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I NEED MORE JUICE!!
Since I had some battery problems with the
stock Toyota battery, I gleefully swapped it out for an Optima yellow top deep
cycle battery. However, as my electrical add on's started to grow, I did not
want to over burden this fine battery. The final straw came when I ordered the
ARB Bull Bar for my Tundra, which I plan to mate with a Warn M12000 winch. Heavy
winching can easily drain a battery if you are not careful and prepared.
The biggest problem in installing an auxiliary battery is space for the
additional battery. I did not get an Anti-lock Braking system, so this freed up
considerable space over the passenger side wheel well. Having the 2nd battery
under the hood considerably decreases the length of the cables and, therefore,
the overall amount of resistance the system encounters (this lets one use a
higher gauge wire). The only thing that I had to deal with was my alarm siren,
which was easy to relocate. All of the supplies needed for the basic wiring and
securing of the battery were obtained at my local Kragen Auto parts store.
I did have some problems with the strap bolts, as the one closest to the
fender-well is essentially in the path of the hood hinge dampener. I tried to
position the tray so that I could still use a wing nut and allow the hood to
completely close with minimal impact on the dampener. I ended up having to put
some tape over that last 1/4" of the bolt to help prevent scratching.
For the sophisticated wiring of the 2nd battery, I turned to
Hellroaring. I am no
electrical guru, but I could still appreciate the capabilities of this isolator.
I especially liked the diagnostic remote and the relatively small size of the
unit.
.
The wiring of the unit into the Tundra electrical system took some time.
Ideally, the positive 2g wire should go to the starter solenoid, but on the
Tundra, this is a difficult prospect. A secondary option is to hook to the
positive terminal of the primary battery. Since the Optima has both top and side
post options, I ran the the wire to the side post. I did have to do some
alteration of the wires available form Kragen. They did not have a side post
wire set of the correct length, so I used one side post set and a switch wire
and had to trim out about a foot of wire to get the length right. Using the
switch wire will end up to be a good call, because when I install the winch, I
will have a built in location to wire it into, since the side post is now
occupied.
Mounting the remote switch was next. I had already ran the wires for the remote
and figured were I would mount it. I had previously fabricated a switch dash in
the nook below the ignition switch for my lights, so I was not initially sure
were I would mount the remote. I toyed with the idea of taking the switch and
LED out of the little box they supplied, but I did not feel like messing with
all of that. I ended up putting it next to the switch dash and I am happy with
it.
The moment of truth came when it was time to re hook the negative terminals of
the batteries. In hind sight I did not exercise the proper caution in testing
for shorts. It is recommended that one uses a fused wire (around 5 amps) to
initially test the negative terminals and cables to check for shorts. This way
if there is a short, the fuse will prevent damage to the system and you could
then go and figure out what was wrong. I simply did the quick touch and did not
observe any sparking. Whoohoo!! I then connected the back up negative terminal
and started her up. When in the "automatic" position, the remote LED lights up
indicating that the unit is receiving a charge from the alternator. In the "off"
position it goes dark. I am now set!!
Bring on the ARB Bull Bar
Post Mod Notes: The plastic battery tray I got locally did not last long. One wheeling trip and it cracked. I ended up going with a stainless steel one from Summit Racing. I sliced my finger pretty good putting it in, but it has lasted without problem. Ideally, I would also like to mate this setup with a higher output alternator and retire the 70 amp stock one.