Dual battery installation

[loneranger]

The time has come for me to install a dual battery (not yet purchased) and the traxide kit I bought in December. I've been reading a lot of the threads relating to the placement of the second battery and have taken the battery and battery tray out of my 2014 Defender to have a look and play around with different options.

Unfortunately after 2 days I know a lot about what won't work .

So from reading other threads can anyone help with the following:

If I keep the batteries in the same orientation as the factory instal how do you clamp them down?

I've seen pictures of blocks of wood etc being used to flatten out the base and move the cranking battery over to give more room but I cannot work out how the clamps have been applied.

The other option I'm looking at is to turn the batteries 90 degrees which gives plenty of space to instal but the +ve cable is to short. How do you lengthen this? Or is the answer to use a smaller battery as the cranking battery?

Or is there a third option I am missing. I feel loathe to buy a Piranha tray at $250plus. Any tips will be much appreciated.

[Bundalene]

This is how we did our daughter's car a bit over 5 years ago. This has stood the test of time and extremely rough roads - no bitumen at all where she lives,



We installed new batteries last year and used similar batteries again. A tight squeeze. Note the battery terminals are below or just level with the battery top, Also there are several layers of insulation under the joint. There is a piece of marine ply down the side and a sheet of rubber insertion across the top under the seat cover, The switch is mounted on the front of the seat base.






















The winch gets a regular workout and this set up allows both batteries to be used anytime. Also allows an individual battery to be isolated if camping for a few days.




Erich

[robh]

Hi Loneranger,
I recently went through the same scenarios with my MY13 Puma and this is what I did. Excuse the very rough drawing but its the best I can do now. I can take some photos tomorrow and post.

Below are two section views of the battery compartment (blue), battery tray (red) and battery (black). The first is the existing, the second is what I modified it to.

I cut the side wall of the battery compartment with a small angle grinder and bent down the edge to create a level(ish) area. I got some flat steel off-cut from a local steel yard ($10-$20) and bent up a new tray to fit both batteries. Drilled holes to align with the original tray's fixing screws and fitted the new tray. Using rivnuts, threaded gal rod, wing nuts and some aluminum square tube, I made the battery clamps as indicated, all for a few dollars from a hardware store. Maybe not so obvious, don't cut the entire length of the battery compartment, just whats needed to fit the homemade tray. You also need to cut the plastic cover underneath. After I finished, I used some silicone caulking compound to waterproof were I had cut and applied a bit of kill rust paint.

To be honest the end result was a little rough but it enabled me to comfortably fit and secure both batteries and the VSR into the battery compartment.

[Drover]

A nice new new 2014 Defender......buy the Piranah battery tray. Do it once - Do it right.

Fits beautifully, very neat, perfect match for Ultimate Yellow Top. I have had mine in for 6 year without issue.

[noyakfat]

I am going the easy option, by having Daniel at Mulgo install mine for me

[VladTepes]

Is under the passenger seat (battery box etc) the same in the Pumas as it was for earlier models?

[Loubrey]

Vlad,

Puma Defenders only have different engines and gearboxes to Td5 Defenders...

The bulkhead has two less holes, the dashboard is different and the bonnet has a bulge for the different engine's height and that's about it!

So yes, the battery is exactly where it is in any Defender.

Cheers,

Lou

[robh]

Pictures as promised.

1 - With crank battery moved to the driver-side (i did not want to disconnect it) you can see how I've cut into the battery compartment to insert a flat battery tray and also the first threaded rod screwed into a rivnut.

2 - Crank battery moved into that space, second threaded rod added (needs to be removed to move battery) and aluminum square pipe as clamp. Also the VSR (Sidewinder DBi140R) mounted to the back of the compartment and the third rivnut at the edge of the battery tray.

3 - Second battery securely in place.

4 and 5 - Under view of battery compartment where it was modified.

[Simon]

I'm with noyakfat on this one, Daniel installed my traxide kit for me, did a great job.

Original battery moved slightly outboard with Optima Yellow placed alongside

Simon

[RVR110]

If I keep the batteries in the same orientation as the factory instal how do you clamp them down?

In my 2013 Puma I put a long bolt that goes through a hole I drilled in the bottom of the battery compartment, securing the battery with a flat bracket: