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    1. #1
      Join Date
      Oct 2011
      Posts
      37

      Pros and Cons of putting battery in the trunk?

      Need to get a new battery, and I have been dabbling with relocating it to the trunk area. In doing so, it seems like it would also be beneficial to install a master shutoff/disconnect. For those that have trunk-mounted battery setups:
      1. What are the pros and cons?
      2. Are you using full-battery enclosures or just a standard open-mount?
      3. Does the solenoid remain in the engine bay?

      If it's easier to post pictures of your setups with a brief description, feel free to do so.

      Thanks!



    2. #2
      Join Date
      Aug 2015
      Location
      charlotte
      Posts
      924
      Country Flag: United States
      For me the pros are better weight distribution and a cleaner engine bay.
      The Cons for me is a little bit of work and extra cost involved.

      I'm using a billet open mount as the battery is sealed, as is recommended.

      I believe the remote solenoid should stay close to the battery, mine is about 6 inches away, running a 1/0 wire to the starter, and a fused 4 gauge to the power supply under the dash and alternator charge. There's a little more to it than this but there are a couple great threads on here if you have a little search.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Feb 2007
      Location
      Tinley Park, IL
      Posts
      1,163
      Country Flag: United States
      I was considering a trunk mounted battery as well. However, I opted to install a lightweight battery in the stock location. Less wiring and weight overall, but no benefit of transferring some weight from the front to the rear.

      26 lbs https://www.summitracing.com/parts/o...5mjt/overview/

      Just something to consider.

      Nick ~
      1969 Cutlass

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Aug 2007
      Posts
      634
      I've done a few trunk mounted batteries.

      I used the billet mount and optima red tops so no fumes of any kind. Bolted the mount down to the trunk floor and then used thru the sheet metal battery studs so you don't run cables thru any sheet metal. The positive cable fastened every 8-10" with rubber cable clamps all the way to the starter. Negative cable run far enough forward to attach it to the trans more or less in parallel with the positive cable. Ground straps from the engine to the frame. I always run two.

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Jul 2018
      Posts
      433

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Location
      Fredericksburg, VA.
      Posts
      3,153
      Country Flag: United States
      I also use a billet battery hold down with my Odyssey AGM battery. I don't use a remote solenoid but I do have my battery cut off switch and circuit breakers mounted in the trunk close to the battery. I run one 1/0 positive cable to the starter solenoid terminal which is also where the alternator output is connected. The pros are better weight balance and cleaner engine bay. The cons are it takes a bit more work to setup. I also use the through bulkhead electrical connectors which eliminates the need to run the cable through a hole.
      Steve Hayes
      "Dust Off"
      68 Camaro

      Given sufficient initial acceleration, even pigs can fly!

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Sep 2016
      Location
      LA - Lower Alabama
      Posts
      560
      kind of a minor issue, but isn’t there something about needing a diode to prevent starter run-on if you’re using a late model permanent magnet starter with a remote mounted solenoid?
      Dude are you made of leprechauns? Cause that was awesome!

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Jan 2019
      Location
      Athens, AL
      Posts
      38
      Country Flag: United States
      I build/work on drag cars for a living, along with some high powered street car stuff, and I'm getting my feet wet in the Pro Touring world. I've put batteries nearly anywhere you can imagine, and the trunk is usually the best place for them. Here are a few lessons I have learned along the way:

      1. ALWAYS use a big fuse in the main positive battery cable as close to the battery as possible. In the event of a shorted positive cable, the fuse will blow and prevent a fire.

      2. Mount the battery tray to something solid, preferably the frame rail. If you can't mount it directly to a chassis member, weld on a loop, hoop, or some other sort of structure to attach the hold down to. in the event of a collision or rollover, you don't want a battery on the loose inside the car. I have seen battery trays that were mounted to the trunk floor pull out during an impact.

      3. Run a master disconnect switch. Use one that is rated for enough continuous amperage to supply all electrical goodies at full boogie. Cheap disconnects cause big voltage drops.

      4. Use welding cable for your battery cable. Their finer strands are more flexible, and carry more current for a given size than standard battery cable. You can get welding cable in both red and black.

