I’ve been spending a lot of time reading the Dual Battery install threads (listed below) before posting this but wanted to start a new one as this install is Challenger specific and as such is kinda different to what has been done on here before. It may get added into my build thread later instead, who knows?
The Plan:
To install a 105AH AGM battery in the rear cargo area behind the interior trim. There’s a lot of wasted space here in the PB Challenger, especially on the driver’s side.
It has been done before; I’m following the brief references laid down in the Vic Pajero Club Forum by MikeL.
Link: http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/sho ... 839&page=2
Pics Stolen from MikeL’s build:
Quotes from MikeL (edited slightly for cleaner reading):
MikeL wrote: Rather than have my dual battery floating around in the boot I installed a 100Ah AGM battery in behind the right rear wheel.
It is hidden behind the existing panel and the only mod required was removing the 12V socket.
There's plenty of steel to bolt a home made battery tray to.
I cut a battery box in half to shield against any possible shorts on the body and ran the cables via 40A circuit breakers inside the car and through front firewall to a Redarc isolator.
There's heaps of room in there so I put in some fused 12V and USB sockets as well as a solar charge controller and battery monitor.
MikeL wrote:Here's a few snaps. The panel with the sockets in it pops out so I can change the fuses. The second battery end breaker is in the large white junction box - the small white one near the fuses is a breakout.
The battery tray is bolted to a couple of one inch square steel tubes which is in turn bolted to the body at each end - LHS bolt is clamping on the wheel arch flange as I didn't want to drill it.
The first version of the battery holder top had a large washer in it which gave a slight dent to the outside panel so I modified the holder a bit and put a spacer on the body side of the tray to keep the battery as inboard as possible - it is rock solid now.
The isolator and other breaker is mounted in the engine bay on the passenger firewall with wiring entering the body through the grommet that carries the vast bulk of the loom.
MikeL wrote:The battery is a 105AH from Fullriver. Tech specs are here, including dimensions, etc. http://www.fullriver.com/products/ad...e/DC105-12.pdf
Don't have a schematic, but essentially, dual battery is grounded to chassis
(yeah, I know, don't do that, but I've got less than 10mV drop over the whole circuit, so proves the Challenger isn't made of tinfoil)
Then +ve on dual battery is split
- one wire goes to breakout box for sockets
- the other wire goes to a self resetting circuit breaker and then follows a continuous run to the other circuit breaker on the firewall into the isolator which is then wired into the +ve terminal of the crank battery.
You think that if Mike ever reads this he’ll be ok with borrowing all that LOL
Some of the NTN Dual Battery threads for reference:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=4416&hilit=dual+battery
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10055&hilit=dual+battery
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12106&p=285362&hilit=dual+battery#p285362
The Equipment:
Battery of choice will be the 105 AH Neuton Power AGM Deep Cycle unit as it's apparently a re-badged FullRiver DC105-12 (dimensions and specs are very comparable to the linke MikeL posted above). I'm happy to be corrected here as I've only chosen this one due to local availability. It's priced well even with Townsville Tax and freight at just $10 over the best Internet price I can find.
For an isolator I'm considering the Redarc SBI12 and the Ctek 250S Dual
The Redarc is a consideration for me as it is A) a lot cheaper and B) I do a lot of high mileage driving (40,000km in 11months so far) so the 'low charge' issue should be fairly minor for me.
Of course, I'll chuck in circuit breakers at each end of the power cable for safety too
So:
Your turn. Where can you see me going wrong? Is there anything I've missed? (electronics are not my forte )