well... here is my latest adventure. i am in the middle of doing this dual battery set up after realizing that the stock set up is simply not up to the challenge of a serious recovery with the winch.
after severly taxing my battery and charging system while trying to get myself out of a HELL of a stuck on last chance canyon, and melting the wires on my winch:D it became obvious that something had to change.
here's the deal thus far:
i have an optima, blue, and red top batteries which will be sitting on my custom "rigged" battery tray, and wired through an isolator. they will be charged by a 165 amp alternator.. i think this should be ample power to run this winch:D (i hope)
here is the "deal on the ALTERNATOR (http://www.4alterstart.com/pages/store/skudetail.nhtml?profile=alternators&uid=10227&searchfor=wrangler&returnURL=http%3A//www.4alterstart.com/alternators/searchresults.nhtml%3Fsearchfor%3Dwrangler) this is a pretty good price... if you contact them through ebay, you'll save another 20 bucks!
i'll let you know how this works once i get it all put together.

Hey Erik,
Whats the progress on the duel battary set up? Ya got some pics or diagrams for us?:D

i am actually out there right now wrapping this up :)
i have to get a switch for the solenoid, and i'm good to go!
i'll draw up a diagram on cad, and convert it to pdf for someone to host. this should be a great set up.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid69/p67b7386337da207f0820aabc4e81a0ba/fbb690b0.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid69/p62e19312e23fcffcd2c0ffe42cc2b159/fbb6909c.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid69/p88ade886c883e4434c4b532344a52238/fbb6908b.jpg
ok! well, here are a few pictures of the dual battery set up :)
the whole thing is run in #2 welding cable. the way this system is set up, it is isolated by.. well... an isolator. this will keep the two batteries seperated from one another for charging purposes, and also protects them from draining one another. you will also notice the solenoid above the bateries this is controlled by a switch in the cab of the jeep (pictured) and this, when the switch is thrown will put the batteries in paralell for some extra amperage as needed for winching and that type of stuff. :)
i'll whip up a wiring diagram, and look for a host.

Cool mang. I'm going to need some help wiring mine for dual batteries. This stuff is all greek to me, all I know is + = positive and - = negitive

:D

CLICK FOR WIRING DIAGRAM (http://www.myjeeprocks.com/jeeps/nailer341/drawing2.pdf)
this is in pdf format

Did you get an ISOLATOR ? :D ;)

i sure did!that thing is so shiny and nice :) i almost hate to hide it under all those batteries.
thanks, jim

By putting them parallel, that gives you 24 Volts, you won't fry anything will you?? I could be wrong. I thought Current (Amperage) was constant (not changing or additive) in parallel circuit. Voltage is additive in a parallel circuit. In a series circuit voltage is constant and current is additive. I could be wrong though. That's why I don't like electronics sometimes, too many little rules. Gears, well you know how they turn, straight forward stuff.

actualy, if all that i have read is coeerct... it is exactly the opposite. series would double the volts, and paralell will give you a boost in amperage.
i am by no means an expert at this, but, that is what i have read, and the rule i followed:) i also showed the diagram to a couple of people that are into this type of thing, and they approved it.
i'll let you know.
thanks for the warning though.

Erik, you are correct. If they are wired in series, then you will get +24v (actually, it works out closer to 25.2vdc), and in parallel, you will have 12.6v.

That is definately a worth while mod., especially if you ever get out exploring/wheeling on your own, or need to run that winch with the engine off for any reason.

Originally posted by NAILER341
actualy, if all that i have read is coeerct... it is exactly the opposite. series would double the volts, and paralell will give you a boost in amperage.
i am by no means an expert at this, but, that is what i have read, and the rule i followed:) i also showed the diagram to a couple of people that are into this type of thing, and they approved it.
i'll let you know.
thanks for the warning though.


Erik, YOU are correct. I was backwards. Wired paralle, it's still 12 volts, with an increase in amperage.

Dummy me, I just went through an electronics course, just had it backwards. How i got into electronics, I don't know. I can see gears move and feel them, I can get that. Oh well. :P

Sorry I was more of pain, than a help this time. Set up looks good.

Erik

no worries, erik. hope this will give the winch enough power to pull me now without burning itself up.

i have an optima, blue, and red top batteries which will be sitting on my custom "rigged" battery tray, and wired through an isolator. they will be charged by a 165 amp alternator.. i think this should be ample power to run this winch:D (i hope)
Dug this up from some archives. Question: So it's ok to run dual batts if they are different, i.e. a red top with a blue top?

Dug this up from some archives. Question: So it's ok to run dual batts if they are different, i.e. a red top with a blue top?
As long as they are isolated from one another. I believe they charge at different rates.

Cool, thanx.

Yes, most people run 2 different batteries, there is a good reason for it too. Usually you want the starting battery to be something that will support a large amp draw for a short time, and the acc battery to support a low amp draw for a long period of time with the capability to be nearly completly discharged w/o damage to the battery. This makes the red top/blue top a very nice combination. You will want some sort of isolater, or solinoid set up to achieve proper charging for both batteries, as others have mentioned.

The way I have mine (http://home.earthlink.net/~seapahn/zr2_auxbat.htm) in the blazer set up, the backup battery is always charged with the alt but never drains. This way, I can use my main optima yellow top as much as I want, without worries of not being able to start the truck back up.

Even if the optima is fully drained, I can flip a switch, combine the two batteries, and get the thing started back up. I went with a solid state isolator/combiner (basically a couple of big diodes) from hellroaring. I've been pretty happy with it.