I'm gathering up some stuff to relocate my battery to the trunk area when I install my 3G and electric fan. I just wanted to know who else had done this, and what they liked about their install and what they wish they would have done different. Also what battery box / hold down did you use and how did you secure it to the vehicle. Of course Pics would really be nice :D Thanks
How much are you willing to spend, and what's the purpose?
Spend - I was figuring around 100 to 125 maybe. I have access to the wiring and connectors at wholesale, so I figured the expensive part would be a nice battery box.
Reason - clear up some underhood room, move some weight from the front left of the car to the right rear, make it easier to mount up the "kill" switch at the back of the car, just your normal racing stuff.
I haven't done it in my 'Bird, but I did it for my Mustang. My only suggestions (if you haven't already thought of these) is to move the starter relay (some call it a solenoid) to the trunk as well. This way, you don't have an always hot, #00 positive cable running the length of the bottom of the car. I mounted the relay in the rear and ran the cable from the relay to the starter--yeah, it's hot as well, but only when starting the car. Then, just to have a power takeoff under the hood, I ran a 8 or 10 gauge wire through the interior to the engine compartment. The smaller wire was easier to run to the front and it's not exposed so there's little chance of it getting damaged.
Also, run the biggest battery cable you can find/afford. I ran #0000 welding wire myself. Then, be sure to have an extra cable grounding the block to the chassis.
+1 to what BlackCardinal said.
These guys make a relocation kit to do what BlackCardinal suggested.
http://www.madelectrical.com/
I personally haven't dealt with them but they come recommended (for whatever that's worth)
Autozone carries "welding cable" that will work. The big hardware stores carry appropriately sized cable. Not sure which is cheaper.
Both of my birds have trunk-mounted batteries. I did one, the other came that way.
Since I've been digging around the trunk the last few weeks I've been looking at ways to maximize the trunk space. IF you want to get creative and are willing to spend (a lot) more money, it would be possible to mount two mini batteries over the wheel wells or in other out of the way places . I don't think a single mini-battery is going to be enough for our cars.
Optima makes a 3-core 6V battery. You could mount two of those in different places (eg outside the frame rails).
In any case where you have multiple batteries, you want to wire them a little differently than you would a single battery. A lot of diesel engines come with multiple batteries, you might check out how it's done.
For a std-sized battery, there are plenty of choices. If you look at Gumby's bird, he chose a pretty good place from a performance standpoint. Nestled up next to the rear seat, near the premium sound gizmo is out of the way, but you get a different flavor of weight distribution as compared to moving it nearer the bumper.
Some Mercedes Benz's have batteries mounted in wierd places - like under the passenger seat, and are really hard to access. So MB has some std. terminals conveniently located in case you need to jump the car. You might think about something like that when mounting yours if the battery is going to be out of the way and/or encased.
I was going to mount mine in the trunk, then I decided to get one of these 13# Odyssey batteries
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e360/Domeskull/DSCF1680.jpg)
I still have the aluminum box and hardware/cables etc. if you are interested.
Cougar, how long have you had that Odyssey, and is yours a DD?
I've had it for a couple of months now - the car is a weekend warrior. So far, so good...
Do you put a trickle charger on it?
No need to - the SLA batteries can hold a charge for more than a year. I may put a trickle charger on it in the winter time just in case.
what is the runtime on that battery at 1hr?
Is there a discharge rate at 1.75vpc?x6
Who makes the battery,, DEKA, GNB, Marathon, Excide?
I prefer Deka first and Marathon next followed by GNB Gell Cells.
BTW, just so you size the cable right, the formula goes like this.....
11.1 x loop lenght x ampacity / voltage drop
11.1- constant k factor of copper
loop lenght- distance of the pos and return combined. Your typical return is going to be just a jumper to chassis.
ampacity-100% breaker or amperage of the alternator output.
Voltage drop- how many volts is allowable to be lost across the wire, we will use .75 here
11.1 x 20 x 140 / .75 = 41440 cmil copper which equals 4awg.
4awg is not large enough to use on 140A circuit so you have to default to the "in raceway" chart for your amperage.
In short,, a 1/0 wire is sufficient to carry the rated current of the alternator at 75degc. 2/0 would be best.
Not sure if you were asking me, but Hawker makes the Odyssey batteries.
