+- Rawze.com: Rawze's ISX Technical Discussion and more (http://rawze.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Big Truck Technical Discussion... (/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Things that may help others... (/forumdisplay.php?fid=46)
+--- Thread: New Batteries... (/showthread.php?tid=6279)
New Batteries... - Waterloo - 06-15-2020
Well, the truck has been sitting, the batteries I have in her are two or so years old, and they took a dump. Then in the cab, I have 4 stereo amplifiers running a killer sound system... And I have a brand new Trip-Pac APU with the beefy alternator, I just hate to have it running all of the time... Fuel mileage.
When I installed the stereo and amps, I used to have an AGM battery in my sleeper, which took care of the stereo when rolling down the road... Well, I never installed a new AGM when I upgraded my sound system, big mistake. Well, needless to say the old wet cell batteries I had took a dump in the battery box. And yes, I know, wet cells...
Any how, I needed a battery in the sleeper, and four new ones in the box. I hunted around on the internet, made phone calls, etc., all weekend. I found the NorthStar AGM Group 31 up at my local TA for $369, $403 out the door, as I had no core... I went up there to purchase, and they told me they have had them for awhile... I asked him to test it, the first one was bad, the second one was 74%... I thought about it, and passed...
Off to Batteries and Bulbs up in town... I have looked at them before and they were always a bit pricey, and I mean pricey... Well, they had the X2Power battery in stock, made by NorthStar in the USA, with a 48 month warranty. I walked out of there with a one month old fresh Group 31 AGM battery for $420 out the door. I went with this battery due to its ratings, it is a beast, not your typical Sam's Club AGM. The way I have my cab wired, this battery will run everything and should not draw off of the main bank. I already have it tied down in my sleeper...
At the check out, I asked the guy behind the counter about four new batteries for my box, which I needed as I stated above... My Unenjoyment money is tight, but I knew I needed the batteries...
He had AGM's for $249, Walmart has them for $179 right now, but he had a FRESH set of four wet cell Duracells for $100 ea... I walked out with four new batteries and the killer AGM for around $900. The batteries have an 18 month warranty, I suspect they will make it at least 24 months, LOL!
If you made it this far, I know I can get long winded, but I was really impressed with this Batteries and Bulbs. The price with discounts was comparable if not better than the truck stops or local shops, and the batteries were FRESH and stored properly.
So, If you need batteries, look these guys up, you may be pleasantly surprised like I was.
RE: New Batteries... - Waterloo - 06-15-2020
Got the batteries in, truck started... I was out there with my orbital sander cleaning up the connections, rearranged everything, applied the battery lug wax for corrosion, fixed an issue I was not aware of, etc...
Fired up the stereo... My eyes bled, it was a wonderful experience... LOL! That AGM battery in the sleeper took my subwoofer to new levels... My neighbor across the way gave the thumbs up... ;-)
Front end is all that is left, and it is still good, so no worries, yet... Finger's crossed.
[attachment=6658]
RE: New Batteries... - smorgan87 - 06-15-2020
900 bucks for batteries, ouch.
RE: New Batteries... - Waterloo - 06-16-2020
(06-15-2020 )smorgan87 Wrote: 900 bucks for batteries, ouch.
LOL! Tell me about it...
RE: New Batteries... - SquareOne - 06-16-2020
(06-15-2020 )smorgan87 Wrote: 900 bucks for batteries, ouch.
Yeaaaa, but when the bass grabs those low notes and it feels like you're nose is about to fall off your face.....its all worth it lol!!
Cant beat a jammin stereo if music is your thing. Will absolutely change my attitude when I'm having 'one of those days.'
--- Not to mention how nice it is to turn the key and actually have it start the truck lmao ---
RE: New Batteries... - Waterloo - 06-17-2020
(06-16-2020 )SquareOne Wrote:(06-15-2020 )smorgan87 Wrote: 900 bucks for batteries, ouch.
Yeaaaa, but when the bass grabs those low notes and it feels like you're nose is about to fall off your face.....its all worth it lol!!
