hooking another battery

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Jay22

Copper - Posts: 73

Joined: April 27, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: May 15, 2005 at 12:53 PM / IP Logged

Ok I am gonna run 0awg off the stock battery.

Now can i run a the 0awg to a dist. block and off the block run another 0awg to the extra battery and another 0awg to the cap then also of the dist block run 0awg to a fused dist.block to the amp?

Sounds confusing but basic. I dont see why I couldnt but wanted to make sure.

Jay

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Joined: November 01, 2003

Location: Alberta, Canada

Posted: May 15, 2005 at 6:48 PM / IP Logged

Jay, yes you can provided that you do this. You actually need two fuses on the main power line between the front battery and the back battery. This is to protect the vehicle and it's contents in the case of a short in the power line caused by whatever reason. Most people automatically know that they must fuse the power line at the front because they don't want the line to catch fire in the event of a short. Once a second battery is added in the rear, you must now also fuse it within 18" of that battery as well.

Next you need a battery isolator. Depending on the draw of the system, the isolator keep the primary battery charged and for lack of better words, dumps reserve charge into the rear battery. This ensures that the primary starting battery always has current to start and operate the vehicle. The next thing that is does is once power is turned off, it uncouples the rear battery and prevents the two batteries from "talking to each other". A strong new battery will be damaged by a weak old battery, so unless you want to be replacing batteries on a regular basis, a isolator is a must. They are made by all kinds of companies like Scosche and Stinger for example. It is a must have in a multi battery system.

Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

Jay22

Copper - Posts: 73

Joined: April 27, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: May 16, 2005 at 12:29 PM / IP Logged

The amp that I am hooking up is a US Amps VLX-400, so it will have tons of current draw!

The guy that had this system b4 didnt have anything just a fuse on the main power then ran straight to another battery and cap then to the amp. He also was a stereo guy that knew what he was doing (since he owned a small car audio business) so why did he do what u said?? (not saying that i disagree)

So at the moment i have the 0awg power and one fuse holder can I have a list of other stuff that I will need other than the battery and cap and an approx price range.

thanks jay

Jay22

Copper - Posts: 73

Joined: April 27, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: May 16, 2005 at 1:03 PM / IP Logged

Ok I found a Isolator on ebay made by Stinger the biggest they had is the sr200 200amp...will that be good for my system or should i get a bigger/or smaller one????

Are Isolators like fuses and are rated like at 200% or whatever that is???

Thanks Jay

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Platinum - Posts: 5,352

Joined: November 01, 2003

Location: Alberta, Canada

Posted: May 16, 2005 at 1:16 PM / IP Logged

Jay, yes the Stinger item you mentioned is the one for the job. I just ordered two of those myself. An isolator is not like a fuse. A fuse is a safety protection device. A isolator keeps two things apart. Now then about that fuse holder. Let's say that you have only one fuse on that power line and it is at the front of the car within 18" of the battery. Let's say that you get t-boned in an intersection and the main power wire gets pinched. Of course you think that the front fuse is going to blow and protect the vehicle from the short circuit in that pinched power wire.....but what about the rear battery that is now seeing a dead short.....instant car fire. Fuse the rear battery just like you would the front.

Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

jeffchilcott

Platinum - Posts: 2,483

Joined: April 11, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: May 16, 2005 at 4:50 PM / IP Logged

i am hoping you are planning on upgradding your alternator somewhere in all of this right? if not then you will just be stressing the factory alternator even harder by adding another battery and cap to charge

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Jay22

Copper - Posts: 73

Joined: April 27, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: May 16, 2005 at 9:15 PM / IP Logged

For the alternator my buddy said he kept his stock one no problems 95 amp, but I am gonna bring my stock one in and get it respun and rebuilt to put out alot more amps.

Jay

jeffchilcott

Platinum - Posts: 2,483

Joined: April 11, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: May 16, 2005 at 11:16 PM / IP Logged

good call, when drawing that much current the alternator might last for awhile but in the long run it could fail.

2009 0-1000 Trunk WR 154.0DB 2009 1001+ Trunk WR

2007 USACI World Champion

2007 World Record

2006 USACI Finals 2nd Place

draggindakota

Member - Posts: 4

Joined: October 19, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: May 17, 2005 at 8:16 AM / IP Logged

What would you guy recommend for a good size alternator? I upgraded my stock 80 amp to the larger stock 120 amp already. I'm thinking about adding a second battery for my amps and my 2 compressors. Would the 120 amp be ok?

Jay22

Copper - Posts: 73

Joined: April 27, 2004

Location: Canada

Posted: May 18, 2005 at 10:40 PM / IP Logged

OK I found this one locally will this work fine???

alot easier and cheaper than ebay one!

Thanks Jay

Battery Isolator

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Electrical Accessories : Batteries (Car)

Description

Handles up to 16.5 volts without a problem. Also handles 200 amps continuous and 300 amp surges. Switching may be setup to operate manually or automatically. A must for multi-battery systems, allows for longer battery life and control over which battery is being used.

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hooking another battery

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