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Light Overland Vehicle Tech Tech issues, tips and hints, prepping for travel
Under 3500kg vehicles, e.g. Land Cruiser, Land Rover, Subaru etc.
Photo by Daniel Rintz, Himba children, Namibia

The only impossible journey
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Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



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  #1  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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dua battery system for hdj80

hi all
want to add a dual batteries to my hdj80
as i live in Egypt ,i don't have much options so i want to do it my self ,
heard of the smart battery isolator !!!!
so I'm planning to get extra battery and a tray to hold it ,cables and what else so i need ?
sorry for my silly questions
cheers all
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  #2  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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Hi Omar,
I assume you want the original 12v battery that runs the car electrics, plus another 'auxillary' battery to run extras. Both to charge off the original alternator?

I use a solid state diode block to achieve this.
They're simple with no moving parts (like relays) to fail.

There are far more complicated and expensive (some would argue better) ways of doing it, but this works just fine for me.

Just make sure everything is properly rated for your alternator (100 amp would more than cover it i think. My 24 volt 60 series has an 80 amp alternator)
And make sure any additional cables are properly fused.

All the best
Sam
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  #3  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Niva Say Never View Post
Hi Omar,
I assume you want the original 12v battery that runs the car electrics, plus another 'auxillary' battery to run extras. Both to charge off the original alternator?

I use a solid state diode block to achieve this.
They're simple with no moving parts (like relays) to fail.

There are far more complicated and expensive (some would argue better) ways of doing it, but this works just fine for me.

Just make sure everything is properly rated for your alternator (100 amp would more than cover it i think. My 24 volt 60 series has an 80 amp alternator)
And make sure any additional cables are properly fused.

All the best
Sam
Hi Sam
thanks for your reply
if you have photos of what you did it will be great
i need the second battery for the fridge ,lights, and other things when i go deep desert trips
cheers
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  #4  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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No problem Omar,
I'll take some photos this weekend and send you a link.
I'm not sure how much they'll help though.
I'll try to find a wiring diagram I drew a while ago, if I can find it, it'll be much more help.

Don't rule out 'smart charge' options just because I don't use them though, I don't know anywhere near enough about them to be telling you what's right or wrong. I just love the simplicity of a diode system.

Give me a day or two and I'll post you some more info
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  #5  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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Just thought.....
I assume your landcruiser is 12 volt
Is that right?

Doesn't make much difference, just which diagram i'm looking for!
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  #6  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Niva Say Never View Post
Just thought.....
I assume your landcruiser is 12 volt
Is that right?

Doesn't make much difference, just which diagram i'm looking for!
yes Sam its 12 v
right now was checking dual battery kit
something like that
Ironman 4x4 Dual Battery Kits 275amp
but its b.... expensive ,
i know nothing about electricity so im trying to learn
thanks a lot for your kind help mate
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  #7  
Old 16 Mar 2012
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No problem at all,
How much do they charge for that setup?
This is the sort of thing I'm talking about
Sterling 130A 1-in/2-out Split-Charge Diode
(No experience with this seller, just the first decent picture I found)

It just needs connecting up to the two batteries. That's it.
No displays or other fancy stuff.
As long as it's properly rated, there isn't really anything to fail.
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  #8  
Old 17 Mar 2012
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If you want to keep it really simple and reliable and cheap then just put starter size cable from pos of battery 1 to pos of battery 2 via a battery isolater switch . You then earth battery 2 same as battery 1 ie to chassis .

This system allows youto use battery 2 as a reserve jump start battery , but it does rely on you switching to connect at start up and switch disconnect when stopped. So you need to think how reliable you are ?
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  #9  
Old 17 Mar 2012
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Agree with that totally, it is split charge in it's purest form.

Me......i'm probably not reliable enough!!

You can very easily jump start yourself when using a diode block too.
Just clip a single jumper cable between the two outer pins on the diode block.
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  #10  
Old 18 Mar 2012
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Hi again Omar,
Here are a couple of diagrams I drew.

This is using a diode block
Diode Split Charge | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

And this is using a battery isolator switch
Isolator Split Charge | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I'm going out to work on my 60 now, I'll take some photos and post them later.

Sam
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  #11  
Old 19 Mar 2012
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And finally....

Sorry for the delay, but here are some photos of my instal.
As I thought, I doubt they'll be of much use.

This is the diode block. I've mounted it behind the front grill so that it gets some good air flow. They generate a fair bit of heat, so putting it next to the engine would not help.
IMG_0289 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMG_0288 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here is a 100A fuse that takes the power from the diode to the batteries (mine's 24v) in the rear.
IMG_0291 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This is all the electrical stuff in the rear, all to do with the auixiliary batteries. The isolator switch is at the top right. The row of fuses are for everything on the auxiliary circuit.
IMG_0292 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here are the two auxiliary batteries.
IMG_0293 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Hope this helps some.
Let me know if you've got any specific questions.

Sam
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  #12  
Old 21 Mar 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Niva Say Never View Post
Sorry for the delay, but here are some photos of my instal.
As I thought, I doubt they'll be of much use.

This is the diode block. I've mounted it behind the front grill so that it gets some good air flow. They generate a fair bit of heat, so putting it next to the engine would not help.
IMG_0289 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMG_0288 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here is a 100A fuse that takes the power from the diode to the batteries (mine's 24v) in the rear.
IMG_0291 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This is all the electrical stuff in the rear, all to do with the auixiliary batteries. The isolator switch is at the top right. The row of fuses are for everything on the auxiliary circuit.
IMG_0292 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here are the two auxiliary batteries.
IMG_0293 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Hope this helps some.
Let me know if you've got any specific questions.

Sam
Hi Sam thanks a lot for that its great ,and hope it can be usefull to others too
when my Dual battery is ready will share photos in here ,
thanks again and all best wishes to you from Egypt
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  #13  
Old 21 Mar 2012
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Important safety point , make sure that you have easily accessible isolator switch preferably on battery earth side for all batteries esp if mounting diode block as shown , as there is fire risk if suffering front impact , also secure batteries and make sure anything conductive cannot fall on and short out terminals inc on isolators . There is a lot of energy stored in batteries !!
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  #14  
Old 21 Mar 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tacr2man View Post
Important safety point , make sure that you have easily accessible isolator switch preferably on battery earth side for all batteries esp if mounting diode block as shown , as there is fire risk if suffering front impact , also secure batteries and make sure anything conductive cannot fall on and short out terminals inc on isolators . There is a lot of energy stored in batteries !!
thanks Tacr2man for your note
you are totally right safety always first
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  #15  
Old 21 Mar 2012
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No problem at all Omar, good luck with the instal.

All very valid points made by Tacr2man.

Happy travels
Sam
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