Dual Battery ?

[MandAtaco]

I'm doing some research for a dual battery system on my taco. I've read through a lot of old post but have a couple ?'s. I'm wanting to use a Sure Power Isolator. So my question is, if my winch was hooked up to the starting battery and the vehicle is running, will the isolator allow me to pull power from both batteries? Or should my winch be ran all the way to the bed of my truck to the Aux battery? Would a high amp relay be a better choice for me so that when the truck was running both batteries would be hooked together for optimum power?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[egn]

A function of an isolator is to "isolate" both batterys from each other. So the power will only come from the alternator and the starter battery.

How many Ah and CCA does the starter battery have?
How many Ah and CCA does the second battery have?
How many amps does your winch need?
How many amps does your alternator deliver at idle rpms?
Is the Surepower isolator you like to use one with 0 voltage drop?

Please keep in mind that long cable runs also cause loss of voltage and therefor power. Depending on the AWG the connection of both batterys through the relay will not be of much help.

 

[heeltoe989]

I've had very good luck with my Painless wiring dual battery hook up.

http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcatalog/largeview.php?SearchField=40103

I like it allot. Allows me to really chose how I want to run my extra batteries for winching or starting or anything else I need.

 

[MandAtaco]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've found some other good info also on other parts of the board, who knew there was more sections than the Tacoma section? LOL! I am looking at the painless kit now, looks to be about what I want my dual set up to do.

Mike

 

[keezer36]

If you'd like to see an electrical drawing of how a backup battery should be setup for winching, you can view one here: http://www.hellroaring.com/4wheel.php
Mind you, this is for a different isolator but it shows you where your winch load should be. If you're buying a Painless, ignore the A - C jumper.