Almost loath to start another leisure battery thread but here goes.
Late Atlantic 1.6td LHD with leisure battery under left hand seat and the engine battery in the rear. I’m planning on fitting another leisure battery under the right hand passenger seat. I want to keep the van as standard as possible so the fit must look factory and be removable.
I’m planning to fit a 50amp positive wire with 20amp fuses at each end going from the left & right batteries. 2nd battery earthed to seatbelt mount. So my question;
1. Do I feed the wire through the grommet in the new battery floor and under the van and back up into the original battery space or drill a hole out off the side of the battery chamber and feed under the hard plastic carpet edge trim, or is there a smarter alternitive?
2. Also on the scrounge for a genuine battery clamp or where I could get one?
Thanks, Mal.
Last edited by malmoy on 28 Jun 2011, 12:57, edited 2 times in total.
1990 1.6TD Atlantic
1 Wife, 2 Kids, not enough time...
Well I've done it, my first electrical project and nothing went bang!
As this is a 1.6td the engine battery is in the boot and the leisure battery is under the driver’s seat (ns), so I figured I could fit a second battery under the os passenger seat. The main reason was to ensure sufficient amperage for the eber heater and allow a few more days without mains hook-up. My big concern was routing the thick positive wire between the two batteries and ideally I wanted to mimic the original routing. I managed to get the van up on a ramp but soon realised that to get to the original wire routing, out of the bottom of the battery box, was too difficult as I could not even see the grommet holes, I think they are boxed in. So plan B was to route the wire under the carpet between the battery boxes. My van does not have heaters between the boxes but I did manage to route it safely just under the ‘step’ between the cab and the living area. The other concern was drilling a hole out of the passenger battery box and routing the wire safely through. I did drill the hole but the drill snagged in the metal and it pulled the drill bit and it cut through the carpet. Lesson 1; fit a stopper to the drill bit that physically limits how deep the drill goes.
I purchased the parts from Vehicle Wiring Products whose service and part choices are excellent. The additional battery came from alpha batteries, that again, provided a superb service and the battery was at my door the next day.
I had originally planned to solder the connectors but soon found that my soldering iron was not up to the job with the thick wires. I figured soldering would be more permanent and professional but after some research and talking to Vehicle Wiring Products I used crimps and heat shrink. Lesson 2; crimping is fine and works very well. The only other comment was that the costs started to add up quite quickly as I chose to purchase new parts and tools. But now I can do the next project which is providing accessory power for the kids in the back seat.
The first leisure battery was charged and the second one comes charged. This is important as when the last wire is connected I did not want a load of current flowing from one to the other. Also both batteries are effectively the same age. Lesson 3; buy the batteries in pairs and ensure they are both charged to the same level.
So job done, no visible signs of the fitting and the eber starts without the voltage lights on the Westie kitchen dash going into the red.
Mal.
1990 1.6TD Atlantic
1 Wife, 2 Kids, not enough time...
Good job......however, you might find that 20amp fuses blow when the batteries are very low.....30 amp ones would be better if the holders are up to it.
I quite fancy an extra battery myself.