Thread: Dual batteries?

not to hijack he thread...I started on putting in my kit today in the back of my car.

My car is a early 2002 TD6 HSE - base model with the only electrical options being the mid stereo, it was the press car used in the magazine reviews etc.

I have found some non factory wiring I am unsure off. There is two reasonable gauge runs which dissapear under the drivers seat somewhere, orriginating from the rear fuse box.



you can see them in the above picture, black cables with red/black wires inside. One of them goes into a circuit breaker/relay of some sort, which is only labelled "batt" and "aux". The other pair is spliced into a wiring loom, into wires of much lighter gauge.



I guess I will check rave and see what these wires are connected too in the loom.

Apart from that there is a bunch of wires with a toggle switch and a relay, and the only connected wire goes into the trigger for the relay and is spliced into another loom and as far as I can tell is an ignition switched 12v.

Everything works in the car, and works as expected. So I am at a bit of a loss? The wire for the big relay/circuit breaker is dissconnected so I am assuming there is nothing on the other end of the run.

Hi JSP and I’m only guessing but I think that might be some sort of connection to a trailer plug.

Probably fitted before the trailer adaptor was available.

When I bought my 02 RR, they told me the adaptor was not available but would be supplies as soon as it arrived, and it was.

This is the route I have gone down for the Dual Battery set up. Has everything I want all packed in to one Solid State MOSFET kit. Will post a review when It is installed.

EBI Series

Looks like an interesting unit.

I'm running drivesafes unit in mine which has worked great. I'm running 2 smaller UPS batteries in the back, instead of the optima it was designed for but it hasn't missed a beat - the best thing about Tims unit is that it keeps the cranking battery at a higher state of charge and I don't get erroneous fault codes popping up anymore while cranking on cold mornings. Let's face it - you generally don't use the auxiliary battery every day, so it may as well be doing something useful when it is just sitting there...

Can't recommend it highly enough - it is a VERY smart unit that does a lot more than any other setup on the market - well worth looking at.

Do you need to be switching 100amps up the back of the vehicle? If you're just running a fridge and some lights then a monster like that is quite unnecessary.

The only come in once size and unfortunately the wiring in the back is only (8 gauge) is only rated to 20 amps so I will see how go over the length of the car.
that Blue unit does exactly the same things as the drive safe unit. Just solid state.

Hi Jonny and actually, that unit does not do the same.

If your RR is pre 2006 then you should be fine, it will work as the voltage of the earlier L322 RRs is a constant 14.3v.

But if your RR is 2006 or later then like all mosfet type isolators, there will be a voltage drop and even in a pre 2006 RR, my isolator will give much better auxiliary to cranking battery recharge results.

In a 2006 RR and later, with the varying operating voltage levels, the voltage drop through mosfet type isolators can be a problem, in both directions.

Note, I saw these units when they were introduced some time back and I could not find any reference to just how much voltage drop they have, at different current loads.

Originally Posted by jonnyjon05

The only come in once size and unfortunately the wiring in the back is only (8 gauge) is only rated to 20 amps so I will see how go over the length of the car.
that Blue unit does exactly the same things as the drive safe unit. Just solid state.

You will find there is quite some difference in the operation of each unit. The Traxide unit is very smart and does a number of things - the unit you are looking at is a straight voltage dependant switch by the look of it and by the blurb on it.

The Traxide unit is also much more compact and fits behind the sider cover easily, and is supplied as a true kit just for the L322 that has all cables, clamps, ties and full step by step instructions for the L322. It is a very well thought out kit. Just sayin'

Thanks for the replies gentleman and I mean no disrespect to your Unit Drivesafe. I was initially intending on buying your unit when I first looked at a dual battery install and will if this unit does not do exactly what I want i will be buying the one you have made. I however have purchase the previosly mentioned unit because I want to pioneer something else with this car and one thing I have not tried is MOSFET relays. Either way the second battery is in

Looks like a standard boot right?



Still looks pretty standard but there is this odd terminal in the bottom right.



The loom is now routed in front of the battery as opposed to underneath. Battery is not connected, disappointing.



This is the piece I had to cut out to mount the battery.





Battery is a 120 A/Hr Deep Cycle.


The control unit in question is advertised to do the following:

Clear LED status display and indicators for ease of operation;
100 Amps continuously rated with a generous 500 Amps peak;
Dual sensing allows main battery to be charged from auxiliary;
Output indicator function for convenient in-vehicle monitoring;
Input for in-vehicle remote emergency combine switch (starting);
Overload and short circuit protection with automatic shutdown;
Over temperature protected with automatic thermal shutdown;
Low input voltage sensing with automatic shutdown protection;
Electronics are encapsulated in dust and water proof housing;
Compact design can be mounted in any position that suits;
Heavy duty construction designed for under-bonnet installations;
24 months warranty (subject to policy terms and conditions).

Footprint – 62mmW x 92mmL x 92 mmH

Regards,

Jonathon