Thread: Dual Battery Setup - What do I need?

Gday Damo,

Talk to Tim (Drivesafe), on here.
I've installed one on my D2 Td5 (02 model) and got just about everything from Drivesafe (his company is Traxide).

You'll need a battery, i got a MRV48 Allrounder from Super Charge Batteries (they do an Aulro discount), about $120 I think.
Battery tray - ARB do a steel one for about $60.

Other than that you just need cabling, power outlet/socket and an isolator, as I said Tim can get you these.
His gear is fantastic, well priced, he's extremely helpful - and the instructions are brilliant.
For someone that's not "handy", it makes it very easy for a DIY installation.

Cheers

Forgot to mention, mine is mounted on the passenger side firewall, under the bonnet.
DO a search as well, there are heaps of install threads here too for D2's.

Hi Damo,

Previously had a D2 Td5. Same model year as your'n.

If I were doing it again I'd go for a kit built for the car you have. Most of the OEM equipment folk should have one with tray, solenoid, cables and the like specifically built for the D2.

So, check out the usual suspects. Folk Like ARB (my kit came from them), TJM, Opposite Lock, Piranha, and so on all generally have tailored kits.

While the whole lot is quite straight forward and well documented I chose to have the kit fitted by the ARB guys. This proved to be a wise decision in my case as it chewed it's way thru 2 Gel batteries before the problem was tracked back to an intermittent solenoid fault. All fixed/replaced under warranty. I think they've changed the supplier of this part anyway IIRC. Other installs I've seen have had a different part while all else looked the same.

Even if you fit it yourself you are still covered for gremlins like this. Defective parts are just that, installation is usually irrelevant (unless you screwed up and didn't follow the instructions) .

I could have put it all together myself. Am currently gathering the paraphernalia for a second battery install into the rear of my L322 RR. Nobody seems to make a kit for doing this and there are differing schools of thought on how anyway.

If you have a little skill you can do it yourself but I'd get a kit rather than the individual parts as it will most likely work out cheaper (unless you have some of the electrical cable and connectors just lying around at home).

A most important piece is the battery tray. You could fabricate your own but if someone else has already done the R&D go with that. It's part of most custom kits.

Anyway that's my 2c worth. Good luck with it.

Cheers,
Iain

Thanks for the info guys.

After doing a lot of looking through the copious dual battery threads, i think I have decided on mounting the battery on an ARB tray against the firewall.

So im not sure what battery would fit in the tray, but obviously i would like to get one that would be able to power a fridge for as long as possible.

I dont think the battery will need to be used as a back up starter, as it may be a bit too difficult with the larger wiring, and strain on the battery etc? Correct me if I am wrong!

So, basically, aside from the cabling, all i need is an isolator? Is it wise to have a monitor as well, and if so, how much are these worth?

Cheers again.

Hi,
I've just installed a SC80 dual battery isolator from DriveSafe with very little hassle.

The kit came complete with every thing I needed to connect it together and install it in a D130 cab chassis.
I had a couple of queries which Tim answered promptly and clearly by phone.
I looked at the major brands and decided that this kit suited my needs.
I was thinking about monitoring, but in my last vehicle I never looked at it except for perhaps checking with a Volt meter if I was a bit concerned about the battery.
cheers

Gday Austastar,

So when you order the SC80 does it come with all the cabling and whatnot? Or is that purchased separately?

Originally Posted by damo_s

Gday Austastar,

So when you order the SC80 does it come with all the cabling and whatnot? Or is that purchased separately?

I don't think Tim (Drivesafe) has an off the shelf kit for the D2 but he would supply everything you need. Might be best to give him a call and confirm. I have to call him as well, as I have emailed him a couple of times now with no reply so either he is away or having computer problems as he is usually pretty prompt (hint hint Tim) . I have his SC80 in my Disco and am getting another for the Defender.

Originally Posted by damo_s

Gday Austastar,
So when you order the SC80 does it come with all the cabling and whatnot? Or is that purchased separately?

Hi,
when I rang and was discussing what I wanted, Tim asked me how much cable I needed to run from the Defender battery to the Anderson plug I connect the Innovan (slide-on) in to.
He supplied the cable as I measured it, and the kit had nearly every thing I needed. I did have to get connectors for the + and - poles of the Defender battery, but I pinched them from the Headlight Kit I also bought from him.
Instructions came on a CD and were easy to read and understand.



The goods arrived the next day



This is what was in the box. I ordered the SC80 with 2m of HD cable, and the Defender combo headlight kit. Still to play with the headlight kit.



The cable was a bit thick for some of the connectors, so I peeled some of the strands back and tested the fit.



Trimmed of the excess with a small sharp pair of nippers



Fits.



I mounted the unit and a 50A Circuit Breaker on a piece of Aluminium as an interim measure, I'm not 100% sure where I want to put it in the battery compartment under the passenger's seat. For this reason, I earthed the SC80's green earth wire to the Aluminium and earthed the Aluminium to the Battery Negative.


The conduit for the Anderson plug came in to the battery compartment through a grommet in the back, and the wires connected to the battery.
The little light flashed telling me that the vehicle battery was connected to the unit but not the camper battery.
Started the vehicle and in a few seconds the light was steady, indicating the camper battery was now charging.

Very happy with the service from Tim (Drivesafe) and the product.

cheers