Cant beat a jammin stereo if music is your thing. Will absolutely change my attitude when I'm having 'one of those days.'
--- Not to mention how nice it is to turn the key and actually have it start the truck lmao ---
The WALL OF SOUND>>>>
[attachment=6659]
[attachment=6660]
[attachment=6661]
Not pictured is the 10 inch RE SXX 1200 watt 1 ohm sub under the bed, that fifth Polk Audio amp is what powers that, a PA D1000.1, 1 ohm stable and putting out 1200 watts... The RE subwoofer has a custom made box, double baffled and she hits.
The Alpine amps are the S-A32F series 4 channel Class D amps, the three, out of four, I have mounted are bridged in two channel @ 160 Watts RMS, and perform without a hitch, other than the mono amp, the S-A60M, it is just a dummy up there, as she was not up to the task of driving the RE Sub so I installed the old Polk amp that drives the sub without breaking a sweat... Oh well... I had the Polk from my last build, and put her back into service the other day when I installed the batteries. Not the Alpine amps fault, just too small for the application. She would run, but an hour in, she was going into protect mode, not cool. But, not the amps fault, I thought I could get away with it... ;-)
The speakers are Alpine, one set of R Series 6.5" components up in the doors, tweeters mounted in the dash... A pair of the R Series 4 inch in the overhead and a pair of the R Series 6.5" in the sleeper. Each pair of speakers has a dedicated bridged amp @ 160 watts RMS.
As far as speakers, they work, are they the best sound? Hell, I don't know. May upgrade to some Focals later on... These are fitting the bill for now.
Here is the kicker, it is so loud in there, AND CRYSTAL CLEAR, with the amp gains at near zero. This system will make your eyes and ears bleed. ;-)
I have everything piped through a cheap little 7 band equalizer in the dash. Best $50 I spent on the system, it works, really shapes the sound nicely and really balances the system.
I have it all ran trough the Alpine CDE-175BT head unit... It gets the job done, and plays well with the iPhone.
Those two silver boxes on the wall, those are the Lanzar 6-Channel High Current Distribution Amplifiers https://amzn.to/3fx32H7
I needed those to run the signal out of the head unit so that I could use multiple amps on the three sets of speakers to keep the fade and balance operational in a multiple amp situation, and boost the line level. For $40 ea they fit the bill.
The rest of the build was Home Depot, I hit their plumbing supply department as you can see...
I have the board that everything is mounted to secured to the actual rear of the sleeper, I ran some stainless lag bolts in from the outside to secure everything. Those pipes on the side of the mount, I use them as hand holds when needed, and I have, she is mounted solidly.
The fans, I have two in the back and one hanging from the center of the overhead up front, they are the Caframo Ultimate 757 12V 2-Speed 7 inch Fan, and boy do they move the air... https://amzn.to/2YLN7xM
If you need a cab fan or one or two for the sleeper, these fans rock.
Last photo is the sleeper closet... That is the new $400 AGM battery on the floor, to the right is the battery isolator https://amzn.to/2Y76kel and the box on the back wall is a remote switch, https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/nvision-3937/truck---towing-16781/trailer---towing-16648/trailer---utility-lighting-25179/lighting-accessories--universal--19416/c3558e299344/hopkins-nvision-wireless-remote-lighting-module/nv622/6050503?q=remote+light+switch&pos=3 to turn the amplifiers on, it is what they use to control lighting for off road vehicles, I bought it at O'Reilly's, the remote is up front.
I have much of this stuff direct wired, disconnected from the trucks electrical system, very little is on the actual ignition circuit, so I make good use of remote turn ons in the cab and sleeper. And the benefit there, is that I do not have to run a bunch of wiring, I direct feed it off of the batteries and simply place a remote unit in that wiring, no switches needed to be installed, hence the extra fuse panels. Just a few key fobs which are easy to keep track of and use. And yes, in line fuses were used.
I have a Blue Seas fuse panel mounted on the back wall, between the fan and the amps, I also have one up front... These panels rock. https://amzn.to/2ABn5Wl
That is my story on the batteries...
If you get nuts like myself and want some tips, let me know. ;-)