inqydesu Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I am looking to switch to a dual battery setup. I am in the process of installing a minicomputer in the armrest (gotta love the minitx form factor) with a DC DC connection and don't want the battery to go dead too soon. I am curious if any NPORA members have done this allready (88 has i am pretty sure) and how they did it. I am curious as to 1) Location of the battery. It seems like in most trucks the batteries are both put under the hood - tho I have seen some in the back (primarily for audio use) and I saw one guy who relocated the batteries to the underside of the truck in a custom battery tray. 2) Types of battery - 1 reg, and 1 deep cycle, 2 starting etc 3) Hookup - use of isolator switch, hooked up in parallel, diode/solenoid etc I know questions 2 and 3 are related, but any info or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Mine are set up with an Optima red-top in front and a deep-cycle broadband gel-cell sealed storage battery in the rear hooked up to the stereo amp wiring. There's an isolator in the engine compartment that the alternator feeds through to both batteries. I screwed a bracket to the floor through the carpet in the rear, then mounted a battery box with standard tiedowns attached to the bracket and the stock tiedown bracket on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 mine is setup via 'redarc' duel battery controller, still considering a larg diode but havent really needed it. the controller does a pretty good job the two batteries sit either side of the engine bay. i had to move stuff around to get them to fit but it turned out pretty cool. as for what you need, what do you wanna do? i have one start battery and one deep cycle battery (thats gonna change soon tho.... 2 start batteries up front and the deep cycle in the back) a rule of thumb: deep cycles like slow discharge (small amps) for a long time. large discharge kills them quickly start batteries like the big discharge and constant use (ie starting and all your accessories) but they cant handle a small discharge over a long time, if they go flat from this it will porbably kill them. i use my deep cycle for a 3 way fridge (and thats it) and havent seem to have any problems yet. however you need to be careful with charging deep cycles they also dont like high re charge or over charging check the tech specs of the ones you are looking at and decide from there. youve mentioned a dc to dc connection are you planning on 24v's? if you are you are corect batteries can die quickly if not done correct. if i wanted to go 24v (thought bout it but no dont need it) i would use a dc to dc supply from redarc. the one the do is pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inqydesu Posted June 25, 2004 Author Share Posted June 25, 2004 Not planning on 24 v - as I want to run a Computer using a dcdc power supply with a startup/shutdown controller (avoid nasty spikes and drops when the car starts). from what I understand those take max approx 14v. I might have mistyped earlier. I am putting in a minitx form factor (approx 6x7 inches - just small enough to fit in the arm rest) computer and wanted to have the cleanness of a straight dc PS - rather than getting a 12v-110v inverter and then a traditional PS that converts 110 to 12v. It sounds like a regular/deep cycle is the way to go for me. I want to be able to run the computer and potentially dvd system for a little while after the car shuts off so that would work the best. Any problems mounting the car underneath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 deep cycle will be ok aslong as the load isnt more than what the specs say is ok i would recomend instead off underneith the vehicle get one of those battery boxes and mount it in the back inside the vehicle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 deep cycle will be ok aslong as the load isnt more than what the specs say is ok i would recomend instead off underneith the vehicle get one of those battery boxes and mount it in the back inside the vehicle Yeah, it should be ok. Also, I ran an RV battery in my 85 Nissan truck for a couple years with no problems. Just tood a hammer and Sawz-All to *help* with the install. Had the same 1000 Alpine amp, along with another, and some lights, and I could drive that stereo for hours and hours and still fire it up to get home. Another thought if you don't care about weight in your truck. My dad runs a starting battery along with 2 6volt golf cart batteries wired together in the boat (28' cabin cruiser). They're pretty big, but they seriously last forever. We'll go out for days at a time with a pretty decent system in the boat, along with all the doo-dads, and have no problems at all. They even go on several-week road trips (just got back from lake hopping through OR and CA) and just bring along a charger, just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 what are you using the computer for? ive heard of ppl puting computers in their car and going around mapping internect acess points (Startbucks ect) and seting up a computer to play all formats of music in their car using a wireless network card to move music from computer to computer. im just curoius and thought id ask why. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 what are you using the computer for? ive heard of ppl puting computers in their car and going around mapping internect acess points (Startbucks ect) and seting up a computer to play all formats of music in their car using a wireless network card to move music from computer to computer. im just curoius and thought id ask why. :confused: Um, or sharing songs and files somewhat annonymously. Or maybe just working and talking online? It happens... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inqydesu Posted June 25, 2004 Author Share Posted June 25, 2004 Illegal... Uh Music is one of the purposes, also other entertainment options (dvd, older games etc). I am also planning on including GPS with mapping programs, wireless internet (still looking for a provider), as well as potentially engine management/tracking (if this is possible) and the wow factor. I thought about adding an MP3 hd (like the kenwood keg) but for about the same price (with a little extra labor) I can get a full blown car copmuter, the only down side is I haveto then purchase a LCD monitor. I wonder what a 19" flat screen would look like mounted on the hood .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 lol ive seen somethin similar. some guy used a 17" laptop screen and a swivel mount arm. pretty nice set up, he used a ATX form factor board and a super thin keyboard and optical mouse mounted in the glove box. nifity little toyota. hey 88 what kinda isolator you got? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 A generic auto part store dual battery isolator. *shrug* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flnl Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 Yesterday I've been working till 20 PM... when I left my work, the battery was almost killed, I forgot the lights on (don't know the name, that intermediate position between the head lights switched off and on, that only the corner lights are on)... and had to wait more than 30 minutes for someone to help me. Wish I had two batteries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flnl Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 Yesterday I've been working till 20 PM... Oh... sorry.... I mean 8 PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 Can any of you guys show a photo of how you have the two batteries placed ? THANKS --glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 Front one in stock location, rear one in the back bolted to the floor in a plastic battery box. Not much to see, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inqydesu Posted June 26, 2004 Author Share Posted June 26, 2004 Yesterday I've been working till 20 PM... when I left my work, the battery was almost killed, I forgot the lights on (don't know the name, that intermediate position between the head lights switched off and on, that only the corner lights are on)... and had to wait more than 30 minutes for someone to help me. Wish I had two batteries... That is the other part of the motivation. It doesn't happen much anymore put when i first got my pathy i was constantly leaving the lights on. I would leave early (5-6a) when it was dark, or have to drive in snow and rain, but would forget to turn them off when i got to work, and since there wasn't an alarm or ding sound I had to have my battery jumped like 8 times in a month. I tried to put in an alrm, but the product didn't work, and it screwed up my fuse board (had to rebend the clips that hold the fuses in) Argh.. Anyone remember the site ultimatesuv.com, a guy named eli darland had a pretty tricked Pathfinder, but it looks like the site has gone down. I was trying to find it because he had pictures of his battery set up that was pretty trick. It was a custom box mounted up in the frame rails (underneath the rear seat). I had thought about that as an option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Can any of you guys show a photo of how you have the two batteries placed ? THANKS --glenn one battery in the stock spot ant the other one on the other side of the engine bay, where the air box used to be. to get mine to fit i got: custom air conditioner pipes moved coil packs moved charcoal canister moved air box moved window washer resivior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flnl Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 That is the other part of the motivation. It doesn't happen much anymore put when i first got my pathy i was constantly leaving the lights on. It would be better if my Path turns off the head lights when she's off instead of the radio... I hate having to put the keys on the ignition to hear the radio and hearing that "pin pin pin" sound just because I want the doors open to listen to the music! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Here's a pic of my rear battery, etc. Looks messy, but all the cables are secured and nothing moves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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