[ohhyer]

gday all what do you blokes do when you want to but larger battery's in your sierra as if you go larger and still keep them located in engine bay the arc out on the bonnet i was thinking of doing a bit of cutting or even trying to lacted some where else so i just thought i would ask the question here b4 i did lol!! cheers!

[joel]

ive got a dual bttery setup under mine without a drama. you can fit a pretty big battery just by changing the tray a bit.
but it wont help run more auxillaries as the alternator is 45amp and will still struggle to charge it up woth everything on.
ie. when i run high beam, spotties thermo fan cd player and windscreen wipers for about 30minutes, i flattern the battery,

whats you objective for upgrading to a big battery?

[ohhyer]

i want to run a engel over night and also lights when camping,and also putting on a few hids in the future!

[neofitou]

Lots of people do move the battery to the back of the car, under seats, or in housings under the tray, and always on the passenger side to combat lean.

Putting a second battery might be the way to go for you.

[joel]

than you definetly need a dual battery setuop with an isolator, or you run the risk of draining your start battery, and if that happens you arent going anywhere.... but you will have a cold fridge for a bit....

also like i mentioned before, you will ned to upgrade your alternator to cope with the amp draw that will result freom all the above mentioned items, even when travelling the little 45 amp sierra alternator wont cope trying to keep charge to the battery and you will drive along and notice that you lights get dimmer and what no till .... no power (happened to me sat night) you have 2 options
option 1, 110amp falcon alt
http://auszookers.com/index.php?name=Fo ... pic&t=5529
option 2 (remember to get the bracket so it will fit):
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.ph ... acket.html

the other option is
run a dual batt setup with isolator, isolate the spare battery and run the fridge off that so you dont run down the start battery, than just flick your isolator switch while driving and you will "charge'both batteries, but its not ideal with the little sierra alt.
i can upload some pics to better explain it if you need.

[ohhyer]

Yer that would be great joel the pics would be easyer to understand and also can this upgrade be done to a g13b?

[joel]

sierra g13ba?
or you in a jimny or have you done a conversion to make your sierra efi?
pics comming.

[Gwagensteve]

Yes. IMHO the 110A alternator upgrade is a necessity.

A D34 Optima battery fits in the stock location with some adjustment of the bracket and a new tie down.

However, I'm no fan of the stock battery location on a Sierra - it's too high and on the wrong side of the car to balance the sierra lean. Adding a second battery on the passenger's side isn't the best spot due to exhaust heat. Adding weight over the top of the tyres is never a great idea.

Personally, I'd run the batteries either behind the seats ( if you want two batteries of the same size) or run the smallest/lightest battery you can in the stock spot for starting and a larger deep cycle battery under or behind the passenger seat.

Steve.

[joel]

the big red wire on the fire wall is the dual batt setup, note, i have added an isoloater in the middle of it now.
the batt on the left is the start up batt, and runs the cars electrics (lights wipers cd etc etc)
whiled the big boy on the right is the auxillary batt that is going to run a fridge, worklight etc etc.

but saturday night, while taking the wife for a wet season drive out bush, i had the hids, cd, wipers, high beam and thermo fan running and flatterned the small batt v(now its farked, to many times flat and its old) no big deal, just put the key in the isolator and turned it so the auxillary battery is now in the main circuit and started up, good to go.

things to remember are, doing this still wont help, as the power im using is greater than the power the alternator can generate, so to avoid 2 dead batteries i had to turn off the cd and either turn off the hids or wipers, depending on how heavy it was raining.
so if you plan to run bulk electric shit, run a dual setup and add all the extra stuff to the aux battaery (like fridge) and have an isolator so you never run down your start battery out bush, and to have it all work well, upgrade the alternator.

[joel]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Yes. IMHO the 110A alternator upgrade is a necessity.

A D34 Optima battery fits in the stock location with some adjustment of the bracket and a new tie down.

However, I'm no fan of the stock battery location on a Sierra - it's too high and on the wrong side of the car to balance the sierra lean. Adding a second battery on the passenger's side isn't the best spot due to exhaust heat. Adding weight over the top of the tyres is never a great idea.

Personally, I'd run the batteries either behind the seats ( if you want two batteries of the same size) or run the smallest/lightest battery you can in the stock spot for starting and a larger deep cycle battery under or behind the passenger seat.



Steve.

im not a fan of batteries in the cab, what about in a battery box holder behing the cab inbetween/under the tray?(just planning for my re build next year)

[Gwagensteve]

I would never advocate anything other than a non-spillable battery in the cab. Optimas are fine though.

It is possible to build a lidded, sealed box that vents to outside the car and still fit it under the passenger seat.

My optima is on my rear coil crossmember, but it *might* be getting moved. I'm getting all obsessed about COG at the moment, but yes, your idea is sound for a tray back.

Steve.

[steak_knife]

Gwagensteve wrote:

I would never advocate anything other than a non-spillable battery in the cab. Optimas are fine though.

