D2 Dual Battery Setup

**Fluids** · 3rd November 2011, 04:33 PM

Kev,

Once again, can't thank you enough

So, i have contacted UP and now i have worked out where the differences lay between your two setups

He didn't remove the lip on the battery clamp (he showed me some pics). His battery DOES sit on the angled part of the battery tray (as you mentioned in your previous post).

Ah ha ! Good guess, eh ?

The battery tray he has, and I have, comes with pre-slotted bolt holes. I believe that when yours was made this was not the case? This enables the battery clamp to be pushed to the left so far that there is about 2 - 3 mm between the lip and the side of the tray. My choices are to either remove some of the opposite side of the tray and let the battery sit on the clamp slightly (just enough to remove it from the bolts), or remove a larger portion so the battery sits flush with the base.

Yeah, mine must be older. It came with the D2 when we bought it, and was only 2x holes with almost no left/right movement. By cutting the holes to be slots, the sheild moves all the way to the left and I've left only enough room for the lhs battery tie down bottom turn up (which was hammered closed to be a sharper turn up) to squeeze between the sheild and the tray edge .... which allowed the battery to sit off the lip .... then the 5mm or so of material under the battery probably (after compressing) gets it back above the height of the lip ... but my socket only just fits.

With regards to the earth point, i was just curious because I was told by my mechanic to mount to the engine block (in the same position you have described). But the length of wire i received from Tim is only around 40 - 50 cm in length, so will not reach that far. I was just curious to know whether there was another earth point closer to the battery which I have failed to find.

Tim - if you read this, did you have a particular earth point in mind?

Thanks again Kev. I'm all set to go this weekend I think

Don't forget the pic's !

**drivesafe** · 3rd November 2011, 09:19 PM

Hi Damo, you do not have to earth to the block, just find a decent size bolt ( 6mm or bigger ) anywhere near the battery’s neg terminal.

If you were setting up to do some winching then you would need to run a thick earth between both batteries but for normal RV use, an decent bolt will give you an excellent earth point.

Just make sure the bolt has a clean unpainted surface under it.

If you have to scratch some of the paint near the bolt, just coat the finished connection with some zinc paint to prevent rusting.

Note, this type of body/chassis is only suitable in the engine bay, because of the short distance between battery earth points.

**Barney2803** · 6th November 2011, 06:24 PM

I have just posted picks of my install now that it's all done and dusted. Problem is I accidentally posted it in"general chat"... But feel free to have a look. Mine is different to yours in that it's in a back bin but the wiring is essentially the same.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

**alpick** · 7th November 2011, 07:22 AM

My dual battery install

damo_s · 7th November 2011, 10:39 AM

Hey folks, thanks to all that gave me advice!

This weekend was very productive. I didnt get the entire setup completed, but now all i have to do is install the tray and connect up the wires!

I did all the cabling from the bonnet to the rear, set up all the sockets in the rear, and modified the tray and fixed up a battery mount. also drilled the pilot holes for mounting the SC-80. I was able to fix the SC-80 to the side wall by using a 90 degree chuck attachment.

I took some pics so i will post it all up when I am done (sometime next week).

The only major hurdle i faced was trying to get the A pillar trim back on! (the base trim where the carpet is).

damo_s · 7th November 2011, 03:10 PM

Also, regarding earth points.. I was thinking of either earthing the aux battery to where the battery tray bolts to the firewall or the wheel arch. Thoughts or suggestions? Are these appropriate? Is one better than the other?

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**Fluids** · 7th November 2011, 05:58 PM

Any "stout" bolt should be fine (like Tim outlined above). As long as it goes into something substantial the odds are it will be good to go.

... waiting on the pic's

damo_s · 8th November 2011, 12:49 PM

Im going to use the bolt where the tray mounts to the wheel arch. The firewall is coated in some form of paint. The wheel arch will be much easier access to remove any paint if need be.

damo_s · 8th November 2011, 10:50 PM

Just wanted to run something by everyone..

This is something my old man did..

He attached two lengths of timber to the heat shield. The reason being that it stops the battery from moving around, and protects it from somehow hitting the bolts which hold the shield down. Timber is also a good insulator!

The second pic shows how the timber related to the battery. There is a small amount of room between the two and the hook for the battery clamp goes between the timber lengths.

What does everyone think of this? Is there anything wrong with doing this? Any cons that anyone can think of?

Im personally not sold on the idea but he was insisting! Although, i myself cant see any problems this might cause.

**strangy** · 12th November 2011, 01:20 PM

Hi Damo, aplogies for the delay with the shield mounting pic. Ive had forum access but havn't had vehicle and camera at the right place and times.
Looks like you are well on your way and this will probably be too late to be of any help. anyway....

cheers

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