      5. If you are going to use the car a lot at the track, consider putting a knob or lever inside the car that operates the master disconnect via a Morse cable from inside the car. That way, when you're all strapped in and you've forgotten to turn on the disconnect, you can do it from the driver seat. If the battery is switched off, the horn won't blow to get someone's attention, and you've gotta unstrap and get it yourself. Also, the driver has the ability to shut off the battery in the event of a problem.

      6. I prefer to run a separate negative battery cable to a firewall mounted bulkhead, and then distribute from there to the block or head, and all the components. Chassis material makes for a terrible ground, and this can be a real issue with EFI systems and high powered ignition boxes/coils. If you absolutely must ground the battery at the rear of the car, use a good quality crimp lug, weld a stud to the chassis, and be dang sure it stays clean and tight.


      7. If you're relocating the battery to the trunk, pay attention to what your corner weights are. A lot of times, you can correct a corner weight issue by strategically locating the battery.

      Hope this helps.

      Travis

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Jul 2012
      Location
      Traverse City, MI
      Posts
      574
      Country Flag: United States
      I like all of the points that TQuillen put down but.........I was always under the impression that using the biggest and shorted ground possible was the best. So grounding at the rear of the car closest to the battery would be the best option but as long as its to a frame rail. Am I wrong there?

      Also, what are you guys using for loom on the positive cable to prevent rub through of the cable jacketing?

      Finally, I have a couple more things in the engine bay that get direct power from the battery lug. Are you guys running the big power cable to a junction and powering from there? Or?
      Project thread - https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...ouring-Project
      IG - @tc_chevelle


    10. #10
      Join Date
      Aug 2004
      Location
      Missouri
      Posts
      344
      Country Flag: United States
      The way I did mine was the large starter cable is dead unless starting by having a solenoid near the battery. Off of the hot side of that solenoid there is a fused 8 gauge wire to a terminal post on the firewall and then another on the core support firewall. I then later added another under the dash to feed the A/C. I used the MAD Electrical kit, expensive but very nice and very nice instructions. This gave me the ability to grab battery power at different locations on the car, to feed relays.
      Sean James

      69 Firebird - Build Thread
      72 Firebird

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Jan 2019
      Location
      Athens, AL
      Posts
      38
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by Barrrf View Post
      I like all of the points that TQuillen put down but.........I was always under the impression that using the biggest and shorted ground possible was the best. So grounding at the rear of the car closest to the battery would be the best option but as long as its to a frame rail. Am I wrong there?

      Also, what are you guys using for loom on the positive cable to prevent rub through of the cable jacketing?

      Finally, I have a couple more things in the engine bay that get direct power from the battery lug. Are you guys running the big power cable to a junction and powering from there? Or?
      Biggest ground is good to a point. Most of the time I use a 1/0, or on a car with a lot of current draw, a 2/0. What you're after is the lowest resistance ground, and sometimes the chassis isn't the best for that. Also, the chassis can cause different resistances between different ground locations, and can also act like an "antenna" that radiates RFI and EMI to sensitive electronics like EFI, ignition processors, digital gauges, stereo systems, etc. I've fought all of these issues in the past, and the vast majority were solved by the "parallel ground" method I described. You do still want a smaller ground to the chassis to run thing like headlights, horns, etc, so I always ground the chassis with a 6 or 8 ga ground wire. But all the electronics get grounded either to the battery directly, or to the distribution stud on the firewall.

      I don't use loom on battery cables, but there's nothing wrong with it. I fasten cable every 4-6" with black plastic adel clamps and large head black rivets, or 8-32 stainless button heads. I also route the battery cables through the interior, when possible to protect them. There's nearly always room behind trim panels, under the carpet next to door sills, etc. On race cars, I leave them exposed. I run the battery cable to a junction on the firewall that also passes through the firewall to feed the starter and anything in the engine bay that requires battery power.

      Travis

      PS - if you need pictures of any of that stuff, let me know.

