2013 E 350 battery question

[jfdrewett]

Our van has a second battery installed on the passenger side frame under the van.

Anyone know how this set up works? Is it just always in parallel with the one in the engine compartment or is it separated somehow?

Was thinking of using it for house loads possibly so I don't inadvertently kill the starting battery.

 

[philos]

that's part of your starting system, particularly useful if your van is diesel. Get a third battery for house loads, IMOP.

 

[jfdrewett]

that's part of your starting system, particularly useful if your van is diesel. Get a third battery for house loads, IMOP.

Thank you sir

I found it in the manual that says the same thing. I'll build a house bank.

 

[philos]

remember to post pics!

 

[mikracer]

Is your van a diesel? If not, did Ford change the auxiliary battery setup with on the new vans? I have a 2005 with a V10 and the aux battery. The battery in the engine compartment is used for starting and the auxiliary battery is isolated from the starting battery. It came factory with an isolator under the engine compartment battery so the aux battery charges when the engine is running (alternator) and is isolated when the engine is off.

 

[Bronco bobby]

I test drove an 09 E350 with a 5.4 over the weekend. It has a battery under the hood and one on the outside of the passenger frame rail as well. The owner didnt even know it was there. I have the same power plant in my 03 Expedition and only have one battery. Weird?

 

[mgmetalworks]

I test drove an 09 E350 with a 5.4 over the weekend. It has a battery under the hood and one on the outside of the passenger frame rail as well. The owner didnt even know it was there. I have the same power plant in my 03 Expedition and only have one battery. Weird?

It is an option for the 5.4L vans. Probably not a very common option but you can choose to have the second battery added when you're ordering.

 

[Bronco bobby]

Do you know if it is a house battery, or just an additional starting battery?

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

Is your van a diesel? If not, did Ford change the auxiliary battery setup with on the new vans? I have a 2005 with a V10 and the aux battery. The battery in the engine compartment is used for starting and the auxiliary battery is isolated from the starting battery. It came factory with an isolator under the engine compartment battery so the aux battery charges when the engine is running (alternator) and is isolated when the engine is off.

Based on this post I went searching for the isolator on my newly acquired 2006 e350 v10 with the second battery mounted on frame rail.
Here is a pic of the isolator mounted beneath the battery tray.
Is there a distribution point for this battery anywhere? While I'm looking for a electrical manual to purchase, I assume there is some info in there about the second battery's power distribution point?

 

[mikracer]

I'm not sure if there is a distribution point. I never really looked into it but I was planning on adding one in the back passenger side compartment next to the back door. I was thinking of just running some 4ga wire to a fused distribution block, then run wires to wherever they would be needed for 12v items.

 

[mgmetalworks]

Do you know if it is a house battery, or just an additional starting battery?

It is shown in the wiring diagram as being an additional starting battery.

 

[REDOVAL]

Here is a decent explaination from another member lifted from another dual battery thread:


Here is the deal on the optional FACTORY Aux battery on a gasoline powered van works, well at least my 2008 V-10. I just added a second aux battery with a tray I bought from e-bay. Here is what I found out.

The option Code is 634 $145 in 2008 you got ONE 78 AMP battery (main) and ONE 75 AMP battery.
The battery IS isolated from the main battery when the key is off.
The battery size is group 65 for BOTH of my Batteries.
The biggest problem of the batteries are how tall they can be and still fit in the box. 6 1/2 inches tall is it, unless you modify the box.
Aux batteries are available WITH and WITH OUT a trailer package.
Aux battery powers the trailer battery relay (if it has the FACTORY hitch wiring installed) when the key is on or off just like it does if you don't have an AUX battery but if the trailer drains the battery with the AUX battery the van will still start.
The relay for the Aux battery is mounted under the main battery.
The part number is F8UB-14088-AA
There is a diode in the hot in run circuit, it is mounted in the (as Ford calls it) BJB or battery junction box next to Fuse F5.
This wire on my van is White and Black 14 or 16 gauge and hooks to the small/energizer terminal of the relay.
One of the large terminals on the relay is another Black and White wire. This one is 8 or 10 gauge and hooks to a 60 AMP Fuse F20 in the BJB. This wire is Hot all the time.
The other large terminal has the feed wire to the Aux battery and a Red/Yellow wire that
feeds the trailer relays via BJB Fuse F24 20 AMPS and Fuse F8 40 AMPS.
(note without an Aux battery these two large wires have a jumper in them in at connector C145)

I hope that helps any of you who have wondered how this all works. I spent many hours with the factory Ford wiring book and a volt meter making sure this is how it works before adding my Second Aux battery to my system. The manual makes it look to me like the relay should have four terminals but mine only has three.

Oh and the reason for disconnecting the Aux battery ground (at the frame connection) is because it DOES power the trailer relays all the time even if the other battery is disconnected completely, plus one terminal of the relay is still hot.

 

[Bronco bobby]

I am not very good with wiring and electronics, but it sounds like the second battery would be a good place to connect an inverter. Closer to the middle of the van (shorter cables) and is isolated when the van is off. Am I right in forming that assumption?

 

[Bronco bobby]

Well I dropped the aux battery box down to check the condition and found it was original battery (09 van). I installed a new battery and connected a 1500 watt inverter I have using a 5' long 1-0 cable. I was hoping to run a 700 watt microwave. The inverter would not run the microwave for more than a couple seconds. I then tried to run a shop vac. It ran it for a about 5 minutes then it too shut off. This all happened with the engine running. Does anyone know if this is because I only have one "house" battery? Additionally with the engine running my battery/charging system checker only showed 12.4 volts. This makes me wonder if the charging system is even charging this battery (the voltage didn't change whether the van was running or not). Any ideas would be appreciated. I am now wondering if I should skip the inverter and just save up for a 2000 watt Honda generator.

 

[mikracer]

If you want to run a microwave, you would need more than just one battery and most likely a 2000 watt invertor. Even then, you would only have enough juice to run the micro for MAYBE a couple minutes. If you need to run the micro a lot, then I would just keep the battery/invertor setup you have to run small items and get a generator to run larger appliances.