Member
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Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: The Republic of Texas
Posts: 259
Real Name: Kirk
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: The Republic of Texas
Posts: 259
Real Name: Kirk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by david05111
Hey gents-
Looking into doing a basic dual battery setup on my 2020. When I say basic, I mean not extensive power management or anything. Just something to monitor both batteries and keep the 2nd charged when the car can handle it or when needed.
One of the questions I have is about battery types. Right now, I have the stock battery in the 4runner which is just a standard lead-acid. What I'd like to do is add a second battery and maybe have it be AGM (Odyssey or Optima).
My question is whether or not you can run a setup that has two different battery types on it like that, or if I'd have to swap out the factory battery as well this early into my owning the truck. Can you run different types? I know car chargers and maintainers like the CTEK typically require you to select which type of battery you're running (conventional, AGM, etc.). Basically, I don't know enough about this stuff yet to make these sorts of decisions.
Another question I have for people is how you manage getting so much wiring through the firewall for all sorts of accessories. I know that a lot of people will run S-Pods, etc. on the engine-side of the firewall to consolidate wiring, but there's still some stuff like wiring for fridges, power hubs to run accessories like tablets and phones and radios, etc.
What I'm finding right now is that I can't really run everything I have through the two firewall openings on the driver's side. Do people drill more holes in the firewall to deal with problems like this?
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The answer to the first battery question is yes...BUT. You can run both BUT you need something to decide which battery gets charged first AND what the voltage is that is required by that battery. Lead Acid and AGM are different in their voltage needs for charging. There are numerous ways to make this happen, but in my opinion using a dedicated battery manager like the "REDARC BCDC 1225" is the way to go.
With the redarc, IT will decide, based on battery type, and current voltage needs which battery gets charged first and how fast. It is a genius piece of Australian design and I have used one for more than two years in mine and it works flawlessly. It ain't cheap but you get what you pay for with the REDARC unit.
Question 2: Cry once and get a Switch Pro. You run 1 small cable and 1 wire inside. Thats it. Now, if you want to add power to the back, you DO have to get power wiring back there. On mine I run a 4AGW wire directly from the 2nd (AGM) battery to the back and run it up on the passenger side through the large rubber gromitt back behind the rear tire. There are several choices where to run this wire and zip tie it to the frame safely. do yourself a favor and DONT drill holes in your firewall, very little in the way of wiring HAS to be inside.
Recommendation, before you spend 1 dime, spend a month or so reading on the 5th gen forums, countless owners, including me, have done what you are thinking about. Learn from our mistakes and from our tips.
The 4runner you save may be your own...
Good Luck!
AMLOR
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REMEMBER: Birth control prevents Mini-vans...
2019 TRD PRO: Victory 4x4 Blitz bumper & sliders, Smittybilt 12K, Factor 55, Bubba Rope, Van Beest, C4 Fab, Power Tank, Xenon Depot, Cali Raised LED, ARB, SPC UCA's, Rad Rubber, REDARC, StrongBox, TRD Pro front coils, CE Auto Elect., Blue Sea, SDHQ/SP9100, Cornfed, RCI skids, BajaRack "basket", Revolution Gear 4.88's, Dobinsons 300lb over stock rear springs. DrawTight Class IV frame mounted hitch, Method Racing 703 Bead grip.
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