Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Thunderbolt on Sun, 08 Sep 2019 6:08 +0000

Surfseeker wrote:Morning Guys.

However, as far as I can tell a DCDC charger will not have the ability to bypass/link the two batteries to start your car if the primary battery should go flat. I just see this as being a bit dumb. There are dozens of ways that you can flatten your primary battery (As well as it just dying of natural causes :shock: ). I have had it happen a few times over the years where (For example) you leave an interior light on. This sounds like a silly mistake to make but this has happened to me when my wife left the vanity mirror open during the day (You cant see the light so easily during daytime) then got out of the car and left it at the airport for a week. A bit dopey perhaps ...but forgivable.... right???
Anyhow, your stereo, interior lights etc. are powered from your primary battery, so flattening it is by no means impossible.
With a solenoid based dual battery set up you can usually bypass the system to link the two batteries together (temporarily) to start the vehicle. For me, this would be high on my list of priorities.
However, there is not much point in linking the two batteries together if the auxiliary battery is also flat due to the fact that a solenoid based system does not permit the alternator to properly charge it.




A bit of Google Fu would help you. No need for jumper leads if you do it like this, simply flick the switch and start your engine off the aux battery. You can also winch off both batteries if needed. The wiring diagram is lifted from Redarc site, I think, as it's been several years since I wired it up. It has performed without a problem on several trips to Cape York, NT and all over Vic high country

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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Markdavo on Thu, 19 Sep 2019 8:59 +0000

rjo89 wrote:Put this in my member build but thought I'd throw it in here for those that are interested.

Thanks for your very detailed installation procedure and photos.

I have Projecta IDC25 DC-DC charger on order. Has anyone installed it in the cab rather than the engine bay to avoid any heat problems?

Cheers and thanks,

Mark


So the last few days have been pretty busy. Fitted a second battery tray from Air On Board (ebay - $155) which is made for a Exide LCS27-97 battery, which is a 97AH deep cycle available from Anaconda (on special got it for $185)

The Projecta IDC25 DC-DC charger is also from eBay, including 2x midi fuse holders and 2x 40A fuses, was $299 delivered, which is an absolute bargain I reckon.

Quality of the battery tray is good, battery charger even better. Ran 8B&S cabling throughout as per recommendation in the instruction manual. That'll be the same size I get down to the tray.


Having read all the information contained on this forum, I took some good lessons out of it, namely to install the battery controller on the bracket before installation in the car, as there is very VERY little room in the car after it's installed. So that's what I did. The battery tray comes as two parts, and you bolt the battery charger bracket to the tray, then install everything after that. Will see how it goes with the heat from the engine bay but I'm happy with where it is for now.

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The battery tray is bolted down in 4 locations, and can be a bit confusing to start with. One of the bolts (passenger side front) is threaded through a captive nut in the wheel arch. The Drivers side front feeds through a pre-existing hole in the arch and is washered and nutted from underneath. The Driver's side rear feeds through and it washered and nutted from underneath as well, but I installed two washers between the tray and the wheel arch to level it out a bit more. Then after those three are installed, you drill through the wheel arch and install the rear passenger side bolt through the arch with a washer and nut from underneath. Pretty easy overall.

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Then you remove the plastic clips on the passenger side bonnet lip, and mark where the slit in the plastic is and drill 2x 9mm holes in the guard, before installing nutserts in there. These are then used to hold the support bracket with M6 bolts, before everything is reinstalled and secured.

The battery was an absolute nightmare to squeeze in, but it does go. Remove the accessory fuse box, the lid off the factory fuse box and pre-bend the wiring on the firewall to accommodate the battery. Slide it in, with much swearing, then bolt it down.

Image
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Positives were installed with the supplied 40A Midi Fuses, grounds bolted onto the factory one behind the accessory fuse box. I left the ignition wire open and it appears to be working fine, charging and isolating as it should. Any questions feel free to ask!
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Markdavo on Thu, 19 Sep 2019 10:53 +0000

Markdavo wrote:
rjo89 wrote:Put this in my member build but thought I'd throw it in here for those that are interested.

So the last few days have been pretty busy. Fitted a second battery tray from Air On Board (ebay - $155) which is made for a Exide LCS27-97 battery, which is a 97AH deep cycle available from Anaconda (on special got it for $185)

The Projecta IDC25 DC-DC charger is also from eBay, including 2x midi fuse holders and 2x 40A fuses, was $299 delivered, which is an absolute bargain I reckon.

Quality of the battery tray is good, battery charger even better. Ran 8B&S cabling throughout as per recommendation in the instruction manual. That'll be the same size I get down to the tray.


