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Gettin extra battery in trunk : good or bad idea?

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Old 14-Sep-2003, 03:46 AM
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Gettin extra battery in trunk : good or bad idea?

I was thinking cos i've heard ppl do this before.. to get an extra battery and put it in your trunk and use it to power stuff like accent lighting/underbody/ and so on .... ps2. lcd screen and so on ..

is this a good or bad idea ? .. and if it is.. any precautions that i should consider? . just leave the battery by itself? .. in an enclosure? . how do i go about it ..
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 08:29 AM
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Well, im not a rocket scientist or know alot about cars, but if it was on its own in the back powering all the accents and what not, it would probably drain pretty fast, and I don't know if you can get an alternator powerful enough to power 2 batteries or what not.. But Wait for someone else to answer, im just stabbin in the dark.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 09:03 AM
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I just moved the battery into the trunk and invested in one of those gel cel batteries (wouldn't want a regular one in there). These batteries last well. I've got two 300W amps in my car and i can pump them for over an hour with the car off and it will start right back up no problems Hope that helps!
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 09:10 AM
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its only worth it if you moving your battery from the engine bay to the rear... better weight distribution
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 12:39 PM
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Its only a good idea if you have say a high power system in your car and you want to play your stereo with the key off, then an extra battery will help, but adding another battery to the stock alternator is not a good idea, unless you get a battery isolator to distribute the charge to each one when needed.

Make sure its a sealed gel cell if you do go this route, as when a regular battery is charging it gives off a gas that escapes into the cabin and can explode at any time, thats why they have special battery boxes if you do use a regular battery it ventilates the fumes to the outside.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 12:57 PM
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alright so tell me a little more about this Gel Cel battery if i use one of those it will work well ? .. to power a system is my main concern .. especially when the car is off.... if i get a gel cell battery it will do that ? with no problems... i woudnl't need an alternator for that ??
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:02 PM
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moving to ICE..
 
Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:28 PM
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Maybe it would help him if you listed the names of batterites that are sealed gel cel and the one that aren't.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:34 PM
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the most common are Yellow, Red and Blue Top Optima.

Yellow being the best for automotive.

Another plus about the optima is they will drain and charge back up to almost full capacity and not loose any charge capactity like regular acid batteries will do.

Say if you forget and leave your system on too long on a standard battery, and charge it back up it will loose its charge holding capacity each time and after a couple times doing this it wont hold a charge anymore.

With a gel cell this is not that sever and you can do it many many times before any significant damage is done.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:35 PM
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Gel Cell's look to be very promising ... how much do these Optima's go for ? .. ball park figure?
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:45 PM
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Originally posted by 666
Gel Cell's look to be very promising ... how much do these Optima's go for ? .. ball park figure?
Depending on where you buy but under $200

Costoc has them for less than that.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:50 PM
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The Red Tops at Costco are $225. at Costco. I have a red top and love it.
 
Old 14-Sep-2003, 01:51 PM
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$200 + ??
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 02:04 PM
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Just replace the stock battery with a 51 series optima yellow top under the hood.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 02:27 PM
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Originally posted by scarlemthug
Just replace the stock battery with a 51 series optima yellow top under the hood.

that wouldn't drain the battery or create generation loss everytime its recharged? because i would like to have the audio on when the car is off sometimes...
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 02:28 PM
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isolator under the hood and gell cell in the trunk..
 
Old 14-Sep-2003, 02:29 PM
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Originally posted by Si Veloz
isolator under the hood and gell cell in the trunk..
that sounds liek a good idea... any comments on this idea?
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 02:44 PM
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about getting the isolator and gell cell in the trunk .. i was reading up on that and stumbled upon this site .

http://www.hellroaring.com/audio1.htm

is that diagram accurate ? .. would i need a separate alternator for the second battery ( in the trunk ) ?? ... is there a simpler way ?
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 03:34 PM
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Well running a battery in the trunk would be more expensive and the stock alt would see more strain. Just get a 51 series yellow top and replace ur stock battery with it. This will allow u to play ur system for long periods of time with little worry that ur car wont start up after. The 51 series yellow top is a direct fit into the stock civic battery tray.
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Old 14-Sep-2003, 03:35 PM
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ohhhh .. ok .. i didn't know ... thanks for for the info scarlemthug... i;ll look into that then ..
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