2402 High Current Battery Isolators
240 Amp, 3 Post Design
Prevents Primary Battery Discharge
Maximum Current Transfer
Extends Battery Life
Fits Most 12v Applications
95 - 240 amp High Current Models

Dr. Bogger · Post by **Dr. Bogger** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:12 am

I remember seeing a couple years ago a website that sold cheap, generic batteries, that everyone said were the same battery as the Kinetic batteries... But they were like half the price... I just don't remember the name of the website... Anyone know what it is?

I keep thinking batterymart.com, but I don't think that's the one..

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:35 am

there all over on ebay just type in AGM battery
you want 12v and as many AH as you can find in the size and price you want.