Battery/alternator upgrade

Lately the vent caps on my battery have been gassing over and spilling acid inside my engine compartment... it could be just the battery but there's a good chance my charging system is messed up, I could need a new alternator as well. This is a 1991 Nissan pickup, 4 cyl.

Right now I only have a 100W RMS going from my amplifier to my subwoofer, but there's always a chance I may get a more powerful amplifier in the future, possibly a Hifonics, putting out ~500W - 1000W RMS. From what I've heard, it seems like running under 1000W from your amp doesn't require any charging system/battery upgrades, but my truck could have a very weak stock alternator, as low as 45A according to somebody. I will find out the exact rating on my alternator soon.

I am going to buy a new battery, and if it still leaks over then I will have to consider a new alternator, etc. I'm wondering if I should pay a little bit more and get a better battery/alternator?

I just want to cover myself, just in case. When buying my head unit, I didn't pay an extra $50 for the Panasonic my friend was buying, that has a separate sub control, because I didn't think I would get a subwoofer. Now I think that feature would be awesome because I could turn up the subwoofer more and not have bass going to my 6.5 coaxial speakers.

From what I understand, deep cycle batteries are only necessary when playing your stereo with the engine off. Is this referring to playing it for a few hours? I do sometimes play it with the engine off, but usually only 10 min at a time, not very often.

What do you guys think?

if you get a big amp then youll find out whether or nto your truck can handle it.

my explorer has about 1200 rms goin through it and it barely dims.

hifonics is overrated too so if you want 1000 rms then go for at least the bx1205d.

ANYWAYS.. wait til you get the amp you might find out that your truck will handle it just fine. if it doesnt, then decide what steps to take..

first do the big 3

then get a red/yellow top, or any high quality deep cycle

then if you still have to, buy a new alternator.

Yeah you realy need a new battery if your vent caps are spilling, as for the dep cycle battery i switched from a duralast to an optima. I did notice a sight change in the voltmeter jumping when it hit but i played it for about 2 hours and it started with now problem. If your alternator is that small then your truck might have problems powering its electrical system along with your system, it could be worst than just lights dimming.

One thing you could do is do the "big 3" do a search it should help a little bit but if your alternator is that small then it could be hard to tell. I would have to say good choice on panasoic one of my personal favorite HU companies they pack a lot of features for the price and i like there quality (alot better than they used to be). See what size alternators they do make for your truck of course the bigger the better but dont go over board i seen one somewhere that had like 220a at idle which is insane granted it cost like 350. Good luck with everything.

I got a new battery, apparently my alternator is fine, so hopefully this one won't spill over.

Does anybody have an idea of approximately how powerful of an amp I can run on my stock electrical system... I just got a new battery, 640 CCA's, and my stock alternator (most likely 50 - 60A). I just want to get a general idea so I can work with this when looking at amps.

AndonD454 you said 1200 RMS doesn't really affect your Explorer... what kind of alternator do you have?

Im pretty sure the explorer alternator is between 110-160, my blazers stock alternator is like 90 amps and the lights didnt dim from 900 rms. I cant remember the exact conversion but i believe correct me if im worng anyone is about 50 watts for every amp of power. My old car had a 70 amp alternator and i was pushing about 1200 from 4 amps and well it ooked like i had strobe lights on the damn thing when it would hit. with the big 3 i would guess you should be fine for about 500-750 without major problems lights might dim but its shouldnt be horrible. You can find upgrades for your alternator just might have to look around and it could get expensive. One of the other members should know more about how much your electrical system can handle.