So I am in the beginning stages of putting together my dual battery kit. The only place I have for the second battery is in the back of my discovery. With such a long distance I assume I would need a large cable and 0 gauge seems to be what is recommended. Does anyone have a source for this stuff that is not extremely expensive. I don't really want to spend a few hundred dollars on battery cable alone if I can help it.
Dual battery w/ winch
- Thread starter bmxer06pa
- Start date
Jonathan Hanson
Well-known member
It depends on how you're setting up the system. If you want your second battery to be available for instantaneous backup starting duty, then indeed you need to run heavy cable. But if all you plan to task it with is powering equipment in the rear of the truck (fridge, lights, etc.), then the charging wire from the alternator can be much smaller.
If you're using a deep-cycle battery for the auxiliary, your winch should be connected to the starting battery, since deep-cycle batteries are not designed for short-term high-amperage loads. The exceptions are newer AGM batteries such as those from Deka and Odyssey, which can fulfill both roles.
In my FJ40 I relegated the auxiliary battery (also in the rear) to secondary systems - fridge, lights, and radios - and ran, IIRC, eight-gauge wire to charge it. If I ever need it for starting duty it would be no big deal to physically swap it for the front battery.
If you're using a deep-cycle battery for the auxiliary, your winch should be connected to the starting battery, since deep-cycle batteries are not designed for short-term high-amperage loads. The exceptions are newer AGM batteries such as those from Deka and Odyssey, which can fulfill both roles.
In my FJ40 I relegated the auxiliary battery (also in the rear) to secondary systems - fridge, lights, and radios - and ran, IIRC, eight-gauge wire to charge it. If I ever need it for starting duty it would be no big deal to physically swap it for the front battery.
crawler#976
Expedition Leader
I recently added a Sears DieHard Platimun Group 31M to the Power Wagon. It's installed in the bed, and I used 0/1 welding cable for leads.
The price of welding cable was about 1/3 the cost of battery cable. The 34' of black cable cost me just over $110.00 vs nearly $300.00 for red and black battery cable from NAPA. I bought a manual cable crimper and used color coded heat shrink tubing to ID cables. The negative lead returns to the same place the stock battery uses and the positive lead goes to the positive post of the stock battery.
I wanted to have all of the amperage available for the big winch. The batteries are wired in parallel with a Blue Seas 300 amp continous duty (500 amp max short duty) On/Off switch that serves to isolate the battery for use with the ARB fridge.
The price of welding cable was about 1/3 the cost of battery cable. The 34' of black cable cost me just over $110.00 vs nearly $300.00 for red and black battery cable from NAPA. I bought a manual cable crimper and used color coded heat shrink tubing to ID cables. The negative lead returns to the same place the stock battery uses and the positive lead goes to the positive post of the stock battery.
I wanted to have all of the amperage available for the big winch. The batteries are wired in parallel with a Blue Seas 300 amp continous duty (500 amp max short duty) On/Off switch that serves to isolate the battery for use with the ARB fridge.
ldivinag
Adventurer
+1 for a local welding shop.
when i was planning for my removable winch mount, i decided to not hardmount the cables that run from the front to the rear.
instead i decided to make a jumper cable setup that uses 1/0 cable from a local welding shop. 50' of the great stuff was like a buck a foot at the time (over 10 years ago). using 350 amp anderson connectors, i could theoretically hook my winch to another vehicle. then using the 25' jumper cable setup i could power up the system.
the stuff has a nice neoprene outer jacket. thick, if not thicker as the 4 gauge car stereo label cable i used for the stereo system. the it has like a gazillion tiny strands of copper.
when i was planning for my removable winch mount, i decided to not hardmount the cables that run from the front to the rear.
instead i decided to make a jumper cable setup that uses 1/0 cable from a local welding shop. 50' of the great stuff was like a buck a foot at the time (over 10 years ago). using 350 amp anderson connectors, i could theoretically hook my winch to another vehicle. then using the 25' jumper cable setup i could power up the system.
the stuff has a nice neoprene outer jacket. thick, if not thicker as the 4 gauge car stereo label cable i used for the stereo system. the it has like a gazillion tiny strands of copper.