when to upgrade electricial components?

Hello, I am new to the12volt so I am currently posting a couple topics because I have questions and you all seem to have great input. I run two amps... a 4 channel and a sub amp. I was running 0 gauge wire from the battery back, I had a fused distribution block as well as a 2 farad cap. I then had 4 gauge wire going to each amp. The sub amp was a Fosgate 801s (now replaced with an Orion 1200D) and the 4 channel is an Alpine 600. Will this be sufficient or do I need to make other changes such as a better battery or altenator?-under_lucky-

Are you losing power? If your lights are diming and your losing volts than you might want to think about getting another battery or taking in your alternator to rewind it.Brandon Pieniozek

The easiest way to be sure is to install a voltmeter - that will tell you if you are draining the battery (ie - under 12.8V) or straining the alternator (under its normal voltage at reasonable revs - ie, under 13.8V etc). If the alternator is undersized, you will limit the Amp's output power and lower the clipping threshold, and eventually drain the battery. A larger battery will only extend the discharge time, but not increase the Amp's power output nor improve clipping. A capacitor is a bling item. A small battery (like a Yuasa 12V 7AH AGM, or other low ESR AGM/sealed battery etc) next to the Amp will provide much better ride through than a cap. (A battery has at least 1,000 times the energy of a cap.) Whether a charging system handles the audio load depends on RMS power/current consumption and charging profile (eg hi RPM?).

My headlights dont dim at all but the interior gauge lights do.-under_lucky-

My advice is to upgrade the Big 3 first.Support the12volt.com

What is considered the big 3-under_lucky-