I'm curious as to the benefits of having two car batteries? I ran across a picture today on here and saw a battery in the trunk and it started this question. Those of us who have this done, do you have the alternator charging both batteries? Are the batteries setup parellel? Is the trunk battery powering the audio system in the trunk?
Thanks,
Josh
Usually a dual battery is just like you said, one for audio, and one for starting. You wire them in a series. Batt a + to car and - to Batt b + and batt b - to ground.
Yes the alt charges them both, and an isolator is not nessacary in all cases.
I use 2 6V redtop Optima batteries, this way i can hide them easier.
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wire them in series??? why would you want a 24V electrical system?
Pssstt......i'd wire them in parallel buddy
+ to +
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wysiwyg wrote:wire them in series??? why would you want a 24V electrical system?
Pssstt......i'd wire them in parallel buddy + to +
Well in my case its a series, because i have 2 6V batteries.
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Lawnmowerracer wrote:wysiwyg wrote:wire them in series??? why would you want a 24V electrical system?
Pssstt......i'd wire them in parallel buddy + to +
Well in my case its a series, because i have 2 6V batteries.
you should have mentioned that....he may have already blown his car up!!! lmao
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Ya... lol...
If you are running 2 12v batteries like a normal person, you want to wire them + to + and - to -.
Having 2 6v batteries does make it easier to hide them, but then you loose some amperage and stuff... But you're using Optima's so it shouldnt be too much of a problem anyways.
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uhhh... he DID mention that he has two 6V Optimas......
I have not wired the batteries yet. So if I had two 12V batteries I would wire them + to + and - to -. Then take the power cable from my audio system and wire it to the battery in the back correct? Wiring it this way the alternator will still charge both batteries correct.?
Thanks,
Josh
from what i found out man u need to buy a battery isolator, only place i can think of right now that sells them is jcwhitney....
hope that helps man
oh to wire it also:
take power wire from alt into center post on isolator then a power wire from the other two posts to each battery and wala enough juice to power anything
you don't connect the two negative's TOGETHER...just ground them each to the chassis. (like you would with an amp). then run a positive cable from the battery up front to the one in the back.
Also you only need to use an isolator if you plan on playing your radio a lot when the car is off. all it does is keeps your main battery from discharging when the car is off. i dont' use one myself.
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or, you can use 2 alternators with 2 batteries.....
why would you do that, i personally think thats stupid and a waste of money when u could be an isolator and have the same effect!
Chris Leight wrote:why would you do that, i personally think thats stupid and a waste of money when u could be an isolator and have the same effect!
you dont need an isolator it does more harm for your batterys and alternator then good. if your back battery is low when you start your car it will drain the power from the first battery to charge the back battery and could harm your alternator.
i would love to have 2 alternators and its not a waste you can have your stock alternator for the car and a 250 amp 18 volt alternator running a few 8 volt batterys in the trunk and your get alot more out of your system, if done right i mean
ok well w/e, im more about horsepower and yes i have a nice system but runnin two alternators for me isn't practical becuase it would be robbing me of power!!!
isnt it suposed to make ore power for your amps cause the voltage is right there?? I have 2 orbital extremes for my car but i havent hooked the back one up yet...does anyone know how to hold that batt down in the back??phil
Philly D wrote:isnt it suposed to make ore power for your amps cause the voltage is right there?? I have 2 orbital extremes for my car but i havent hooked the back one up yet...does anyone know how to hold that batt down in the back??phil
for holding the battery down you can get some all thread, and make your own hold down.
i went to the junkyard and got a battery rack from an s-10 and put it in that. worked fine.
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Philly- Two alternators will give your amp more power, but our stock alternators are 105 amp output... Most amps Ive seen have a 60 amp fuse or lower... meaning you still got at least 45 amps for the rest of the car. Not to mention its never using that full amperage of the fuse.
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soo do you need an isolator or not? also i just wire the audio to the batt in the back? and leave the front with just the regular car wires and a power wire from the batt in the back?
you don't NEED an isolator..it's just there to save your main starting battery from draining while you play it with the car off.
If you don't play your stereo a lot with the car off, then don't sweat it.
I would not run an isolator, simply because i would much rather have the stereo run off of both batteries rather then just one.
and yes, just run a wire from the front to the back..connecting the postives together. ground accordingly
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