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stereo install

john lamon said:
Working on my stereo today, got the speakers and deck in, looking for a place to put the 10" sub in... any thoughts? It actually sounds pretty good without it, if I don't add the sub and amp will I be ok with only one battery? the only bad thing is I already bought it all, looks like it might be going in the pontoon boat if I can't find a spot to put it.
Click to expand...


I have had good luck with a single 10" or 12" sub on a down firing sealed enclosure in the captians helm behind the steering setup and gauges. I will try to find a picture of one that I have done.
 
I must have missed this thread...sorry I am so late.

One suggestion, my Merc Tech told me never to run the switch on "Both" or "Dual" batteries while running. He stated that it puts a serious strain on the Alternator.

He suggested running one battery and then the other. (Having a battery guage helps as well, just remember that it is only accurate when the motor is off.)

I am not suggesting that anyone else is wrong, just figured I would share what was told to me (and works for me). :)

Good luck.

HD
 
I'm with HD on this one too.

Someone (I think it's Simon motorsports) makes a HD (that's heavy duty, not hotdaddy) alternator for OB's and one of the selling points is that it allows your ECU to function correctly after you've been anchored cranking tunes. I guess running it at low voltage can mess up the air/fuel ratio and cause it to go lean.

I've also read that (if you have the choice), you never want to use your alternator to recharge a nearly dead battery - just a huge strain on it. Of course that's not aways possible. I'd guess 2 dead batterys would be worse.

With all of that said, I have an amp on my boat and just a single battery. We don't really sit around too long crankin' tunes though and I usually hook up the charger the night before we go out so I've been OK (or lucky).
 
There are devices (I think called battery buddy) that will open the circuit on your accessories (radio) when the battery voltage falls below a preset limit. This means you can crank tunes without caring about anything and when the radio cuts out you fire up the motor or switch batteries or whatever.
 
The battery buddy / battery brain is GARBAGE! Do not buy one.

We sold many of them and had a problem with EVERY one.

They do work well for the first month or so. What they do is sense the current draw. They will open the circuit at pre-set non adjustable point. If you have a radio playing through it, the unit would shut down in a matter of mins.
 
I have just heard (battery Buddy) of them but never used one myself. I have always done multiple batteries with an isolator circuit. I have only done I/O's or Inboards with huge systems and beefed up alternators. The only Outboard big system I did had 2 dedicated batteries that did not hook to the rest of the electricial system. It had to be charged after about a day of cranking. I have not looked for beefed up chargng systems on outboards.
 
john lamon said:
Working on my stereo today, got the speakers and deck in, looking for a place to put the 10" sub in... any thoughts? It actually sounds pretty good without it, if I don't add the sub and amp will I be ok with only one battery? the only bad thing is I already bought it all, looks like it might be going in the pontoon boat if I can't find a spot to put it.
Click to expand...


Here is a sub I put under the helm in my Chaparral Bowrider. It really put out a ton of clean bass.

100_5135.jpg
 
Here is another pic of the Chap. I redid the gauge cluster with black plexi inserts and installed kick panel pods with marine speakers. It sounded great. The sub is mounted under the helm in a birch plywood box that was resin coated. It was tough to find a carpet match on a 20 yr old boat.

100_5134.jpg
 
dogschool said:
2 batteries is a must! Get a battery switch. I start mine on all
(or both) and run on both so that the alternator charges both
but when we are playing the stereo and running the amps without
the motor running I switch it to battery 2, when it runs down I
still have a fully charged battery to start the boat and when out
running it charges the other back up. That's how I do it and it works
for me:thumb:
Click to expand...


I agree and this is how i have mine set up. I am actually going to add a third battery in tandem with my number two battery to help push my two 500 watt amps when rafting
 
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