Piranah dual battery system

[lewi]

hey

one of my mates just brought a 2002 patrol. I was looking under the hood last night and found that it has a piranah dual battery managment system install but there is only one battery.

The current battery is a deep cycle and sits on the drivers side. We can see there a second battery used to be mounted as there are holes etc. where the tray appears have been mounted.

so i have a couple of questions.

1) is the battery usually located on the passanger or drivers side? I see that the alternator is on the passenger side, so i would assume that the battery would be here also. Has the start battery been removed maybe?

2) does anyone have instructions for setting up the battery system or maybe a diagram? The current battery is hooked up to the alternator and the piranah system.

The system looks the 180 system.

Any help appreciated,

cheers

-lewi

[44-40]

Im not sure how good this diagram will show up???

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Every OE GU (and GQ) Patrol that I've seen so far has the Main (or start) battery on the Driver's side, with the alternator on the Passenger side. A few of the wiring bits and pieces sit under the metal panel between the battery and the inner guard, while the heavy cable to the starter motor is kept as short as possible, minimising the potential for voltage drop and starting difficulties!

Genrly there should be a post or connector for the Aux battery on the isolator that won't have much else around it, cos all you really need for an isolator is a main batt connector, alternator connector, aux battery connector, altho often, as shown in the diagram above, you may find that the alternator ONLY connects to the main battery!

Good Luck!

[lewi]

cheers guys, will have to have another look at it during the day when we have had less beers, looks pretty straight forward.

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

BTW lewi, if you've got a deep cycle battery in the start position, ie on the drivers side of the car, then you won't be doing it much good using it as a start battery. Sure it will do it for a while, but you often won't be running the car for long enough to recharge it from the demands of starting, and you will therefore be slowly draining it until it reaches the stage where it just can't hack it and it won't start the car anymore!

So get a proper start battery or a suitable GelCell as soon as you can, or you'll end up with a dead battery and no start!

Sorry, but that's the way it is!

Just as an aside, what was it that made you think that the only battery left there is a deep cycle battery? Is it labelled to indicate that? Or was it some other indicator?

[lewi]

it says on the side of the battery... deep cycle!

Will let my mate know, cheers.

[stampy4x4]

BTW lewi, if you've got a deep cycle battery in the start position, ie on the drivers side of the car, then you won't be doing it much good using it as a start battery. Sure it will do it for a while, but you often won't be running the car for long enough to recharge it from the demands of starting, and you will therefore be slowly draining it until it reaches the stage where it just can't hack it and it won't start the car anymore!

So get a proper start battery or a suitable GelCell as soon as you can, or you'll end up with a dead battery and no start!

Sorry, but that's the way it is!

Just as an aside, what was it that made you think that the only battery left there is a deep cycle battery? Is it labelled to indicate that? Or was it some other indicator?


Hey Peter, What's your opinion on AGM batteries? Where I work we sell Absorbed Power AGMs and I'm lead to believe that at 0 degrees c they will still crank at about 750CCA and are great as a deep cycle for fridges, lighting etc as well.

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Thanks lewi, sometimes it's hard to tell, and you gotta wonder at who and why they changed the start battery for a deep cycle, when there are so many really good general purpose batteries out there these days, good starters and pretty good deep cycle characteristics, just like the AGM batteries, stampy!

I run a pair of AGM batteries under the bonnet, and a third in the back of the wagon, and they are great! They are good start batteries, they have good deep cycle characteristics, and with the right charging/isolating gear they recharge quickly and easily too! Make quick work of winching in most circumstances, keep the fridge going for days on end, top up with the solar panel easily, and still keep starting the car as and when required! And they've stood up to it for more years than I've managed to get out of a wet cell battery - ever!

All up, I'm pretty impressed, and recommend them for most 4WD applications, with probably the one proviso - don't get them or keep them hot! They don't really like too much heat, so mounting them alongside a turbo isn't such a wonderful idea unless you make provision for airflow and a heat shield! Heat will shorten their life significantly, as will poor charging systems, or systems not suited to AGM & their needs. You could do a lot worse than a pair of AGM Batteries, stampy (oh, and they really don't like running in mixed pairs - get 2 AGM's, NOT 1 AGM and 1 wet cell!)

[stampy4x4]

you gotta wonder at who and why they changed the start battery for a deep cycle, when there are so many really good general purpose batteries out there these days, good starters and pretty good deep cycle characteristics, just like the AGM batteries, stampy!

I run a pair of AGM batteries under the bonnet, and a third in the back of the wagon, and they are great! They are good start batteries, they have good deep cycle characteristics, and with the right charging/isolating gear they recharge quickly and easily too! Make quick work of winching in most circumstances, keep the fridge going for days on end, top up with the solar panel easily, and still keep starting the car as and when required! And they've stood up to it for more years than I've managed to get out of a wet cell battery - ever!

You could do a lot worse than a pair of AGM Batteries, stampy (oh, and they really don't like running in mixed pairs - get 2 AGM's, NOT 1 AGM and 1 wet cell!)

I agree Peter - a lot of buyers are misinformed mainly due to the insistence/arrogance of some retail outlets wanting to make a sale (using 'their gear')!
Parallel battery systems (99 % of those on the market) are best used with identical battery types; eg wet lead acid, as the aux battery basically gets a trickle charge/flow-on effect from the main battery. Great if you are driving up to 8 hours at a time whick is what is required to recharge both batteries if they have been severely depleted. This system is fine for a couple of nights away if you are driving plenty of Kms to get there and back!
Do you run one of Rod Street's Rotronics 2 Stage Independent systems Peter, or a simple manual isolation switch?

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Right now, we've got one Patrol with an 'idiot proof' simple switched solenoid (& I'm usually the idiot!), and one with a Rotronics independent charge isolation system designed for 3 AGM batteries. The third Patrol is in the process of being stripped, and hopefully I'll get the Rotronics kit from it upgraded and swapped onto the other vehicle instead of the solenoid!

I really think that the Rotronics gear is the bees knees for this sort of stuff, it's just that it is fairly expensive, even tho it will virtually last forever and it will outlast more than a couple of cars!

Cheers!