foegezach

I have been wanting a dual battery set up for years now, however, there are so many possiblitys out there that i can find a simple way to do it. What i want i believe is simple. i want my main battery to run just my winch and aux driving lights (and maybe other little lights) while my aux battery will run my fridge, inverter, cb radio and maybe some lights. So basically after i park and shut down my rig my aux battery to run everything i need. with that being said is there a way to run a solar charger to that battery. I have attached a picture of what i basically want. i just need to no how to connect the wiring and isolator. Maybe someone could point me in the right direction about a kit

benchwarmer4203

You could buy something like this:

And a set of fused ring terminals like this:

I'm not sure if that panel is actually large enough for your application; but you'll be able to find an appropriately sized one with a little research. Another question I have is why you want to limit the solar panel to just keeping your aux battery charged. Why not let it charge both batteries?

The battery isolator is pretty simple in theory. The charging voltage from the alternator feeds one input terminal of the isolator, then each output terminal will feed the positive terminal of your batteries separately. Something like this:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...VX-BIR200.html

Gene45

Here are some pictures.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=batte...ih=678&dpr=0.9

If your truck came with tow package, there should be a relay in the truck to isolate the trailer battery when the engine is off. My 2012 came with the relay in a little plastic bag. It took a little while to figure out where to put it.

And a heavy duty relay: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/battery-isolator-relay

foegezach

i only want the solar panel to charge my aux battery because when my truck is shut off there will be no draw from the main battery the only battery that will need to be charged is the aux when im using the inverter and fridge and stuff.

still not getting the whole setup thing, im not very electrically smart about all of it. i just want to make sure that when my truck is off my main battery will not be producing power only my aux and when my truck is turned on i could connect both for winching (if im doing alot)

benchwarmer4203

That's exactly what a battery isolator does. It'll either use diodes or relays depending on which type you get, and will not allow devices that are hooked to your aux battery to draw from your main battery.

foegezach

right i got that much but im trying to find a kit that will allow me to connect both if needed for a self jump start or winching

benchwarmer4203

You could just tie the positives together after the battery isolator with a normally open switch...then if you want to parallel the batteries just close the switch.

foegezach

so where do i put the switch

foegezach

maybe you can put this picture in paint and finish it for me haha all this is going in one ear and out the other

foegezach

maybe this would work better