Having read all the information contained on this forum, I took some good lessons out of it, namely to install the battery controller on the bracket before installation in the car, as there is very VERY little room in the car after it's installed. So that's what I did. The battery tray comes as two parts, and you bolt the battery charger bracket to the tray, then install everything after that. Will see how it goes with the heat from the engine bay but I'm happy with where it is for now.

Image
Image

The battery tray is bolted down in 4 locations, and can be a bit confusing to start with. One of the bolts (passenger side front) is threaded through a captive nut in the wheel arch. The Drivers side front feeds through a pre-existing hole in the arch and is washered and nutted from underneath. The Driver's side rear feeds through and it washered and nutted from underneath as well, but I installed two washers between the tray and the wheel arch to level it out a bit more. Then after those three are installed, you drill through the wheel arch and install the rear passenger side bolt through the arch with a washer and nut from underneath. Pretty easy overall.

Image
Image

Then you remove the plastic clips on the passenger side bonnet lip, and mark where the slit in the plastic is and drill 2x 9mm holes in the guard, before installing nutserts in there. These are then used to hold the support bracket with M6 bolts, before everything is reinstalled and secured.

The battery was an absolute nightmare to squeeze in, but it does go. Remove the accessory fuse box, the lid off the factory fuse box and pre-bend the wiring on the firewall to accommodate the battery. Slide it in, with much swearing, then bolt it down.

Image
Image

Positives were installed with the supplied 40A Midi Fuses, grounds bolted onto the factory one behind the accessory fuse box. I left the ignition wire open and it appears to be working fine, charging and isolating as it should. Any questions feel free to ask!


Thanks for your very detailed installation procedure and photos.

I have Projecta IDC25 DC-DC charger on order. Has anyone installed it in the cab rather than the engine bay to avoid any heat problems?

Cheers and thanks,

Mark
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby jabiru18 on Tue, 17 Dec 2019 7:46 +0000

Looking for some advice in regards to Battery for the ARB Tray (under bonnet). I installed about 16 months ago.

I have Redarc 1225D with a 120W solar panel feeding into the Redarc.

I have ran with the Blue Top Optima 55AH as suggested by ARB but it has died, collapsed cell.

So I am thinking of getting another battery, something with more AH and maybe upgrade my panel to 220W. I have looked and looked but cant decide.

Any suggestions on a battery which is under 30KG and a larger AH?
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Myralga on Tue, 17 Dec 2019 12:55 +0000

jabiru18 wrote:Looking for some advice in regards to Battery for the ARB Tray (under bonnet). I installed about 16 months ago.

I have Redarc 1225D with a 120W solar panel feeding into the Redarc.

I have ran with the Blue Top Optima 55AH as suggested by ARB but it has died, collapsed cell.

So I am thinking of getting another battery, something with more AH and maybe upgrade my panel to 220W. I have looked and looked but cant decide.

Any suggestions on a battery which is under 30KG and a larger AH?


Certainly the easiest and best for the area and conditions is a simple lead acid either maintainable or maintenance free.

So I have had a century 105 Ah maintainable lead acid in there since early 17 and it still going strong.

Talk to a battery specialist for options but a deep cycle lead acid won’t let you down as quickly as long as it is treated right and topped up etc. (and it’s 25kg)

You have a lot of wasted space in those optima batteries so lots of lost Ah.
Bonus some century are Aussie built so tested 10 degrees higher then the rest of there models to improve longevity. (Especially under the bonnet)

As for the solar panel that is heaps big enough for what most people do so wouldn’t worry about upgrading it. The Ah of your battery is what let you down and whoever sold it to you just simply loves optima and probably doesn’t even know what it truly has to do.
They sold you the dream at a higher price rather then a battery to work in the conditions for a cheaper price. (Should cost you around the $300-350 mark)

Hope this helps.


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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby leeloo on Wed, 29 Jan 2020 5:30 +0000

Hello and greetings from Germany.
I have a question related to the installation of an auxiliary battery.
I ordered a new Hilux to be delivered end of February, to replace my old 120 Prado. So this is my first pick-up and I am not very familiar with them. I will have to move fast with the installation for a Morocco trip in the beginning of April, so I am already planning a lot.
I would like to use the exiting components that I have from the landcruiser, the 110 Ah AGM deep cycle battery barely used, still in good shape, and the redarc 1240 BCDC that I had in the land cruiser, so the battery will have to go in the back, in the tray.
What will be the best way to run a wire from the main battery to the tray ? the pick up will have an aluminium Bushtech canopy and I would like to avoid to drill a hole in that...
In front will be impossible to install since the Eu models have the additional Adblue reservoir so I have very limited space under the bonnet.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Sartor on Wed, 29 Jan 2020 5:55 +0000

leeloo wrote:Hello and greetings from Germany.
I have a question related to the installation of an auxiliary battery.
I ordered a new Hilux to be delivered end of February, to replace my old 120 Prado. So this is my first pick-up and I am not very familiar with them. I will have to move fast with the installation for a Morocco trip in the beginning of April, so I am already planning a lot.
I would like to use the exiting components that I have from the landcruiser, the 110 Ah AGM deep cycle battery barely used, still in good shape, and the redarc 1240 BCDC that I had in the land cruiser, so the battery will have to go in the back, in the tray.
What will be the best way to run a wire from the main battery to the tray ? the pick up will have an aluminium Bushtech canopy and I would like to avoid to drill a hole in that...
In front will be impossible to install since the Eu models have the additional Adblue reservoir so I have very limited space under the bonnet.


