How do you run teh dual battery setup? I want a regualr battery adn then a deep cylcle to run my lights/stereo so I can run those w/out the truck running.

But I am not sure how to run the wires etc, to make the truck crank from teh regualr battery adn feed teh components while the truck is running, but when turned off the deep cell kick in and have the alternator charge it only when needed?

I know thsi can be done, just not sure how.

THanks

 

im not sure off the top of my head, but i think you need a battery isolator kit. as a side note, im talking out of my on this one, so just wait until someone who KNOWS tell you what to do

 

You need to get a battery isolator kit. Try Summit Racing
or Jegs

Pick one up and follow the directions. It's easy to do, just make sure you follow the directions so you don't blow up stuff in your truck.


Vic

 

A battery isolator is a great way to acomplish this however if you would rather save some money and have some control over the system, check out http://www.tombarcia.net/Truck/DualBatt/index.html for pics and a schematic of how I did mine. There's a switch on the dash that allows me to choose if the second battery connects when the ignition is on, never, or all of the time. That way, if I need to jumpstart off the second battery, I can do it from inside the cab. I'm useing something similar in my boat as well.

 

thanks Ill read it over

 

Yet another old thread I've dug up. So I can understand alot of this description for a dual battery setup, but alot of it is electronic garble to me; spdt relays wtf?! Anyone know of a how-to for dummies? I'm very mechanically inclined, just not up on the electronic terms. Thanks guys.

 

Or...you can do it the way that I KNOW 99% of PROFFESSIONAL (not swap shop/bb/circuit city) installers do...run the SAME exact battery in paralell. Works like a charm every time. I've done it to couple vehicles. One was a single cab ranger with the bat in the bed...another a double cab nissan pickup (hardbody) with the batt in the ext cab (ended up to be bad because of fumes)

But yes, you don't have to buy an isolator...it helps..don't get me wrong. I would strongly reccomend one. But you don't need one. Your alternator will not "die". It will put a larger strain on it...but that is easily fixed by a HO alt. After all...a stock alty is only big enough to power the truck...the lights dim when you press the window up button all the way Let alone a 1kw system.

If you doubt my statements...post what you said on a place like caraudio.com or ecoustics forums and get FLAMED

 

I don't doubt you at all, so you're saying I can just jump to another battery?

Stock Battery (-) --------->2nd Battery (+)??

That's what I was thinking because I was in fact looking at an alternator upgrade beforehand. a 170 possibly 200amp

 

Yeah, but if you jsut run two batteries in parallel, you put a big strain on your alternator when it's trying to charge them.

 

How powerful's your stereo? I have one optima yellowtop with a 2000watt (actual, not cheap a$$ audiobahn or something) system and it can run for a few hours and then start the truck up with no problem. I wouldn't worry about 2 batteries unless you have something ridiculous.

 

MOTHER OF GOD! NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Parallel is (+) to (+) and (-) to (-). Do NOT hook up + to -, that would be a series circuit and you would have yourself 24 volts and and a completely fried electrical system.

If you are going to hook up two identical batteries in parallel, which is the simplest dual battery system, there should not be any overly concerning load on your alternator. Your starter draws the same amount of current whether it is from one battery or two. The recharge load shouldn't dramaticly change with the addition of a second battery since each battery would only have 1/2 the drain.

If you go with an isolator, you are still going to be charging both batteries with the alternator so there is no functional difference there. The main advantage of the isolated system is you can have a deep cycle battery to run accessories with the engine off. This is a better way to power accessories and it will not draw down your regular battery used only for starting the truck.

You can also put a little bypass switch in there so if your regular battery dies, you can use the auxillary battery to start the truck.

 

Oh and btw a spdt relay means a Single Pole Double Throw relay. Here's alink to check out.

http://www.the12volt.com/relays/relays.asp

 

lol, good thing you i read this. my tax refund is about a week away so my projects are about two weeks away (after i convince my old lady =]). I'll be doing more research in the next week or so. just needed some reliable advice.

 

just get a yellow top, designed as a starting batt and a deep cycle, so it wont hurt it to be sucked dry every once in a while. it will be cheaper than 2 batts and the stuff to wire them up and keep em dry. warranty is will be better, and it will be much more resistant to the vibration of your system and the elements and temp.

 

If you run two batteries in parallel with no isolator all you get is extended running time with the engine off at the expense of one of the batteries. What I mean by this is that no two batteries are the same so one will always be stronger than the other and therefore will try to feed the weaker battery and put a strain on the stronger one. If you run your stereo and/or lights too long, you're still stuck except with two dead batteries instead of one.

When you isolate the batteries, it allows you to completely drain one without affecting the other thus you always have a charged battery. The way my truck is setup, the stock battery runs everything that came with the truck and the second battery runs my offroad lights, winch, and 2m radio. A switch on the dashboard allows me to switch stereo power from the stock battery to the auxilliary battery so when I go camping I can run the stereo, CB, 2m, and offroad lights all nite long and still start the truck in the morning. Alternatively, I could run the stereo and headlights all nite from the stock battery and use the auxilliary battery to start the engine the next day. To me, this is the best of all situations as it allows me to "jumpstart" myself by simply flipping a switch on the dashboard.

A relay is a switch that uses a low current signal to control a high current accessory. A SPDT relay is single pole/double throw. This means that there is one high current circuit (single pole) and that the circuit has both a normally closed (on) and normally open (off) outputs (double throw). Such a relay would have 5 terminals. What you will typically see with auxilliary lights is a SPST (single pole/single throw) relay which would only have a normally open (off) circuit. This type of relay would typically have 4 terminals but could have 5 if two of them are labeled 87.

 

I already have a yellow top!!! I had the (stock)stereo and my (small drain)mp3 player on and it died like two hours later. That's awful, I had the exact same battery running in my old escort and powered a competition strength deck/crossovers/mids/hi's/amps/2 subs for hours and hours on end. This damn truck, it must be the **** poor alternator. My escort had an 80 amp and it was an econo model with power nothing. My ranger is power everything with a **** ant 90 amp alternator. Way to go Ford!

I have alot of electronics in my truck. Off the top of my head a radar detector, mp3 player, cb, PIAA's, lcd. In a few weeks the strain on the battery is gonna get pretty bad once I install some future projects. It probably doesn't help that no matter what, my running lights and fog lights are on whenever the truck is running.

I need more power!

 

I don't think the truck has anything to do with the yellowtop dying. Was the yellowtop sitting for a while before you put it in the truck? I don't know why it would die? I have a yellowtop, for over a year, and have beaten it to death with my high-power stereo and lights, and never had a problem, I love it.

 

something was up with the battery, my stock battery lasts longer than that pushing my system an mp3 player and the brights on...

either that battery was bad from optima or it sat for 3+ weeks without a charge

most YT's should last 4 times what our stockers will pump.

and if thats not enough get a BT

 

take a look at the link below, I believe this may help you. I installed an isolator on one of my vehicles a few years ago to run a second battery to power my amps. I also used the optima yellow top and it worked great. I could drain the second battery to a low enough voltage to cause the amps to turn off, yet the original battery was still fully charged. I was dumb and used a way over priced isolator from the car stereo shop, it looked cool, but was twice the price of others that do the same thing. There are many different isolators that function slightly different. Some have remote switches and other add-ons available. Make sure you get one that has compleat isolation. Installation should be pretty simple, it should have 4 terminals. One is ground, one to each battery, and one from the alt.


http://www.off-road.com/chevy/reviews/hellroaring/