How many accessories can I add until my battery explodes?

Hello all,

I recently installed some Cali Raised LED Ditch lights and they're great. According the the website, they draw 2 Amps.

I also recently purchased a Prinsu CabRack, and I purchased it with a 40" light bar cut out, so I do plan to install a 40" light bar that will also most likely be a Cali Raised LED light bar, or something cheaper as a filler for the time being. The website for the Cali Raised 42" light bar states 200 Watts.

No clue on converting watts to amps, or the voltage of either products.

Both of those products are/will be wired with the Cali Raised Wiring Harness that includes hook ups to the battery and fuse relay boxes.

Those are the only dedicated electrical accessories I plan to install for the time being. The only other accessory I plan to get that will directly involve battery use is a

$91 Viair 88P Portable Compressor Kit (12V, 120 Psi, Forup to 33" Tires)

Viair 88P portable air compressor, that will only be hooked up to the battery as needed, and the vehicle will be running during use.

Can my stock 2018 Tacoma battery handle all this? At what point do I need to upgrade... stuff? I've seen 'Big 3' upgrades, dual batteries, dedicated fuse boxes, etc. on here and I have no clue what any of that means, even after reading it all.

 

You’ll be fine, I’m running 4 Squadron Sports, a 15” OnX6, a pair of S2 floods out back and a 38” fleabay bar up top on my rack. Still have two more pods to wire up, and I’ll be installing a Viair OBA kit here soon. I’m still on the 3 year old factory battery. Will upgrade when it dies. All my lights run off relays, and I’ve had them all on for a while more than once.

 

Your alternator runs everything when the engine is running. The main function of the battery is for starting the truck.

 

Watts=Amps*Voltage

 

Or

Watts/volts= amp

OP,

The alternator should be able to handle it. I believe the tow packages came with a better alternator but don’t quote me.

Fuse boxes and the like help clean up the wiring so you don’t have a web of wires all over the battery. To help clean up wiring you can look into a power tray.

 

Food for thought. If you're not using on board air for lockers , it's nice to have a portable compressor for airing up.

 

It’s about 14 amps with the engine running, about the same as running halogen low beams and fogs at the same time. It’s a lot for LEDs. Are you trying to light up a new moon? Lol, I can’t imagine how bright that would be

 

This is no problem, i have a spod/secondary fuse box hooked to my truck running 6 led pod lights 20” lightbar ,52” lightbar and a winch. No issues yet. Just need to upgrade my battery due to when running the winch all the lights etc flicker drawing too much power.

 

As others have pointed out V * A = W

So with simple algebra you can always calculate one unknown easily.

And if connected directly to your vehicle system (not through an AC inverter), V will always = 12 (DC)

So if you know either A or W, now you can calculate the other.

 

As others have stated it is the alternator amperage capacity that matters not the battery size.

If the alternator is running full field all the time it will wear out the bearings faster. Get a multimeter and check your battery voltage with the engine running and all of your loads on. If it drops below 12.6 you are draining your battery. Note that the alternator can't put out full load at idle so try it again at 2,000 rpm.

All 3rd gens with an automatic have 130 amp alternators. If you have a MT then only the towing package trucks have 130.

 

Besides what everyone else has said, if you are talking the sock battery, that's one weak point in the truck. Mine was replaced under warranty and the one I have now has corrosion everywhere. I'm probably going to replace it with something else.