Suggestions For Battery Reserve

[Blackout67]

Have been looking for a way to upgrade my electrical system. My 98 Jeep Cherokee is pretty constantly charging at 13.5-13.8 depending on how hot it is. Got 2 gauge upgraded grounds and alternator power wire running to a O'Reilly's Super Start Group 34 AGM battery. I believe it's good for like 40AH. I tried asking on Cherokee Forums if it was normal to be charging that low and from the replies I got, that is nominal for these Jeeps cause of the way the voltage is regulated by the PCM.

Don't want to pony up the dough to get a HO alternator and a new belt, so was thinking of adding another battery. Not tryna go too expensive on the battery. Was looking at this or this and would be charging whichever one I get with this


Approximate amp pull will be 160-180 amps, (JP13 amp, 1400 watts @ 2ohm and a Recoil 80.4 bridged 80 watts @ 4 ohms x 2) on my stock 90 amp alternator. I don't usually drive for more than 30-45 minutes at a time so I'd say the stock alt should be able to keep up with it.

P.S. Isolator or nah? I've seen many threads saying it's absolutely necessary to prevent premature failure. Ive seen others say theyve never ran isolators at all, even mixing standard lead acid to AGM and Lead acid to lithium, etc with no issues. I wanna go with whatever is simplest

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[Blackout67]

Dang. Bump?

 

[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

Out of those two batteries I would go with the lithium. Lithium batteries are a game changer for car audio.
As far as the isolator goes, if you go lithium, use an isolator. If you stay with agm, I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[Blackout67]

Out of those two batteries I would go with the lithium. Lithium batteries are a game changer for car audio.
As far as the isolator goes, if you go lithium, use an isolator. If you stay with agm, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Yea I've heard lithium is much better, but why an isolator with the Lithium? On Glowe Voltage, they don't recommend it for their big lithium battery. They say it doesn't really matter if you use one or not

 

[Old_Slapper]

Have been looking for a way to upgrade my electrical system. My 98 Jeep Cherokee is pretty constantly charging at 13.5-13.8 depending on how hot it is. Got 2 gauge upgraded grounds and alternator power wire running to a O'Reilly's Super Start Group 34 AGM battery. I believe it's good for like 40AH. I tried asking on Cherokee Forums if it was normal to be charging that low and from the replies I got, that is nominal for these Jeeps cause of the way the voltage is regulated by the PCM.

Don't want to pony up the dough to get a HO alternator and a new belt, so was thinking of adding another battery. Not tryna go too expensive on the battery. Was looking at this or this and would be charging whichever one I get with this


Approximate amp pull will be 160-180 amps, (JP13 amp, 1400 watts @ 2ohm and a Recoil 80.4 bridged 80 watts @ 4 ohms x 2) on my stock 90 amp alternator. I don't usually drive for more than 30-45 minutes at a time so I'd say the stock alt should be able to keep up with it.

P.S. Isolator or nah? I've seen many threads saying it's absolutely necessary to prevent premature failure. Ive seen others say theyve never ran isolators at all, even mixing standard lead acid to AGM and Lead acid to lithium, etc with no issues. I wanna go with whatever is simplest

I would recommend a lithium battery and a bigger alternator. Your stock alternator is going to take a beating if you crank up the volume. Not to mention, when you drop voltage, you don't get the performance your amps were designed for.

As for an isolator, they are nice if you want to separate your batteries. I would definitely use a breaker for your power line. This will allow a quick disconnect, of your extra battery, when servicing your vehicle.

 

[Blackout67]

I would recommend a lithium battery and a bigger alternator. Your stock alternator is going to take a beating if you crank up the volume. Not to mention, when you drop voltage, you don't get the performance your amps were designed for.

As for an isolator, they are nice if you want to separate your batteries. I would definitely use a breaker for your power line. This will allow a quick disconnect, of your extra battery, when servicing your vehicle.

Do you know of a decent breaker that isn't too expensive

 

[Old_Slapper]

Do you know of a decent breaker that isn't too expensive

You can find a 175 amp to 200 amp breaker on Amazon for under $30.

Also, with an HO alternator, your system will be getting about 14.4 volts, which is much better than 13.5 volts.

 

[Blackout67]

You can find a 175 amp to 200 amp breaker on Amazon for under $30.

Also, with an HO alternator, your system will be getting about 14.4 volts, which is much better than 13.5 volts.

Yea I considered it. Just don't have $400 to drop on a HO alternator for my old *** jeep. Maybe if it was newer and in better shape. I had an HO alternator and all the works in my old mustang. Almost a grand for all the OFC 0 Gauge, smaller belt, and alternator and I ended up selling it for less than i bought the mustang for in the first place even tho I did all kinds of mechanical work as well.

Really my average commute is no longer than 15 minutes one way since I live in a populated area with everything I need nearby so I'm not worried about draining the systems voltage over, as people will beat on lithium banks for hours with the car off

 

[Old_Slapper]

I get what you mean. My alternator went out on my Ranger. A replacement is $80, but I found a 250 amp alternator on Amazon for $180. I was scared, but it works great. Stock is something like 70 or 90 amp.

 

[Blackout67]

I get what you mean. My alternator went out on my Ranger. A replacement is $80, but I found a 250 amp alternator on Amazon for $180. I was scared, but it works great. Stock is something like 70 or 90 amp.

Yea they sell 136amp alternators made for Grand Cherokees that will fit as well, gotta do some finagling to get it in tho

Apparently 13.6-13.8 is nominal for the charging systems in these old jeeps due to the regular, but I think there's a way to bypass it

 

[Old_Slapper]

Yea they sell 136amp alternators made for Grand Cherokees that will fit as well, gotta do some finagling to get it in tho

Apparently 13.6-13.8 is nominal for the charging systems in these old jeeps due to the regular, but I think there's a way to bypass it

136 amp would be good. There are higher voltage regulators for the jeeps.