Aaaaa yes, Launch. Launch is a good thing. No, My van don't launch.But its does cruse really nice, and it's a good tow rig.
Now my 83 (dare I say it ) chevy malibu wagon will launch damn good really soon. It's what you call a 'almost' street legal,hehehee .
What are you running?

 

I've got a 94 Z28 with an LT-1 396 stroker motor, TH400 w/4k stall and 4.10 rear. It's set up for an additional 200HP N2O shot, but I have to get a Ford 9" rear and roll cage before I bottle feed it. It ran 11.5 last fall babying it off the line a bit (stock 10 bolt rears don't last). With N2O, it should run high 9's to low 10's. It's street legal here in Michigan only because we don't have emission testing. At 8 mpg, it doesn't burn gas too efficiently.
We're building up my son's near identical 94Z28 but instead of a stroker, he's going with a blower.

 

Let's not steal DadVan's thread

 

Weeeell I was the one who started this thread.....But hey it's cool, How dare we bring up the 'chevy' word on a Ford truck board.

 

Well after some research on the subject. I will have to agree with Torque1st on the use of "true" isolators. They have diodes that prevent one batt from robbing power from the other, even when charging. I have found models that will handle up to 165-amp, probablly bigger ones out there if you need one.

 

Weeeelll, you started it FOR him

After wrestling with RV's and dual battery systems for years I did find out a few things Of course it helps to have majored in Chemistry for a few years b4 changing to Engineering to get a little inside info... Thanks for checking on it and doing the research.

 

Guys,

Isn't there a federal law against "thread theft"? <g>

Just got back from an airplane ride to Orlando, FL, now catching up on the FTE forums. Thanks for all the good input since last Friday! I'm getting a parts list together so I have a realistic idea of what to order (and how much it's gonna cost me...).

DadVan

 

Weeeelllllll, Being that I did start this thread I would'nt call it 'theft'
Now on to more seriuos matters....I followed the 'extra' wire from my isolater to the frame mounted spot for the 2nd battery. No battery there but I plan to install 2 extra batterys. They only installed an 8 gadge wire from the isolater to the extra battery. I know I can install a 0 gadge wire, But can the isolater handle a 'start the truck' draw? Or is that how a isolater works? Or does it charge/draw from the batteries at the same time?
Or am I just waaaayyy off on how the isolater works??

 

The isolator is made for charging currents only. In one of my posts above I suggested that you use a second starter solenoid for a dual battery start.

I could produce an entire wiring diagram for you but as an admin here I just don't have the time available, -sorry.

 

O.K, I get the picture now. Dual batterys, Dual starter solennoids. Makes sence.

 

Good Solenoids are cheap. Kind of like carrying a spare also

Just remember to wire the Ignition terminals together to power the coil. Wire the aux bat up just like the std setup. Just power the extra stuff off the aux battery. I would also wire up a voltmeter for the aux battery to wherever you are going to be using it. That way you can monitor the voltage at the point of use.

Make your own battery cables with the proper 5/16" stud size. Don't use the 3/8" stud terminals that GM uses.

 

Guys,

...and I believe I understand as well. I don't need the second solenoid because I *never* intend to use the second battery for starting, only for powering accessories.

Which brings up the next question (you just KNEW there had to be another, didn't ya <g>?). Earlier in the thread, the very valid point regarding using "identical" batteries came up... Could (or should...) I get away with using the standard starting battery in the normal "primary" position and a deep cycle as the secondary? Remember, I want to draw power for all the transceivers and computer "stuff" from the secondary, I will NOT be drawing starting power from it. I ASSUME I can do this as it's commonly done this way in an RV with the chassis battery being for primary/starting and the "coach" battery being for secondary/accessories...

Thoughts?

DadVan

 

You can use mismatched batteries with an isolator

You dont "need" a second starting solenoid but I would put one in just for grins. For the remote possibility that one day you would have a tornado bearing down on you and you hit the key, -and nothing happens...

With your tornado chasing operation system a deep cycle battery would probably be best. You may want to look into using a better power supply for your laptop that is not as sensitive to battery voltage.

 

Torque1st,

Good points! Regarding the laptops and their power needs, I drive them with 13.8v DC to 15v DC solid state converters. These particular ones are made by LIND in the USA and are able to take like 11-16v and give me clean 15v. It's the radios that get "picky" below 12v and above 15v. They're the reason I've always connected right to the battery with big wires, short runs, and a good ground...

Another question... If I do a "baseline" resistance measurement when I initailly complete the installation, could I utilize that to define a point where the system is beginning to "fail"? For example, deterioration of connections or connectors? This might help me ensure operability for a given service cycle...

DadVan

 

A resistance check would be a good idea. If you could find a converter that would operate down below 10V it would extend your run time. Unfortunately every time you "convert" you loose some efficiency.

The radio does pose a problem tho. A bigger battery set would be your choice there. You might want to go with a couple of those all position gel cell batteries wired in parallel. A couple of those would give you good service for a long time. If the batteries are hard wired in parallel the load on each is the same and you can avoid any mismatch of the loads leading to battery mismatch. Make sure your connections stay good tho because a bad connection on one can lead to mismatch.