STX 550 dual battery setup

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karlos_1984

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Hi guys, I know there's countless threads about dual battery setups on here, most of which I've read. But I wanted to post anyway as I want to be sure that the wiring etc in the 550 will be any different or not to the rest of the setups that have been talked about.

So I've got a 100ah deep cycle battery in one of the portable boxes that I use to run my fridge when I go camping. Currently, I just power the fridge off the ciggie plug in the console while I'm driving. (Fridge is on a shelf in the back of the cab)

Ideally, I want to have my battery box in the tub and hooked up to charge while driving. If possible, I want to re-wire the cig plug in the console to run off the battery box, so if I pull up and stop overnight somewhere, I can leave the fridge secured inside the ute and still have power to it, so I dont have to move the battery box out of the tub and into the cab.

From what I've read, it sounds like I'll have to go with a BCDC charger instead of an isolator. However, is the alternator in the 550 the same as the other models in that you can undo the green wire on the negative battery terminal so it doesn't cut out once the main battery is fully charged when driving?

I'm not really handy with the electrical side of things so I'm trying to get my head around it first. Obviously cost is a factor in the way I go, and i'd like to have a go at installing it myself to save on labour costs. If the smart alternator can be disabled then I'm assuming an isolator could potentially do the job for a bit of a cheaper setup. Is this right?

If anyone else has a 550 they've hooked up with a 2nd battery, and can share their setups to give me a bit of an idea, that'd be great. Cheers.
 
I have installed a redarc with a piranha tray under the passenger side to mine. Problem with tat setup is the battery is too small to power an engel 40 litre over night...set on 2. Damn battery goes flat...then after restart it was blowing the 40amp fuse...changed the fuse holder to over come that. But Capacity of the battery is the only issues I have faced. No alternator problem ...yet
 
I installed a Ctek D250s in my ute in the weekend. I found that when driving the main battery is 13.5 volts and does not drop any lower. This is enough to trigger the Ctek to start charging the Aux battery. Seems the V9X alternators are setup different to the other motors so no need for cutting green wires or installing relays.
 
So in theory if the alternator doesn't switch to a lower voltage whilst driving, couln't I just get away with using a redarc isolator? They're cheaper that's all. And my deep cycle aux battery is lead acid anyway.
 
So in theory if the alternator doesn't switch to a lower voltage whilst driving, couln't I just get away with using a redarc isolator? They're cheaper that's all. And my deep cycle aux battery is lead acid anyway.
In theory you could, but it won't get charged very well... so it won't last long before it goes flat.
 
I have installed a redarc with a piranha tray under the passenger side to mine. Problem with tat setup is the battery is too small to power an engel 40 litre over night...set on 2. Damn battery goes flat...then after restart it was blowing the 40amp fuse...changed the fuse holder to over come that. But Capacity of the battery is the only issues I have faced. No alternator problem ...yet
Maybe your battery isnt getting a full charge because your alternator is not suppling full volts?? That's why your fridge is dying?
 
Maybe your battery isnt getting a full charge because your alternator is not suppling full volts?? That's why your fridge is dying?


checked charging voltage. all good

charged battery fully off the mains and drove all day. left fridge on two over night...cycling on and off. battery dead flat next day...

bought new fridge...did same again

bought new battery...bloody expense...but same result.

battery too small
 
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