I know everyone is probly tired of hearing about audio systems but another question here. Im experiencing voltage drop and flickering when my sub hits. I know all about the big 3 upgrade, H/O alternator, and better battery. My question is which should I do first? I will eventually do all of them soon but Im leaning towards the higher output alternator first!? Im running the stock Bosch 136 amp alt and thinking about going to a stock replacement that puts out 160 amps at the local parts store. Thanks guys!

 

The wiring upgrade it usually cheap and not too hard to do. Start with that. Next, consider a CAP and a second battery. Those will probably go the furthest to help when it hits hardest. And lastly, that alt is pretty small, but might be enough with the cap and battery upgrade.
Look up building your own cap bank. You can really do a lot better with industrial parts than with a little cap from ebay.

Here is a decent demo of what you can do yourself.

 

Personally me having two batteries is a bit of an overkill. My system for my single cab is pushing maybe 1,500 watts max! I can do the big 3 rather easy im sure but kinda skeptical about the video posted above. I think I'll stick with a traditional battery because to be honest electrical like that is a bit iffy then again Ill do some more research on it . Although I'd rather use a Yellow Top Optima b4 anything like shown above!

 

Oh no, I didn't mean to replace your battery like the guy did in that video. It's a large capacitor bank with the power to start a car. My point was simply saying don't buy some cheap ebay cap for $100 that won't do much. You can scale this up or down as you want. I've never made one myself, but I've read other guys doing this to give their systems the extra head room.

I'm pretty out-of-date on sound systems honestly. I was really into it 10-15 years ago, but I've just gotten older and don't care as much

The big 3 is the easiest and cheapest, but won't eliminate your dimming problem. I still do the big 3 just because I think it eliminates bottle necks and strain on the battery/charging system. You will need a good capacitor bank or second battery to eliminate the dimming.

 

Yea that was my next question is how what he made would store power for long periods of time. I recently tried a Yellowtop Optima Battery and it didn't do squat! I'll stick with my Interstate for the time being. I just bought the 1/0 gauge wire and will do the big 3 upgrade as soon as the weather permits. Kinda bummed out that I might have to add a second battery when Ive seen tons a ppl with a single one and there system is running fine

 

Verify your amp ground wire is solid and has a clean mating surface. Your ground wire should be as short as possible. Seat frame is generally not a good contact point.

Big-3..meh Not going to do much for you unless your upgrading your alternator. Stock wiring from alt-batt and batt-ground is plenty sufficient.
Going with a H/O alt will actually yield less power at an idle. They make their power starting at 900-1k rpms generally. Most HO's put out same as stock at 1K and then significantly more after that. So, if your lights are only dimming while parked, HO alt is not the fix unless you get a tuner and bump up your idle to 1k or whatever the Spec sheet says for that particular alt.

You can install a Batcap. They come in various sizes(all relatively small) They are equivilant to 100-300Farad capacitors. I've had mine for 7yrs now and it's still in great shape. They run ~$160-250. I tested my Batcap300 is a 100farad equivilant and 300 cranking amps. It sustained an extremely heavy draw for 10sec when I first tested it. It was tough enough to start and operate my car for 2mo until I got a new battery..lol

Lastly, depending what kind of amp (internal quality)and how hot you are running your amp(1-2-4ohm load) is also another issue. Low quality amps have cheap capacitors inside. They don't store much burst energy like higher quality amps do.

 

I'll look into the batcap. I personally don't think capacitors work at all if anything made my problem worse. Im using a Hifonics amp now, the Solo Baric is wired at 2ohms. And I would install the "BATCAP" as a second battery correct?