Hallo,

Aussies won't be able to help us much with the routing for our EU models. They are a little different :)

The way I've run the setup was the following:

- Battery position is on the EU passenger side with an ARB battery tray. Some drilling was required, two of the bolts were reused
- Via a grommet in the firewall, I've run the cable. I had to cut the rubber to make it as a ring.
- Now, we are already inside the cabin the EU passenger side - running the cable under the side plastic, then under the seat. There, you will find another rubber grommet. It is much easier to access from the bottom of the car - just make sure to wash it from the dust. I've found it the hard way :)
- From there you are already under the chassis, you can run it to the back of the tube. In our case, we've run it through the EU passenger side tub, rear fender.
- Make sure to wrap the cable with a plastic protection cover or something and not to touch the damn AdBlue reservoir or any moving / hit parts

You may want to check our video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QZYu925eUY

Should you come to the Balkans, check other of our YouTube channel for tracks, GPS coordinates, or feel free to find us in Facebook / Instagram (links in all video descriptions).

Cheers!
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby leeloo on Wed, 29 Jan 2020 11:56 +0000

Thank you.
What I am trying to figure out is where to drill the bed, or maybe there is hole somewhere already but not visible because of the plastic protection.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Sartor on Thu, 30 Jan 2020 3:03 +0000

leeloo wrote:Thank you.
What I am trying to figure out is where to drill the bed, or maybe there is hole somewhere already but not visible because of the plastic protection.


We've received the car from the dealer without bed liner / protection and installed an aftermarket one. There are a couple of drain holes on the cabin side (in the middle of the tub), but they are thin lines and a cable won't be suitable to go through there without drilling. We've run the cable under the rear fender and made a hole there with a step bit, used sand paper, processed the edges with protective coating and repainted the edges. Finished everything with a rubber grommet.

What I'd recommend is to think and plan ahead of what you'd want from your 12V system and how you'd need to route the cable, where you will keep your outlet panel or fridge, or water pump, any lighting. For example, we didn't need an inverter but we spared another wire line (without the wire itself - just routing) if we'd need to add one in the future. We prefer to keep both wires (12V panel from the video and a future inverter if needed) separated due to their different size and possibility to troubleshoot the system easier (for example, the inverter of 2000W would usually require a wire size of # 2 AWG depending on the distance from the battery).

I've forgot to mention that our Optima YellowTop is our Aux battery on the EU passanger side. We didn't touch the starter battery and I'd recommend also to NOT touch anything on the original 12V system - as local Bulgaria RedArc dealers and installers we even refused installation due to such requests from customers.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby leeloo on Thu, 30 Jan 2020 3:41 +0000

I see. . The wiring kit is professionally made, with an appropriate size, fuses between components, etc.
It will one connect in 1 spot with the electrical system of the car, .. to the + of the starter battery .
So from the starter battery I think I will go down directly to the frame and follow what ever wires or break lines go towards the back and drill a hole in the bed. Good advice with the paint and grommet.. some guys in Austria say in this new hilux the bed is rusting like crazy...
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Sartor on Thu, 30 Jan 2020 10:02 +0000

leeloo wrote:It will one connect in 1 spot with the electrical system of the car, .. to the + of the starter battery .


Yes, that is the correct way (starter battery for input and blue wire for sensing the voltage drop of the alternator) due to the so called "smart alternator". We've made a several installs (including Manager30) already and are aware of that (blue wire to ignition source, even some vehicles come with a preinstalled aftermarket immobilizers required by the insurance companies here, so we reuse that connection).

Our Hilux is the first to come into Bulgaria and we went to several other EU countries with it - no rust so far (unless on the factory skid plates which we resurrected with Raptor coating until we find some proper armor).
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby torquative on Fri, 21 Feb 2020 9:27 +0000

Hey all,

apologies for being "that guy" and asking a question on day 1. Ive tried to read but Ive confused myself.

I've spent the past 20 years on other forums, but as of last week have switched to a Hilux Rugged-X and am still learning the car and the accessories that come with it!

The car come setup with extra goodies ... most notably an Anderson plug at the rear bar, and fridge slide/power socket in the tray connected to a Redarc Smartstart SBI to the main (and only) battery.

