farmer12

It doesn't matter...it's exactly what he said, he made a giant battery. Every diesel on the road has atleast 2 batts. And they are just hooked up like he has his. No isolator. Yes maybe later down the road when the batts get old you might have one go bad sooner than the other and it can drag the other one with it. But with all the dual batt setups we have on the farm...trucks, tractors, whatever it be...I've only had that happen once. An our stuff sits around for months sometimes without being run and they hold out fine. Even when or if that happens you'll change them both anyway.

I hear ya tho buddy the voltage drop on these is annoying, dimming lights and such. I've considered doing the same thing but dunno where I'll put the second batt. Don't really have much extra room cept in the bed.

Mechanicalmike08

Ford 250's with deisels came factory with an isolator thats why a lot of guys just get one from a junk yard and slap it in, im not saying it happens all the time but it happens and why take the chance if you can prevent it, heres the link to mine https://www.f150forum.com/f10/anothe...weekend-72074/ my truck has an electric fan from a cougar that pulls so much power when it runs i melted the 8 gage wire and fuse that it was wired too, but now i got the fan and a crap ton of lights that can all be ran at the saem time in idle and cant even notice there on

hiredman77

I feel your pain. The drop on these trucks is outrageous. This took care of a lot of it, but a 200 amp alt would really seal the deal. Mike your set up is nice and clean. Is the isolator able to be switched from in the cab?

ymeski56

If we can put a man on the moon...


A larger Alternator will keep thing's much less "problematic" long term. Get out your pencil & compute your Max amp load to start w/. Running close to max output guarantees premature component failure, least of which, the alternator.

The way your running, is essentially a single bank system. You really want a dual bank, which among other things, allows isolation.

One bank primarily dedicated to accessory load. My Boat was set up like that. I never really studied the configuration as it never became a problem that require attention.

My point is, I think more research on your part would be a good idea. W/ the load your running, things can tend to fail quickly, catastrophically & the "only" thing predictable, it will be at the worst possible time!

bigshane90

I run 5 group 31 Deka intimidators in my 95 on a 275 amp dc power 270xp
My buddy runs 7 dekas in his suburban on a 270 sp for about two years now and there are no isolators and no problems and absolutely Noo voltage drop. My second battery under the hood is where the washer fluid tank used to be

hiredman77

y: thanks for the heads up. I will do some research and see if changes are called for. The only load I really have at this point is the dual fans and stock accessories. I also have a winch I use from time to time but thats very far and few in between.

big: I jacked the idea from my car audio days. I had 3 yellow tops in my Caddy for a while all run this way and didnt have any issues. SO I am crossing my fingers that I dont have trouble with this set up.

bigshane90

You won't unless somethin stupid with Ur batterys happen a dead cell or something. Then it will drain the other one but all u do is take them out and see which is bad and remove it. It doesnt mean it will make them all go bad, if there good batterys anyways

BBS_Jeff

Yeah, my semi has 4 batteries wired just like that , all semi's do. It works as s massive power source to crank the motor over.

ymeski56

My boat set up was for a fairly decent load. 4 battery/2 bank. Interior/exterior lights, sound systems. navigation, refrigeration, water supply, power inverter, ect... Installed the batteries w/ a cherry picker.

Mechanicalmike08

i actually just have it hooked up to a keyed ignition source and to let you know the front battery is dedicated to starting and the stock accesories, the optima is for other accesories like the fan and lights ive added