Benefits of having a second battery?

[Tramp]

this is the bit of trick kit i was on about , i saw it thought it looked good , but i couldnt belive the price

http://www.4x4overlander.com/products/e ... nt-system/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's clever but I'm sure you could rig up something as good (but maybe not as pretty) for a lot less, personally I'd use a voltage gauge accross each battery and a contactor fed from an ignition live & a self maintaining circuit, that way it would seperate the batteries when the ignition was off & you would have more manual control

[Highlander]

But..... in the situation when battery 1 goes flat wouldn't that mean you couldn't use battery 2 to start the car since the contactor switch wouldnt activate as you have no power to the ignition?

There are a lot of these fancy switch gear setups but the prices are horrendous and to my thinking the more complicated you get the more there is to break

I looked into it quite extensively at the time and decided the £5 manual switch suited me!

Its actually fairly easy to get used to.. connect the two batteries whilst engine is running, disconnect them when its stopped, doesnt need to be done every time, just so long as battery 2 gets a good charge

gauges are a good idea though, would be good to see everythings ok with the batteries

[Tramp]

Good point I was thinking more of a situation where you would run the 2nd battery flat (when winching etc) ok maybe it would be more difficult but I'm sure it would be possible, I might even draw up a circuit!

[Highlander]

Sounds good, see what you can come up with..

I don't mind the manual switch I have but some sort of automated thing that would take me out of the system would be ideal.

The way it is at the moment I am the weak link in the system, if I fail to turn on the switch and charge battery 2 or forget to turn it off and flatten both of them.

To be fair I've never flattened both batteries winching out a Suzuki yet

[Tramp]

What about something linked to the hand brake, as soon as its taken off the batteries are linked with a push button on the dash to override this limit (so you can start with a flat primary) & possibly another latch switch so you can stop the batteries connecting together

[ScottieJ]

Surely having a split charge on a relay is the best and simplest way to have it automated, just want a manual override so you can isolate them when needed.

[Highlander]

What about something linked to the hand brake, as soon as its taken off the batteries are linked with a push button on the dash to override this limit (so you can start with a flat primary) & possibly another latch switch so you can stop the batteries connecting together

Thats a great idea!

just like another handbrake switch running to a relay thingy?

[Highlander]

Surely having a split charge on a relay is the best and simplest way to have it automated, just want a manual override so you can isolate them when needed.

it is but its not the cheapest way to do it.

I didn't pay £200 for my Suzuki, so I'm not paying £200 to connect the batteries together!

I reckon tramp's onto something there that I could probably rig up using bits from a car

[ScottieJ]

£200 the X-eng set up is only £40

or you can make your own

http://www.rawcomponents.co.uk/100-amp-12v-relay.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.rawcomponents.co.uk/200-amp-12v-relay.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Highlander]

this is the bit of trick kit i was on about , i saw it thought it looked good , but i couldnt belive the price

http://www.4x4overlander.com/products/e ... nt-system/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah it was this one that was £200+ nice bit of kit though.

That relay you linked to is what Tramp's talking about I think, with a switch on the handbrake providing the feed to switch it on