It is possible to build a lidded, sealed box that vents to outside the car and still fit it under the passenger seat.

My optima is on my rear coil crossmember, but it *might* be getting moved. I'm getting all obsessed about COG at the moment, but yes, your idea is sound for a tray back.

Steve.

Ditto!!!!!!!

[ohhyer]

yer sorry g13ba same as your engine joel ok cool went to wreckers today to get a el alternator but had none so will look in the paper for people selling stuff off there wrecks! was looking at the optimas as i know a bloke who owns battery world here locally i will put it in the same spot as joels i just was sceptical as to think a large battery was going to fit on the passenger side!! ok thank you all for your help i will put a picture up and info afetr i finish the prodject thanks again!!

[youda]

probaly something to note:
If you run different sized batteries and they are connected while not being charged the larger of the two batteries will always try to "charge" the other and will shorten the life of both your batteries. This is one area where you should try to make sure that they are isolated unless charging which is trickier than it sounds as some people use the acceries wire in their car. why is this a problem? think of all the times you sit in your car listening to the radio without the car running and so on and so forth. If going for a simple setup i would use the "on" position to minimise this time.
I know people will say they have run theirs for ages without problems i will leave it at giving your batteries the best chance at long life.

[whincup]

youda wrote:

probaly something to note:
If you run different sized batteries and they are connected while not being charged the larger of the two batteries will always try to "charge" the other and will shorten the life of both your batteries. This is one area where you should try to make sure that they are isolated unless charging which is trickier than it sounds as some people use the acceries wire in their car. why is this a problem? think of all the times you sit in your car listening to the radio without the car running and so on and so forth. If going for a simple setup i would use the "on" position to minimise this time.
I know people will say they have run theirs for ages without problems i will leave it at giving your batteries the best chance at long life.

thats interesting, i thought it was the difference in volts (not amps) that batteries tried to "share"... but im no sparky by any means. learn something new everyday

[youda]

Yeah i wasnt sure either, im an army mechanic by trade and before i started planning my own dual batteries setup I raided the brains of our auto sparkies for any possible problems things to look out for. Our auto sparky is almost at retireing age and I braced myself for two hours of earbashing and was not disapointed. did learn an awful lot though.

[got_bar_work]

Any thing u want to run with the car off run to the second battery
Connect the battery to the starting battery via a isolator
u can use a nice auto one like a redarc one
Or just use a solenoid that is connected to the ign wire via a switch on the dash
When the batt is flat and u want to start the car u just turn the switch off for a min till the car starts and the other battery settles down the connect the flat aux one again to charge
I ran my Sierra like this for years
As for the battery I would only ever use sealed batt in 4x4
Wet sells leak every where
Enersys make great batteries if u can afford them
I have two extreams in my car . A 18ah & 35 ah and the combined cca is 1140A there pretty small and light as well

[Gwagensteve]

got_bar_work wrote:

A 18ah & 35 ah and the combined cca is 1140A there pretty small and light as well

A) That's not a lot oh Ah - 53 Ah is less than a single D34 Optima.

B) Adding both batteries CCA together is cool in theory but you have to get all that CCA through an isolator before it can get to the starter motor. I'd be surprised if you can push 700A+ though an isolator.

I'm not having a go - it sounds like you have a good (and light) dual battery setup, but the numbers might not be all they look to be on the surface.

Steve.

[joel]

youda wrote:

probaly something to note:
If you run different sized batteries and they are connected while not being charged the larger of the two batteries will always try to "charge" the other and will shorten the life of both your batteries. This is one area where you should try to make sure that they are isolated unless charging which is trickier than it sounds as some people use the acceries wire in their car. why is this a problem? think of all the times you sit in your car listening to the radio without the car running and so on and so forth. If going for a simple setup i would use the "on" position to minimise this time.
I know people will say they have run theirs for ages without problems i will leave it at giving your batteries the best chance at long life.

this is correct from what i know as well, thats why i have an isolator, so the only time the second battery is in the circuit is when its charging.
also other things to consider, my isolator is under the bonnet on the for wall (a PITA flick on and off, as i have to stop and pop the bonnet)
so either dont be lazy like i was, wire it in so its in the cab, or get an auto one like mentioned above!

[shakes]

whincup wrote:

youda wrote:

probaly something to note:
If you run different sized batteries and they are connected while not being charged the larger of the two batteries will always try to "charge" the other and will shorten the life of both your batteries. This is one area where you should try to make sure that they are isolated unless charging which is trickier than it sounds as some people use the acceries wire in their car. why is this a problem? think of all the times you sit in your car listening to the radio without the car running and so on and so forth. If going for a simple setup i would use the "on" position to minimise this time.
I know people will say they have run theirs for ages without problems i will leave it at giving your batteries the best chance at long life.

thats interesting, i thought it was the difference in volts (not amps) that batteries tried to "share"... but im no sparky by any means. learn something new everyday

I thought They tried to 'equalize' their charge. So if one battery is full. They will both end up at half charge after a while? I don't under stand electrics so I am probably way off.

