fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

I've recently done the battery relocation to the rear with my Optima Red Top battery (12V). We have sufficient grounds, etc. and the correct wiring in place. This car does not run an alternator, and I charge it on a large charger every day. It starts initially very well and is fully charged, but if I sit in the lanes too long or keep the car running, the car does not keep enough volts to allow the car to run consistant ETs. I can tell it barely wants to power the car. I also do not run any accessories on passes, so as not to drain the battery quicker. Also, I do run a A/F Meter Guage, which requires a 10-15 volt battery, so this may be draining it. What do you do to keep the volts at sufficient levels if you run no alternator? I don't want to install 2 batteries. I suppose a 16V battery would work?

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Cars like that often I have seen are at their trailer at the end of the run and are running of a recharger which can be hook up to the trailer or most likely a gas powered generator.

Do you ever have your battery die?

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

This is why you will see alot of cars run 2 batteries when the alt. is ditched.

My advise, either put the ALT back on, or put 2 batteries in the car and wire them in parallell, so that the capacity is doubled.

(weight wise, I think running the ALT is a better deal, it can't be as heavy as an extra battery, unless you need the weight in the back of the car)

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

Yes, it has before and I noticed on a pass on Friday night it barely made the complete pass with 7 volts reading on the in-car meter. It also ran slower and I know the battery is why. We charge it every pass from a generator but it does not hold the voltage very long.

Apparently the alternator was creating severe drag on the motor, because I picked up quite a bit by removing it and the belt. I was thinking about one of those 16V batteries, since I got my weight reduction pretty evened out and don't want to put the alt. back on since I know it will run slower.

tektrans

iTrader: (23)

I had an issue also when I relocated my battery.
And I have an alternator.
This fixed it for me:
http://www.jegs.com/i/The%20''V''%20...65500/10002/-1

It's adjustable and pretty inexpensive, probably cheaper and MUCH light than any extra battery you can put in there.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

We tried this on my car one day, I tried ditching the belt to the ALT and running the car off the battery, just to see. It didn't make a damn bit of difference, other then the battery voltage being down a good bit by the time I got back to the pits.

Maybe your old ALT was junk?

SSPerformance

iTrader: (76)

how good is ur batt did you load test it?

BAKED

iTrader: (14)

Ditch the junk *** Optima. Go with a 16 volt setup or put the Alt. back on it.

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

Im not a fan of optima's anymore really..... I can't see an alternator eating power... it is not like a P/S pump or A/C compressor that has a load on it..... I think something was wrong with the last alternator...

They have some pretty light alternators out there.


I know Optima's don't like it when they go dead or get near dead.

promod1955

iTrader: (44)

Ever since optima got bought out there batteries are junk. They used to be real good batteries but were heavy. The best thing you can do is get rid of that optima.

Go with a 12v AGM powermaster battery or a 12v deka battery. Run an alt with this setup with the correct size wire for the length of wire to the battery and amp output of alt. With this there is no need to run 2 batteries.

You could also run a 16v AGM battery but I've never done that with a factory PCM so not sure if that would work. With this you won't need a alt. as long as you throw a charger on it between rounds.

bgblockelcamino

iTrader: (9)

another vote to ditch the optima. i have had to return more of those batteries than any other battery and was even in stock replacement application where everything was in proper working order.

Fireball

iTrader: (21)

I don't think an OEM PCM likes 16V

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

The stock pcm will NOT like 16 volts.... don't even try it.

REDGAR

From another bracket racer, you really don't want to get caught with low voltage when you are running round robin in the late rounds. I'd put the alternator back on.

I ran for about a year doing the no serpentine belt thing to pick up a tenth and a half and then it wore the battery out (this was a yellow top) and got to the point it cost me a round and that was it...belt back in for alternator use.

If you were using the serpentine belt to run the alternator, maybe relocate the alternator so you don't run the power steering and a/c so you still pick up some but don't risk losing a round to low voltage. I will be moving mine now that ECS makes a relocation bracket

kp

iTrader: (34)

I don't know about that, I used to run 18v to the stock PCM to get more coil voltage and never burned one up. Plus with no alternator a 16v battery will only be around 14.5-15v with everything running and no alt.

ATVracr

iTrader: (5)

I'm with KP, it will be OK with a 16v battery.

kp

iTrader: (34)

Also fwiw I have back to back tested with and without the alternator, on my car that draws about 50 amps when it's running with a fully charged full size battery will lose about a tenth and 1mph in the quarter. But I still run it because with it the car is more consistant. I still charge the battery most of the time though, I can make about 5 passes before the voltage starts dropping, when you draw a lot of current with the car running the alternator can't keep up, especially if it's crowded and you have to start the car a bunch of times.

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

So what I'm hearing is:

No Optima Battery - Even with a brand new one, these are still not good for drag racing and no alternator?

No 16V Battery - The PCM/car is not programmed for this. Is there a conversion or would it be worth it to try to program it to run a 16V without a problem?

Buy a better Battery, like a Powermaster 12V - Will the "drag racing" batteries stand up to all the voltage my car takes and still be consistant for bracket racing? I can charge the battery after every round if needed. Would a Boost Box charge the battery too if I use it in the lanes to start the car?

Try Voltage Regulator - What exactly does this do? I have not had a chance to look into this fully. What are the downsides?

Put Alternator Back On - This is really my last alternative. If I run this my car will not run a number it needs to. This was the ET difference when I took the belt off, alternator, and power steering:

10.72 @ 123.62 (93* outside)
10.69 @ 124.06
10.74 @ 123.38
10.72 @ 123.16
-removed alternator-
10.42 @ 125.46 (10* cooler outside)
10.50 @ 126.03
*The next day when I went to the track it kept running mid-high 10.50s. Is this because the battery is running down much faster now or about to be trash? It's only 1 year old.

Thanks for the help guys.

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

Would this still apply to stock coils though?

ATVracr

iTrader: (5)

I have stock coils and 2 16v batteries.
Not a stock PCM though

A 16v will still need to be charged between rounds. A stock car takes alot of power to run. Best bet is to put the alt. back on for bracket racing or get a generator and battery charger to charge between runs.

Even with 2 16v we still charge between every pass.