    12. #12
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Location
      Fredericksburg, VA.
      Posts
      3,153
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by AU Doc View Post
      kind of a minor issue, but isn’t there something about needing a diode to prevent starter run-on if you’re using a late model permanent magnet starter with a remote mounted solenoid?
      I don't know about starter run-on, but I had to install a diode in the alternator voltage sensor wire in order to stop engine run-on.
      Steve Hayes
      "Dust Off"
      68 Camaro

      Given sufficient initial acceleration, even pigs can fly!

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Jul 2012
      Location
      Traverse City, MI
      Posts
      574
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by TQuillen View Post
      Biggest ground is good to a point. Most of the time I use a 1/0, or on a car with a lot of current draw, a 2/0. What you're after is the lowest resistance ground, and sometimes the chassis isn't the best for that. Also, the chassis can cause different resistances between different ground locations, and can also act like an "antenna" that radiates RFI and EMI to sensitive electronics like EFI, ignition processors, digital gauges, stereo systems, etc. I've fought all of these issues in the past, and the vast majority were solved by the "parallel ground" method I described. You do still want a smaller ground to the chassis to run thing like headlights, horns, etc, so I always ground the chassis with a 6 or 8 ga ground wire. But all the electronics get grounded either to the battery directly, or to the distribution stud on the firewall.

      I don't use loom on battery cables, but there's nothing wrong with it. I fasten cable every 4-6" with black plastic adel clamps and large head black rivets, or 8-32 stainless button heads. I also route the battery cables through the interior, when possible to protect them. There's nearly always room behind trim panels, under the carpet next to door sills, etc. On race cars, I leave them exposed. I run the battery cable to a junction on the firewall that also passes through the firewall to feed the starter and anything in the engine bay that requires battery power.

      Travis

      PS - if you need pictures of any of that stuff, let me know.
      Thanks! I appreciate your reply.
      Project thread - https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...ouring-Project
      IG - @tc_chevelle


    14. #14
      Join Date
      Jun 2015
      Location
      Carlsbad
      Posts
      85
      Country Flag: United States
      What size fuse are you guys running on the positive cable near the battery?
      Cheers
      Dustin

    15. #15
      Join Date
      Jan 2019
      Location
      Athens, AL
      Posts
      38
      Country Flag: United States
      I use a 250A fuse on street cars. I had one blow on a customer's car not long ago when the starter hung the solenoid and overheated the rotor. I was sure glad it was there.....

      Travis

    16. #16
      Join Date
      Jun 2015
      Location
      Carlsbad
      Posts
      85
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by TQuillen View Post
      I use a 250A fuse on street cars. I had one blow on a customer's car not long ago when the starter hung the solenoid and overheated the rotor. I was sure glad it was there.....

      Travis
      Thanks, will definitely be adding one to my setup. Cheers
      Cheers
      Dustin

    17. #17
      Join Date
      Jul 2018
      Posts
      433
      Where do you get such a fuse?

    18. #18
      Join Date
      Jan 2019
      Location
      Athens, AL
      Posts
      38
      Country Flag: United States
      I buy them from McMaster-Carr, the website is www.mcmaster.com. Part number for the fuse is 9180K97, the fuse holder is 9180K7. As a side note, I buy a lot of stuff from McMaster. Hope this helps.

      Travis

    19. #19
      Join Date
      Sep 2016
      Location
      LA - Lower Alabama
      Posts
      560
      Quote Originally Posted by TQuillen View Post
      I buy them from McMaster-Carr, the website is www.mcmaster.com. Part number for the fuse is 9180K97, the fuse holder is 9180K7. As a side note, I buy a lot of stuff from McMaster. Hope this helps.

      Travis
      This is good info!!!
      Dude are you made of leprechauns? Cause that was awesome!

    20. #20
      Join Date
      Jul 2018
      Posts
      433
      Quote Originally Posted by TQuillen View Post
      I buy them from McMaster-Carr, the website is www.mcmaster.com. Part number for the fuse is 9180K97, the fuse holder is 9180K7. As a side note, I buy a lot of stuff from McMaster. Hope this helps.

      Travis
      Great.. thank you very much

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