im having issues with my battery, every time i sit with the engine off, & run just battery, the truck wont start after about 3-4 mins of just runnin on battery......i dont even have to be pumpin the music ( no music just playin with avic )

all i have is a 300/4 amp runnin on 2 gauge wire, & avic z2 & a few other accessories but nothin heavy ....i dont know if it is the battery ( factory battery) or if the gauge of the wire is to thick.

any suggestions would be great.....

what is the best brand of battery for this situation???

is it even possible to have too thick of a wire that would do damage? and did you just install the system recently or this problem started randomly?

systems draw alot of power so its no surprise that you are draining.....but 3-4 minutes is a little extreme, you might need a more powerful battery, especially if the battery is old

as for brands, i dont know exactly, but online brand name that keeps comin up is kinetic, so maybe thats a good brand for it.

sounds like your factory battery is goin out. in my f150 i was able to run my alpine v12 4 channel and rockford 1000bd amp, with my d2 for about 2 hours with the truck off. also i had a 2 awg wire running off the battery split to 2 4 awg wires to each amp.

also be sure to check the grounds and cables. corrosion inside the wire will cause voltage issues...so will a bad ground.

thanks for replys ......yeah, the battery was brand new in 2006 but it has gone dead and jumped so many times, that might have effected it......i have it grounded right to the steel frame.....a little corrosion on the outside of ground loop, but not inside of connection,

yeah it seems like its getting progressively worse......

i heard Optima is pretty good, anybody had this brand??

yeah, having the battery die many times would kill the cells in it.

optima are good batteries. theyre pricey though. most people i know have had so so luck with them. my friend had to go through 3 of them before he found one that was good. he just kept warrantying them.

i would go with the red top unless you sit for long periods of time with the truck off and the radio on. the yellow top is a deep cycle one, where the red top is a starting battery.

i had the same issue but it was not the d 3 it turned out to be the battery it was like 4 years old so i put in a new battery and never had the problem again.

yeah im defiantly leaning towards a bad battery,

i checked out optima those things are spendy, does anybody else have any other recommendations??? i just need something dependable, that i can sit & listen to music for 30-45 mins @ the max

if you goto your local pep boys or autozone and explain your situation im sure theyll have an answer as to which battery fits your needs.

What you are looking for is "reserve capacity." The higher number the better for this purpose.

If you pick the battery with the greatest reserve capacity to fit your vehicle, it should also have more than enough cranking capacity (as in cranking amps or cold cranking amps) to start the vehicle. But, the highest cranking capacity battery for your car may NOT have the highest reserve capacity.

It's the battery,repeatedly draining the battery will shorten it's life.Car batteries are not made to be constantly drained and recharged.You can take it to one of the major parts store and have it checked for free.

thx for all replys

yeah i took it down to the local autozone, they put there little tester deal on it...... i guess the tester puts a heavy load on the battery, and if its bad the voltage will drop, mine stayed strong, the tech said it was fine...... but sometimes a kid in elementary school can give u more accurate info........

and i havent run just on battery for a few weeks now (dont feel like getting a jump for the 10th time).....

im gonna try it out @ home 1 more time, before i go buy a new one.

do u know which batterys have the best reserve capacity, and cranking amps i have a tundra with v8

I had a problem with my battery about 2 yrs. ago.I took it to Auto Advance and it tested good.I asked was the tester reliable and he said yes.My battery would start one day and not the next.The guy who tested my battery said it was not my battery.I told him to give me a new one anyway.I haven't had a problem since.It was my battery.

thx for all replys

yeah i took it down to the local autozone, they put there little tester deal on it...... i guess the tester puts a heavy load on the battery, and if its bad the voltage will drop, mine stayed strong, the tech said it was fine...... but sometimes a kid in elementary school can give u more accurate info........

you drove it there, so doesn't the altenator have an impact on the results? i mean it keeps the battery charged while youre driving so when you take it outta your vehicle wont it have a decent charge?

What type of battery do you have?

i have factory battery.....yeah it was charged.....from what ive read those testers aren't always accurate.....

i tried just battery again, about 5 mins into it the amp died because their is not enough voltage from battery.....

so im gonna probably buy a yellow top optima, unless i can find something as good that is cheaper....... from what i have read they are pretty reliable, so u pay for quality

Did u end up purchasing a new battery yet?

Invest in a capacitor. How much amperage is your amp drawing. Even with a good electrical system, if your amps draw enough amperage even with the car running you will bog down on electrical power. The best bet is to invest in a capacitor because like it has been mentioned, it is not good to have your battery be constantly drained and recharged, it isn't a deep cycle battery.

Invest in a capacitor. How much amperage is your amp drawing. Even with a good electrical system, if your amps draw enough amperage even with the car running you will bog down on electrical power. The best bet is to invest in a capacitor because like it has been mentioned, it is not good to have your battery be constantly drained and recharged, it isn't a deep cycle battery.

Caps are a crutch, they will do nothing for his situation. The best way is to put in an isolator and a second battery(or many extra batteries), upgrade the wiring, and upgrade the alternator. Run the system off of the isolated battery and you can run it into the ground, but will always have the primary battery to start the car. The only thing caps are good for are taking care of line sag, but a good install doesn't have to worry about that for the most part(I ran 4 batcap 8400s on my last install, but was in the neighborhood of 10KW). The little 1-20farad caps are a joke and just help band-aid a bad install. Use big enough wiring to take care of IR drop, have a big enough alternator to take care of the battery, and have a big enough battery to take care of the system. If you insist on a cap get something like a batcap and put it inches from the stereo, that will completely kill line sag, and give you the most accurate sound reproduction.

If money is a concern, just upgrade to a decent battery as the OP has said he's already doing. Personally I like the optima blue, same exact thing as the yellow except it has an extra set of posts for making a clean install without needing gimicky aftermarket battery clamps.

Former MECP Master Installer and IASCA/USACi competitor