Anything you might need to know about the Hawker/Odyssey battery is here -> http://www.stealth316.com/2-dynabatt.htm#g16ep
A good site with specs for the Odyssey batteries -> http://www.odysseybatteries.com/index.htm
There is tons more info at the two sites I listed. Full up-to-date info on the Odyssey is in the Documentation section of the 2nd site.
Good run time at 30min but i wish they had the 1.75vpc instead of the 1.67vpc. I can plot it ,, no biggie.
Sounds like a good battery though. Let us know how it holds up. Those numbers are pretty close to the typical VRLA batteries i deal with.
When i got my car had a py box with a wetcell battery and now i added a summit racing box and optima Red Top works good now and its safer in the new box and it being a dry cell now.
The first site has tables for 1.67vpc & 1.85vpc(11.1V) for the PC680 which should help as 1.75 is about halfway between them.
I had that same battery for 3 years. It was in the Tbird for 2 (which was just a good weather driver at the time) and then it was in my 2.3T Ranger for a year, which was a DD. I even used it in the winter. The only time it never started was when it was -10*F a morning or two. But a quick jump got me on the way. I sold the truck with it still in it.
I'm using the slightly larger one now in the Tbird (the 25# one that is about a 7" cube) mounted behind the pass seat. That one I pull out of the car and store inside during the winter, just because I can.
I purchased the accel battery relocator kit (they don't make anymore 8 years old)and the moroso battery box. I wanted the cool aluminum box but that doesn't mix well with pos terminals, lol but summit has come out with this box and it looks just like my moroso box if I were to do it again I would get the summit box. Also you have to have a box like this if you want to race with the battery in the trunk, or you will have to put in a bulkhead plate in behind the seat. My optima red top battery was replaced 4 years ago because I had a bad short and if the car sat the battery drained to nothing but the one before that was 4 years also.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM%2DG1230&N=700+4294862977+115&autoview=sku
Yeah, I have the Taylor box - which I have no need for now :hick:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=TAY%2D48100&N=700+115&autoview=sku
some pictures
1 more
Nice job - looks good!
Thanks, looks beter in person py pics
Cougar & Chuck,
Thanks for the feedback on your experiences. I've wanted one to go with one of those small batteries, was always afraid of getting stuck somewhere because of it.
why would you put it dead nuts center of the trunk? I dont think your going to be happy in the long run with it there. I think the cubby holes off to the sides are better places , just my opinion though.
Good work, and it does look nice.
Wow thanks guys for all the info. I didn't even think about going with something like the Odyssey battery. I use a Odyssey battery in my snowmobile since it's the lightest one I could get, but I pay for it in reserve battery life. I put a Taylor box in my Mustang and liked it, but I just sort of plopped it in and ran some wires, without much regard to how it looked. With these great ideas I think I'll take a little more time in sorting out this relocation so it looks right and no problems. I hadn't heard of MAD enterprises but cool to know for some good ideas.
Cougar5.0 where did you source your battery from? I'll send you a PM about that box that you aren't using, is taking up way to much space in your garage, and that you stub your toe on every day so you wish someone would just take it off your hands :D
edit - I guess thanks for moving the post to electrical. I'll try to be a little more clear in future posts, as I was really looking for fabrication and mount stuff, the electrical part is easy (it's what I've done for years)
Side Note
But if you plan on racing your car even once most tracks want a shutoff located outside the truck if you relocate the battery to the trunk.
im using the same hawker/odyssey chuck is runnin. i have had zero issues with it. i bought it from batteries plus a bit before i was actually ready to use it. it sat half the winter on a bench in the garage, and still fired the car this spring
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/gmby23/87%20turbocoupe/7d1b9a6e.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/gmby23/87%20turbocoupe/6de27cdf.jpg)
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/gmby23/87%20turbocoupe/76c6c157.jpg)
Looks like those Odyssey batteries work well. I've seen some shutoffs that use a remote push/pull rod, with the rod exiting out by the license plate. I think I'll try this route since I'll only use the rod on track days, but otherwise it won't be noticeable. Can't wait to get started on this project.
looks better for overall appearance, I had it on the ledge under the speakers on the drivers side but it was a pain in the ass to reach in their to charge the battery. I don't have any problem with weight transfer even running 12 flat, if thats what you meant, if not that battery box is so big the space runs out quick. The car is now going to be just a weekend warrior and to the track. Why don't you think I will like it in the long run?