Dual battery

[badash]

Just finished installing my lights, and now I have 1500 watts of stereo and 1000 watts of lights, I got a deep cycle battery and would like to connect these 2 things to it, has anyone done a dual battery set up? got any websites or walkthroughs? what kind of stuff do I need? thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check this thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159655. It has some wiring diagrams that I've posted. Another thread to check is: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162263

 

[badash]

thank you

 

[Papa]

The battery splitter/isolator is definitely the way to go if you are using more than one battery. The safety side alone would warrant it so you do not kill your starting battery. a larger alternator may help, even a lot, but wire size and proper grounding (a dedicated copper ground) is also very important. The stock wiring will only carry so much amperage before the voltage drops on the hot and ground circuits kill much of what your alternator is trying to give you and steel is not the best conductor. Try upgrading the wiring before you through a bigger alternator in the mix you will be pleasantly surprised. Here is a web site where you can plug in the numbers and see the voltage drop per foot with the amperage you are trying to push in a 12 VDC circuit.
The calculator is toward the bottom of the page.
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm