Best Dual Battery Setup for a 5th Gen 4Runner

[Cytronus]

That's what I thought but wanted to be certain. Thank you Bumbo!

I just got my home made sPOD bracket back from powder coating so I'll soon be installing that and wiring it up, along with the 50 Amp 6 AWG wiring to Anderson plug for trailer dual Lithium battery charging.

Once I get the sPOD wired in, I'll post some nicer photos of the set up to date.

 

[Cytronus]

Brackets for National Luna dual battery isolator

A forum member asked if I could make him a National Luna controller bracket and since I had some minor flaws in the initial bracket and since my brother wanted one too, I decided to make a few new-and-improved brackets for the gang. They should be back from powder coating this week.

 

[Xtremluck]

Dude after the bumper and winch this is my next big project. Will need to examine your setup carefully!

 

[Kckrawford]

Replaced OEM battery with XS Power D3100. Retained factory connections and added big 3 as well. Alt - Battery; Battery Ground - Frame; Battery Ground - Body; (Still need to do Frame ground to engine).

Also have 2 runs of 1/0 OFC JYPWR of Power and Ground running to 2nd battery.



Overview of wires running around the back of the motor.



Wires running along firewall



Wires connecting to 2nd battery. 2nd battery is a XS D3400 mounted in a Off-Grid Engineering secondary battery holder. Also has 2 runs of 1/0 wires that run down to fuse holder located on side of battery that run back to my Power/Ground distribution block for the audio side.



You can see the fuse holder located on the side of the battery, as well a close up of battery terminal connections.

 

[Cytronus]

Confirmed! Odyssey PC1400 & PC1500 do fit Shrockworks tray

The PC1500 does fir the Shrockworks tray, however, keep in mind there is no room at all for wiring to run between the fender wall and battery. Still great to know for anyone who wants that extra bit of power.

 

[Cytronus]

sPOD installed, LCD touchscreen installed and lights hooked up

I wired in the sPOD SE unit which has 8 chip-protected accessory circuits, meaning no fuses necessary. All 8 channels are controlled via an LCD touchscreen with ethernet cable connection. I programmed the front bumper LED light to be able to strobe and dim. The screen is mounted in the useless cup holder slot thingy, a cheap part to replace, making it easier to cope with drilling holes in it. A composite RAM mount for the 1" ball base and screen was uattached. It's very rigid and the placement is perfect making it easy to access from the arm rest without interference of the shifter or cup holder.

Also added emergency amber LEDs on custom home made brackets steathly mounted behind the grille.

Lastly, under hood waterproof LED lighting in warm white from LEDMO installed with a weatherproof on/off switch. I added Anderson Powerpole connectors to make it easy to swap out the LED strip in the future if needed.

 

[Cytronus]

Amber strobe lights!

These amber lights have 4 LEDs each, a dark face to make them nearly invisible when off in the day time and they have 16 varying programmed patterns. They're very bright. I'm quite pleased with them and how this came out. I have the 2 lights wired to each other and the red/black power running to the sPOD.

 

[Cytronus]

Underhood LED lights in!

The 3M sticky backing on these LEDMO warm white waterproof LEDs didn't stick for crap on the hood. I bought a roll of black super adhesive gorilla glue brand double sided adhesive tape and cut in length-wise to get it on the hood. Worked great.

 

[jerad]

[MENTION=81106]Cytronus[/MENTION]

Looks fantastic! Thanks for posting pics of the PC1500, I'm glad it fits. Wish I would have known before I installed my PC1400. 3ah isn't enough for me to worry about, but had I known I would have gone with that instead. I also like the area where you mounted your SPOD. That's my next purchase, but I think I'm going to see if I can mount it on the overhead console right in front of the sunroof.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Cytronus]

Thanks!

Thank you [MENTION=15690]jerad[/MENTION]! My brother is going to mount his sPOD screen in the same place as you - In front of the overhead console. Post pics when you do it!

 

[Djembe Mark]

You seem to have a really good grasp of what you're looking for. I'd be happy to help, I just got done installing a dual battery system in mine and you're welcome to check out what I did. Used a blue sea ACR with dual voltmeter hooked up to a remote fuse box in the back of the truck. Shoot me a private message if you're interested.

I'm also looking at the Blue Sea ML-ACR. I'd be very interested in seeing how you set it up. I've also heard that there is a problem getting a full charge on the aux battery due to computer controlled alternator. Any problem for you?

 

[Jono.ful]

I'm also looking at the Blue Sea ML-ACR. I'd be very interested in seeing how you set it up. I've also heard that there is a problem getting a full charge on the aux battery due to computer controlled alternator. Any problem for you?

Have a look at my build, I make entensive use of Blue Sea components including the 7622 and 7701 relays. Just installed their state of charge controller too, still need to take some photos of that...

 

[Brittrick]

These amber lights have 4 LEDs each, a dark face to make them nearly invisible when off in the day time and they have 16 varying programmed patterns. They're very bright. I'm quite pleased with them and how this came out. I have the 2 lights wired to each other and the red/black power running to the sPOD.

Love following your build. Thanks for this and will definitely follow your dual battery layout as reference when I am ready to do mine.

As for your marker lights, which kind did you buy? And are those brackets included? Thanks

 

[Cytronus]

Love following your build. Thanks for this and will definitely follow your dual battery layout as reference when I am ready to do mine.

As for your marker lights, which kind did you buy? And are those brackets included? Thanks

Thanks for the compliments on the build! I fabricated the brackets myself using sheet metal from OSH, a bench vise, drill press and a hand hack saw. Really easy to do actually.

the LEDs I got on Amazon by FXC, description: "4-LED Emergency Strobe Light Warning Beacon Flash Lamp Amber 16-Flashing Mode For Car SUV Pickup Truck Van Lorry Caution Construction Light Bar Waterproof (2PCS)… "

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4282L...+Flashing+for+Car+SUV+Pickup+Truck+Van+(2PCS)

 

[delgadtn]

So I am about to tackle this project myself. I am going to running the Shrockworks relocation kit with the Blue Sea ACR 7622. I have 2-0 cable that I will be using to connect the batteries. Aside from a winch, I would like to keep my start battery reserve for the OEM circuits. I will be using my house battery (Odyssey PC 1400 25) to power my Spod 8 circuit digital LED, and an always hot Blue sea 6 fuse panel mounted in the rear wheel well compartment. I will connect my lights and compressor to the Spod. To the fuse panel, I plan to connect my CB radio, ARB fridge, and an always hot outlet. I have a few questions I hope you all can help me answer.

1) Can I chassis ground my house battery or does it need to be grounded to my start battery? I have not done the big 3 wire upgrade.
2) I have purchased a dual volt meter. Where is the best place to tap in to my separate start and house systems to monitor voltage?
3) Where are people connecting the brown start isolation wire to?
4) Are you using the remote switch and where are you mounting it?


Thanks

 

[Bumbo]

So I am about to tackle this project myself. I am going to running the Shrockworks relocation kit with the Blue Sea ACR 7622. I have 2-0 cable that I will be using to connect the batteries. Aside from a winch, I would like to keep my start battery reserve for the OEM circuits. I will be using my house battery (Odyssey PC 1400 25) to power my Spod 8 circuit digital LED, and an always hot Blue sea 6 fuse panel mounted in the rear wheel well compartment. I will connect my lights and compressor to the Spod. To the fuse panel, I plan to connect my CB radio, ARB fridge, and an always hot outlet. I have a few questions I hope you all can help me answer.

1) Can I chassis ground my house battery or does it need to be grounded to my start battery? I have not done the big 3 wire upgrade.
2) I have purchased a dual volt meter. Where is the best place to tap in to my separate start and house systems to monitor voltage?
3) Where are people connecting the brown start isolation wire to?
4) Are you using the remote switch and where are you mounting it?


Thanks

1: It depends… the main battery only has about a 2 AWG cable attached to it. Keep that in mind when you wire heavy loads to the chassis.
2: It doesn’t really matter, anywhere that is convenient. I went off my fuse panels.
3: Start Isolation is to protect during cranking, generally goes to the starter. You can customize… for example if you didn’t want winch current running though the ACR you can wire it to the winch power (as an example)
4: Left of the steering wheel by the factory switches is a common place for that item.

 

[delgadtn]

1: It depends… the main battery only has about a 2 AWG cable attached to it. Keep that in mind when you wire heavy loads to the chassis.
2: It doesn’t really matter, anywhere that is convenient. I went off my fuse panels.
3: Start Isolation is to protect during cranking, generally goes to the starter. You can customize… for example if you didn’t want winch current running though the ACR you can wire it to the winch power (as an example)
4: Left of the steering wheel by the factory switches is a common place for that item.

I have 4 gauge and I was thinking of adding a battery to chassis ground with this. Would that be sufficient you think? I don't have a winch yet but I have read that it may be better to connect the winch to the start battery as the alternator prioritizes charge to start battery and that I could kill both batteries if I connect it to the house battery as the house battery could drain down and then pull through the start battery. I don't know if that makes sense though. If I am understanding the ACR function correctly, it would seem to me that if the winch were connected to the house battery, and assuming the voltage in my start battery were sufficiently charged (13.2 or 13.7 Volts. I can't remember the number) that the alternator would charge my house battery. If for whatever reason the winch or any other accessory drained my house battery and I was then pulling current though the ACR and thus the start battery, if the alternator could not keep up with the power draw and my start battery drained below threshold, that the ACR would open and disconnect the circuit between the two batteries. Is my understanding correct? Of note, my ACR will be protected on both sides by 300amp terminal fuses.

 

[Bumbo]

I have 4 gauge and I was thinking of adding a battery to chassis ground with this. Would that be sufficient you think? I don't have a winch yet but I have read that it may be better to connect the winch to the start battery as the alternator prioritizes charge to start battery and that I could kill both batteries if I connect it to the house battery as the house battery could drain down and then pull through the start battery. I don't know if that makes sense though. If I am understanding the ACR function correctly, it would seem to me that if the winch were connected to the house battery, and assuming the voltage in my start battery were sufficiently charged (13.2 or 13.7 Volts. I can't remember the number) that the alternator would charge my house battery. If for whatever reason the winch or any other accessory drained my house battery and I was then pulling current though the ACR and thus the start battery, if the alternator could not keep up with the power draw and my start battery drained below threshold, that the ACR would open and disconnect the circuit between the two batteries. Is my understanding correct? Of note, my ACR will be protected on both sides by 300amp terminal fuses.

Alternators don’t prioritize charge… they just charge whatever is connected to that circuit. Electricity, like many other things, will follow the path of least resistance.

With that ACR, the Starter & House batteries are either combined in parallel or they are not when the relay is open.

There is no way I could tell you if its sufficient without actually seeing the intended circuit design and the load.

I have my house battery wired directly to the chassis… but I don’t run any high amperage loads.

If I had a winch, I would probably do the big3 upgrade, and or have both batteries grounds wired together. I would have the winch (+ and -) wired directly to either one of the batteries, and run the ACR forced combined for winching to reduce voltage drop and ease the load on the batteries.

The ACR doesn’t care which side has a low voltage condition… if Bank A or B goes below the threshold, the ACR goes open.

Edit: You also mentioned 300A fuses and 4 AWG wires... I think that fuse is way over-sized for a 4AWG cable. Combine that with the heat in the engine bay and you don't have sufficient protection for the wiring. I would up-size the wires, or I would reduce the fuse value. I generally run 100-140 amp fuses on 4 AWG lines depending on the length of the run.

 

[Jetboy]

New question for this thread - or I haven't seen it if it's been asked -

Who has mounted a second battery in the rear? I'd rather have a "house" battery in the back. Ideally a lithium one that's small, light, and energy dense. Either underneath the rear or inside the rear cabin mounted in the side trim. The only reason I have for a dual battery is to run my fridge sometimes and my setup is normally 100w solar panel/charger and dual batteries on my camp trailer. But occasionally I like to use the fridge in the 4runner.

It draws about 1 amp(12 watts) on average. Meaning if it fully charges the battery and runs on solar during 10hrs (100w solar is way more than enough for this) a day I need a battery with about 168 watt hours. I have a few dewalt 40v 6ah batteries that I rarely use. They'd be great because they're 240 watt hours, small in size, and I already own them. But charging is a bit of a PITA and I'd have to make a custom stepdown voltage supply for the fridge.

My primary thought was a SLA battery mounted underneath the rear with about 40ah capacity. They're small enough to fit in a lot of places. Cheap. And plenty of juice for the fridge and some lights during the night time.


So... has anyone gone with a rear battery? What did you use and how do you like it?

 

[Bumbo]

New question for this thread - or I haven't seen it if it's been asked -

Who has mounted a second battery in the rear? I'd rather have a "house" battery in the back. Ideally a lithium one that's small, light, and energy dense. Either underneath the rear or inside the rear cabin mounted in the side trim. The only reason I have for a dual battery is to run my fridge sometimes and my setup is normally 100w solar panel/charger and dual batteries on my camp trailer. But occasionally I like to use the fridge in the 4runner.

It draws about 1 amp(12 watts) on average. Meaning if it fully charges the battery and runs on solar during 10hrs (100w solar is way more than enough for this) a day I need a battery with about 168 watt hours. I have a few dewalt 40v 6ah batteries that I rarely use. They'd be great because they're 240 watt hours, small in size, and I already own them. But charging is a bit of a PITA and I'd have to make a custom stepdown voltage supply for the fridge.

My primary thought was a SLA battery mounted underneath the rear with about 40ah capacity. They're small enough to fit in a lot of places. Cheap. And plenty of juice for the fridge and some lights during the night time.


So... has anyone gone with a rear battery? What did you use and how do you like it?

I have done a rear battery... I've used SLA, LiFePO4 Lithium, and also your typical Lithium-ion in a 24 volt configuration.

Every one of those designs use a DC-DC like a CTEK or another custom solution.

The 24 volt option is my favorite if it's dedicated for a fridge, and its also really easy to do since the LVD is also built into the fridge.