car staring hard

hi all, first post here but i have a bit of a problem.  i have 2 12" kicker L5's in a ported box hooked up to a kicker zx 1500.1 and experiencing hard starts i'm running 4gauge power and ground wire. At my local audio shop he reccomended hooking up a separate battery in the trunk, but i've also heard running a heavier power and ground wire helps too, something like 0 gauge wire. or i've heard putting in a bigger alternator might help too. i'm still fairly new to the whole car audio world but if someone could reply the advantages and disadvantages and explain each it would be of great help.  also i'd be great if you could tell me what works best in terms of fixing this problem.  i got a battery test the other day and it checked out ok. also i'm drving a hyundia elantra hatchback and it has a 80 amp alternator.

thanks colin

-------------
livin loud

Why are you blaming your audio system for the vehicle "hard starting"? 

-------------
Support the12volt.com

You NEED a LARGER alternator. If the guy at the shop said this can be fixed by simply adding a 2nd battery I would start going to a new shop for advice. Your alt only puts out 80 amps. That amplifier is capable of drawing right at 150 amp. Adding a second battery to an already taxed alt is only going to make problems worse. Now it has a second battery to try and charge and its already can't keep the first one charged.

Doing the big 3 would help some. Doing it now would be a good thing. You will need it for a H/O alt but, with your current draw you are going to need an alt as well. Upgrading power wire would not be a bad thing in this case either. 4 gauge is only good for around 150 amps, which is fine. Going to 2 gauge or 0 would be ok but, it not going to fix the problem. But would allow you growth if you add mids and high amps.

-------------

thank you j.reed, now heres my next question for you the guy at the audio shop said if i go to a bigger power wire (2 or 0 guage) i'll have to re ground my battery? does this make any sense?

-------------
livin loud

kicker96 wrote:

---

thank you j.reed, now heres my next question for you the guy at the audio shop said if i go to a bigger power wire (2 or 0 guage) i'll have to re ground my battery? does this make any sense?

---

That will be takin car of with the big 3. But yes, ground is just as important as the power wire. ground needs to be of adequate guage to carry the return as compared to the power wire.

here is a link to the How to upgrade the big 3.
https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1

This is the first thing I would do along with ensuring you have a proper grounding spot.

Proper ground link
https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~49445~PN~1

-------------

Drive your car for a day without playing your system.  If it is still hard to start, the alternator is not your problem.

thank you all for the advice it's much appreiciated

-------------
livin loud