Geoff57 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Hi , I've had a request to post some photos of my dual battery set up. The brand is called "Piranha" as in the nasty fish. It is basically a pair of flat steel plates with the edges bent up and welded together along one side. A small bit of flat steel is welded on to the front fender side of the outside tray to pick up an existing earth bolt for mounting purposes. The unit fits on top of the battery tray and is secured by 3 countersunk bolts. 2 of the bolts use existing holes and the 3rd requires a hole to be drilled. The only other mounting requirement is to bend the existing rear holddown bracket down and out the way. I also had to remove a large electric cable securing bracket from behind the battery to get enough length for the earth terminal to reach. To reduce the amount of heat being transfered to the inner battery from the radiator return pipe, I fitted a aluminium heat shield. I also fitted one on the air cond filter/dryer. The charging of the second battery is controlled by a electronic unit that charges the starting battery first then begins to charge the second. When the engine is switched off the batteries are isolated. Mounting the control unit was a bit of a challenge but it just fitted behind the cruise control unit. The control unit squeezed into position Geoff Edited October 21, 2008 by Geoff57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixel41 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Nice setup man. Very crafty. Why two batteries though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Nice setup man. Very crafty. Why two batteries though? If you're in the middle of nowhere and you kill your main battery, you can use the second one to start the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff57 Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) If you're in the middle of nowhere and you kill your main battery, you can use the second one to start the engine. Yes its great having back up battery. I also use the extra capacity to run a portable 12volt Waeco fridge/freezer unit. These units use a compressor system and are very efficient but they will flatten a battery after 2 to 3 days unless you do a reasonable long drive each day. The second battery is a AGM type deep cycle which have the advantage of being able to be recharged quickly and can drop to lower voltages without internal degrading. It powers the fridge only and I run the 12 volt lights of the main battery. My next thing to buy on the list is a solar power charging setup to help reduce the need to run the vehicle at all. There is some good, down to earth information available about battery types, solar set ups and lots more at www.fridge-and-solar.net Click on the boxes at the top for information on the items and use the various links in the text for detailed info Geoff Edited October 21, 2008 by Geoff57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Wow, kudos to ya'll down under! That solar panel stuff is an incredible idea! I would have never thought of that. Seriously, that would be a handy system to have virtually anytime. Holy wow is all I can say. BTW Geoff, that dual battery set-up on your Terrano is definitely badass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 (edited) Yes its great having back up battery. I also use the extra capacity to run a portable 12volt Waeco fridge/freezer unit. Cool, I use my Pathy for the same purpose! I have a Waeco cooler as well. It's great for extended camping trips where there is no access to ice! All of my Pathy's electrical systems are powered via the main battery, and the use of the cooler has drained the main battery during multiday camping trips before. A couple of years ago I installed a dual-battery setup to prevent this from happening again. The second battery is ONLY an emergency backup battery for starting the truck and is normally completely isolated from the rest of the electrical system. I use a Hellroaring battery isolator/combiner, and I have mounted a switch on the dash which connects the backup battery to the main battery to provide enough juice to start the truck. The battery isolator is mounted to the strut tower underneath the fuse/relay box Because I use the small Odyssey battery as my backup, I was able to use the stock battery tie-down points. Here's my setup: Edited October 22, 2008 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 OMG, That's brilliant!! *has had a dead pathy b/c of the fridge* Instead we use a dual pathy set up. Fridge goes in Simon's truck... and we can use mine to boost it. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff57 Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 The second battery is ONLY an emergency backup battery for starting the truck and is normally completely isolated from the rest of the electrical system. I use a Hellroaring battery isolator/combiner, and I have mounted a switch on the dash which connects the backup battery to the main battery to provide enough juice to start the truck. The battery isolator is mounted to the strut tower underneath the fuse/relay box I can feed the fridge from the main battery using a voltage cutout relay that isolates the main battery when its voltage goes below 10.7volts. I can turn this feed on via a switch on the dash. This way the fridge draws from the combined capacity of both batteries but the main is protected from discharging to low. I also figure the low voltage cut out function in the Waeco fridge should provide further back up protection for the main battery as well. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Dean, your set up is killer and doesn't require much space. I like that Where did you find a battery like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Dean, your set up is killer and doesn't require much space. I like that Where did you find a battery like that? I bought the battery here. Alternatively, you can search google for "Odyssey battery". Manufacturer's website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexrex20 Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 a bit off topic, but dean, do you have pics of your interior switches for your lockers/compressor and any other doodads you have fitted? i'm having a hard time deciding where i want to install my gadgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 a bit off topic, but dean, do you have pics of your interior switches for your lockers/compressor and any other doodads you have fitted? i'm having a hard time deciding where i want to install my gadgets. i know there are plenty of places to throw in switches down next to the cigarette lighter, even with heated seats I think I have 3 or 4 plus the blank one up by the dimmer control... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 i know there are plenty of places to throw in switches down next to the cigarette lighter, even with heated seats I think I have 3 or 4 plus the blank one up by the dimmer control... I don't have any pics handy at the moment, but here's how I have my switches: 4 switches above coin tray (lower left dash): UL:Toggle on/off roof lights UR:Cruise Control LL:Dash/Instrument Panel Dimmer LR:HID Headlamp horizontal adjustment dial (Note: I disconnected the "security" flashing LED socket from this section to make room for the HID adjustment dial.) Between the switch panel described above and the steering wheel tilt adjustment lever: IPF mouse-style switch (adhered with 2-sided tape) 5 switches on the lower center dash (below radio), left-to-right: Rear wiper Driver's seat heater Passenger's seat heater Two-way switch to rotate undercarriage camera left/right Aux battery connect/disconnect (Cig Lighter) 3 switches in front of the A/T gear selector lever, left-to-right: ARB air compressor Rear ARB locker Front ARB locker NOTE: not all model years have the same switch blank configuration as my '97. Later model years may have changed the orientation and/or number of switch blanks available to install aux switches. I think later model years don't have the three switch blanks in front of the AT shifter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver123 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 (edited) I went a slightly different route as far as where i put the second battery seeing as the engine compartment is already crowded enough, so i put the second battery in the cargo area in the back. I have a web page about it for anyone planning to do this and is looking for more info http://www.bcitoffroad.ca/BCIT%20OFF-ROAD%...%20Battery.html Edited December 9, 2008 by daver123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zibi Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 I went a slightly different route as far as where i put the second battery seeing as the engine compartment is already crowded enough, so i put the second battery in the cargo area in the back. I have a web page about it for anyone planning to do this and is looking for more info http://www.bcitoffroad.ca/BCIT%20OFF-ROAD%...%20Battery.html offtopic but I was wondering whoes pathy that was parked outside BCIT last spring. My brother was in the robotics program and I saw it a couple times when I stopped by to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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