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DIY Dual Battery Setup

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Mr._Bill

Mr._Bill

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Excellent work, any update on this project?
I'm still working on it. I don't have a garage to work in, so at the mercy of Mother Nature. The summer was long and hot, and I worked a lot during the good weather. Hoping to finish as soon as it warms up a little.
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JoseQ_80

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Looking forward to it.
 
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I finally have most of the wiring done. I connected and tested it last night. I have two sets of lights mounted up front. I used the wiring harnesses with the relay, cut off the switch, and attached the trigger wire to the AUX switch. The main battery powers the relay and the second battery feeds the lights. During all of this, I also added a set of LED strip lights in the RSI SmartCap and a set of KC lights under the hood that are run off the second battery, and a set of Red Line Tuning struts to hold up the hood.

I found a seven inch piece of steel at Lowes, Simpson HTP37Z, that worked great for mounting the Isolator and Winch relay. I added a nutzert to bolt it down, and notched one corner to fit around a bolt. It fits real well, and is easy to remove if needed.

The power for the winch comes off the second battery, and will pull from both unless the Isolator separates the batteries due to voltage drop. I used a Warn power interrupt kit, wired to AUX 1, to control when the cable running out front to the winch is hot. I also have a fuse on the connection coming off of each battery, 200 amp on the main (recommended by the Isolator instructions) and 300 amp off the second battery. It's mostly for protection against cable shorts. I'll have to try the winch and see how it works in actual use.

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OVRLND_G8R

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Nicely done! Subscribing to watch the progress
 
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I have all the wiring done, and everything seems to be working. I just need to find a way to tie down the wire bundle running across the top of the firewall. There is a good tie down spot above the hole where it goes into the cab, but not any more the whole way across.

I added a dual voltage gauge to monitor both batteries. If the main battery feed is switched, the display turns off with the ignition. I have it so it's on all the time. The LED display doesn't seem to be enough draw to be a problem, so far.

I brought a ground wire through with the wire bundle. There is a ground point just above the hole in the firewall. I put a terminal block behind the brake pedal. The main battery feed for the gauge comes from the hot wire in the AUX bundle. I put a terminal block for it under the glove box. This will make it easy to wire up the dash cam when I install it.

I installed a status light and 'boost' button on the lower left edge of the dash. The light lets you know when the Isolator is active and has the batteries paralleled together. The button overrides the Isolator function and ties the batteries together for sixty seconds to allow for a jump start if the main battery gets drained to low to start the engine.

During the process I also installed some hood lights. There's a switch near the fuse box. I installed a BadgeGlow SimpleAux board to make wiring easier. There is a Warn relay to control power to the winch, and some Red Line Tuning struts to raise the hood. I connected the brake controller harness while under the dash, and that will be next install.
 
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This was so cool, could you do a wiring diagram and parts list for those of us with attention defficet. but one question also how does this make a 3 battery set up as my JT only has one battery in it that i know of?
 
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This was so cool, could you do a wiring diagram and parts list for those of us with attention defficet. but one question also how does this make a 3 battery set up as my JT only has one battery in it that i know of?
I'll work on a consolidated parts list. I used the wiring diagram provided with the Smart Isolator. It can look confusing, but is fairly easy to do. The only difference is I have the 12v feed for the Boost Button and Status Light fed from the Secondary and not the Main Battery. The thought for this is if the Boost function is needed (discharged Main battery) to get it started, the Main battery may not have enough charge to activate it.
https://www.littelfuse.com/~/media/...lfuse-if-161-48525-smart-battery-isolator.pdf

All Jeeps with the ESS function (Automatic Engine Start/Stop) have two batteries. The Main battery is a 650 CCA battery, and the ESS battery (hidden under the fuse box) is a 200 CCA battery. The main function of the ESS battery is to keep the voltage stable for the computers and electronics during a stop/start event.
 

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Hi bill, how is this system working out for you? Any issues since running it? So you dont have to remove the aux battery, you just need a battery isolator and you can add a 3rd battery?
 
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Hi bill, how is this system working out for you? Any issues since running it? So you dont have to remove the aux battery, you just need a battery isolator and you can add a 3rd battery?
So far, it's working well. Correct, use an Isolator and add a third battery. Once the voltage level comes up on the primary battery, the Isolator joins the third one into the system. This keeps it charged and increases capacity. It keeps them coupled, after the engine is off, until the voltage level on one starts to drop. Then it separates them so that one will maintain a charge. Of course, that depends on the logic used by the Isolator installed.
 

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So far, it's working well. Correct, use an Isolator and add a third battery. Once the voltage level comes up on the primary battery, the Isolator joins the third one into the system. This keeps it charged and increases capacity. It keeps them coupled, after the engine is off, until the voltage level on one starts to drop. Then it separates them so that one will maintain a charge. Of course, that depends on the logic used by the Isolator installed.
So no issues with the ESS like the genesis sometimes has?
 

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I'm sure you mentioned it, but what deep cycle battery is compatible with the factory battery?
 
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So no issues with the ESS like the genesis sometimes has?
No issues. The Genesis system removes the ESS battery. The way I connected it leaves the ESS system intact. I did use a Cole-Hersee Smart Isolator, like the one used in the Genesis system.
 
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I'm sure you mentioned it, but what deep cycle battery is compatible with the factory battery?
I used a 34M AGM Deep Cycle battery from Sam's Club. The CCA is very close to the factory battery, and the capacity is similar. The intent is for it to be the primary source for the winch and auxiliary lights. Using the Isolator, it is charged by the alternator and keeps the primary battery from getting drained.
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