Ive determined through research the SBI has been setup as a low voltage cut off for the fridge and anderson plug.

We want to setup a dual battery to run a new Waeco CFX-50 fridge.
We will only need a day or so out of it at a time - the missus will use the car to tow her horse float to shows (which has no accessories off the car) and loves the idea of leaving the fridge all day for icy cold drinks.

BUT I'm struggling to understand what the heck I actually need to add the second battery.

The tray, battery and cable for +12V and earth are a given ... but do I need a charger as well, or does the SBI (when connected properly) act as a charger off the alternator ?

Sorry for being a bit lost ... this is all new to me.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Sartor on Fri, 21 Feb 2020 4:09 +0000

Welcome to the forum torquative,
I'd recommend to look for a deep cycle battery to run your accessories from, as the starter battery is better of left for winching and car-only accessories (such as aux lights, and the start of the car itself).

The reason is the battery chemistry and that the deep cycle would be better suited for continuous operations. I'd keep the SBI but re-made it to jump start my car in case of a dead starter battery (see links below for documentation). I'd add a BCDC1225 (1240 or 1250, the second pair of digits denote the max amperage which the charger would be able to output). BCDC1240 for example is very well suited for aux batteries over 100AH. BCDC series is a DC-DC charger which overcomes the voltage drop from long running cables and has optional solar input in case you want to add it later.

Check battery types - for example, I am running my aux battery under the bonnet with an ARB battery tray. In that case I use AGM type (YellowTop, 55Ah). If you decide to locate your aux battery in the tub, then you could check up lithium (iron phosphate). This is where your DC-DC (RedArc's BCDC) comes into play - it supports batteries of different chemistry and capacity ("configurable" via a jumper cable).

https://www.redarc.com.au/bcdc-dual-wit ... tery-setup

I've tried to keep it simple, hope it helps. :)
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby torquative on Tue, 03 Mar 2020 5:48 +0000

Thanks Sartor,

sorry for the delayed response. Was away on holidays so didn't really get a chance to respond.

I'm still confused ... As mentioned the car already has the SBI installed. Can I install the second battery and re-wire the SBI to be used to charge the Aux battery while we're driving ... or do I NEED an additional charger such as the BCDC.

It will literally only be the fridge connected to the aux battery,

I notice that install kits only come with the wiring and an isolator. The more I read the more confused I get.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Sartor on Wed, 04 Mar 2020 5:40 +0000

Let's first start off how you'd need to use your dual battery setup.

1. Do you need bigger battery bank for your secondary / house / deep cycle battery?


If yes, then you'd better go with a BCDC charger for charging the second battery. Advantage: you can have big battery bank and type (you can later update the system with a lithium). Disadvantage is the cost.

If no, then you can just re-wire the SBI to the second battery to cut when the voltage drops below a certain point (thus protecting your starter battery). In this case your second battery should be of the same size (measured in Ah) and type as the starter battery.

2. Do you run a smart / voltage sensing alternator? In EU we do - you'd need to check with the dealer.

If so, then you'd need to install a BCDC with blue wire connected to an ignition source. SBI doesn't work well with these new alternators.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Clancenator on Sun, 23 Aug 2020 10:06 +0000

Hey Guys, alot of good info on here, and i am a bit late to the party, but really appreciate the info. I am tossing up whether to install the aux battery in the tray, or whether to install in engine bay with a tray. For those that have installed in the engine, have you had any rubbing happen to the wires running into the car? Thanks in advance.
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby TOYZX on Sun, 23 Aug 2020 6:50 +0000

I've fitted dozens under bonnet in n80 now and when doen properly there is no reason to have any rubbing goin on. Buy a quality kit and get it done properly.

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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby specwarop on Mon, 14 Sep 2020 8:22 +0000

Hey all, whats the latest opinions on DCDC chargers? I see everyone refers to the Redarc, but that one does seem quite a bit more expensive than anything else. How does CTEK, Projecta, or Intervolt compare?

Also, with the DCDC charger will it prevent the starting battery from being drained? I presume there is some sort of Current cutoff on the charger?
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby specwarop on Tue, 15 Sep 2020 5:43 +0000

Also can any one indicate whether they had issues mounting the dual battery kit with a fuel manager pre-filter bracket installed? I plan to mount the DCDC charger at the front of the car, and in doing so does it leave enough room for the filter?
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Re: Gen 8 Dual Battery Kits and Setups

Postby Bob P on Wed, 16 Sep 2020 9:54 +0000

specwarop wrote:Also can any one indicate whether they had issues mounting the dual battery kit with a fuel manager pre-filter bracket installed? I plan to mount the DCDC charger at the front of the car, and in doing so does it leave enough room for the filter?
No problem, it is a little congested
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