[youda]

I thought They tried to 'equalize' their charge. So if one battery is full. They will both end up at half charge after a while? I don't under stand electrics so I am probably way off.[/quote]

If you had two equally sized batteries this is true

[got_bar_work]

My vit don't have a isolator it just has a big ass switch on the dash that I can select batt 1 or batt 2 or both or all off . Its wired up in 50mm cable
The most I'm ever going to need is 400a for the winch at full load so together there more the enough. Never seen the amps higher the 150 any time .
The stupid air intake on the vit stoped me going a bigger aux batt . That and I have a 160ah in the camper

[Microwire]

Jsut do an alt upgrade and dual batts, I 'upgraded' my alt to the swift gti one they put out a massive 55a instead of the tiny 45a

[got_bar_work]

Mine are 28ah and 42 ah sorry

[mnemonix]

joel wrote:

im not a fan of batteries in the cab, what about in a battery box holder behing the cab inbetween/under the tray?[/b](just planning for my re build next year)

This is what I've done with my maruti. A D34 in the stock location for cranking, then a dual battery controller running to a Ballistic Fab battery tray that holds 2 x Optima D34's.
Mounted upside down under my tray/behind the cab, with a perspex splash panel to keep general mud etc away.

Means they're easy to access when I need to work on (lay under the car), but down low in an otherwise wasted space.
Enough to run my fridge for a week without starting the car.

[youda]

I am thinking of running some sort of 650+cca batery as my starting battery (to make it winch compatable) and a 60ah battery as an auxillery. Keeping in mind i dont run a fridge its more to run a camping light into the wee hours and to have the radio going. also the air compressor for the tyres when need be.
I spent a heap on a 41litre evacool esky that holds ice for round about 4-5days even in direct sunlight. For what i do it seemed a better investment than a fridge and took considerable potential load off my electrical system.

[Bugsta]

Soon after I bought my Jim, I installed an AGM. I put in the biggest that would fit. In fact, it fits the OEM tray snuggly where the OEM battery left space.

I have run my 40L Engel overnight on many occasions and starts up at full revs the next day. I have also run phone chargers overnight and radio and LED camping lights for parts of the night.

I have also run my Warn m8000 winch at full pull with no dramas with engine on and off.

I do agree that with a larger battery, upgraded due to higher power demand, requires a higher current charging system. However, unless you are running these things flat out all at the same time for long durations, and perhaps with engine stopped, its secondary to the battery capacity and capability.

Part of the benefits of an AGM is that firstly, they can be deep cycled, meaning you can discharge them further resulting in 2 things - 1. More usable capacity and 2. No effect on battery life or performance. The other is that you can fully charge them, again resulting in more usable capacity!

All of this unlike lead acid chemistry.

I also believe in a good quality charger. Take your $50 arlec and bin it. They will get you out of strife if you did flatten your battery but they will not recondition and fully charge like a decent one. The Ctek's seem to be quite good. There are others such as Projecta. You are looking for multi stage! A decent Auto Electrician will be able to steer you in the right direction.

[Bugsta]

got_bar_work wrote:

My vit don't have a isolator it just has a big ass switch on the dash that I can select batt 1 or batt 2 or both or all off . Its wired up in 50mm cable
The most I'm ever going to need is 400a for the winch at full load so together there more the enough. Never seen the amps higher the 150 any time .
The stupid air intake on the vit stoped me going a bigger aux batt . That and I have a 160ah in the camper

Holy COW
What are you planning to run... The Taronga Park Zoo???

[Moag]

[flash width=480 height=385]http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/qcvmvrmTMMk.swf[/flash]

[royce]

joel wrote:

youda wrote:

probaly something to note:
If you run different sized batteries and they are connected while not being charged the larger of the two batteries will always try to "charge" the other and will shorten the life of both your batteries. This is one area where you should try to make sure that they are isolated unless charging which is trickier than it sounds as some people use the acceries wire in their car. why is this a problem? think of all the times you sit in your car listening to the radio without the car running and so on and so forth. If going for a simple setup i would use the "on" position to minimise this time.
I know people will say they have run theirs for ages without problems i will leave it at giving your batteries the best chance at long life.

this is correct from what i know as well, thats why i have an isolator, so the only time the second battery is in the circuit is when its charging.
also other things to consider, my isolator is under the bonnet on the for wall (a PITA flick on and off, as i have to stop and pop the bonnet)
so either dont be lazy like i was, wire it in so its in the cab, or get an auto one like mentioned above!

No it doesnt, batteries will equalise voltage, doesnt matter a pinch of shit what their capacity is, they all rest at teh same voltage.

I know this cause I have a 7ahr and 80ahr joined all the time and its big one isnt flat and the little one doesnt glow in the dark

If you have a battery that is buggered and wont hold 100% charge, then all batteries will discharge to the level it can hold