How long can you run audio off battery?

Hey I just want to know how long it is safe to play music with the truck not running. The reason is because I'm looking to use the Yukon as means for tailgating for the home games here at the University of South Carolina.

I see people doing it all the time, but is it safe to run your audio without the engine running? How fast will your battery drain? I know there's tons of variables, but I plan on just playing music everyone can enjoy (no rap, metal ect). I won't have it loud and certainly nothing bassy. Thanks for your input.

well i do it all the time with rap music, r&b, and blues with plenty of bass and volume, and it can go for maybe 2-3 hrs tops. instead of letting it run that long i just crank it up every 45mins or so or whenever i remember to. i have one of the big yellow everstart maxx batteries from walmart.($60) i put one on every vehicle ive owned.

I think I'm in the same boat as you because I have a new yellowtop also. I imagine it would last quite a while.

Depends on the current draw of the accessories and the reserve cap of the battery. The more current your accessories draw, the less the runtime. The lower the reserve cap, the less runtime also. Larger batteries will generally have higher reserve capacities.
The reserve capacity of a battery is the number of minutes that it can support a 25 ampere load at 80°F until voltage drops to 1.75 volts per cell or 10.50 volts for a 12V battery. Thus, a 12V battery that has a reserve capacity rating of 100 signifies that it can be discharged at 25 amps for 100 minutes before its voltage drops to 10.75 volts. Beyond this, the battery won't be able to supply enough voltage to start a typical engine.

riiigght. i dont know too much about voltage and stuff but on my yukon there is a feature that shuts off everything when the battery reaches a certain level so that it still has enough power to start up the engine. it also shuts off the headlights and accessories if i forget to leave them on for too long.

lilsolo68 said:

riiigght. i dont know too much about voltage and stuff but on my yukon there is a feature that shuts off everything when the battery reaches a certain level so that it still has enough power to start up the engine. it also shuts off the headlights and accessories if i forget to leave them on for too long.

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GM's battery saver feature isn't based on battery voltage. It shuts off lights and certain accessories after about 10 mins if left on without the key in the ign.

Thats right. If you leave your key turned then the feature wont stop you from killing your battery.

With the audio equipment in my signature i run about 1-2 hours max on my yellow top at about 1/2-3/5 volume considering its loud enough at that level. but ill be able to run even longer soon when i get another yellow top for under the hood and another in the back :yesnod:

Oh I should have no issues then. I'm running what's in my sig and later on I plan replacing my speakers with Type Rs and a RF T400.4