Battery isolator questions.

[xmakeafistx 10+ year member]

I am running a second battery (the one in sig), connected to my cheap battery up front, and grounded to the body. From what I hear, Isolators are supposed to increase the life of both batteries (if the batteries are not identical.)

Is there any brand of isolator that I should look out for? Will my amp be strictly run off of my secondary battery if I install the isolator? Also, will having no battery isolator for about a month effect the batteries dramatically? I do not have a very big load running to them.

Just a few questions I had in mind, Thank you all in advance for help. This is my first electrical upgrade, so I want to do it right.

Click to read more...

 

[xmakeafistx 10+ year member]

bump for helps. still pretty lost on this even through research..

 

[sacsking916 5,000+ posts]

what you lost on bro?

 

[lionfamlee Premium Member]

It is a good idea to have matching batteries (type and size), but it is paramount to make sure they are the same type (AGM to AGM = Yes) conventional to AGM = Bad). It is true if for instance that if the battery up front is smaller than the battery (specs) in the back than it will slowly drain the battery up front. Takes a while for this to happen. I have a Yellowtop 34/78 in the front and a Stinger SPP2250 (one of the largest car audio batteries) and the yellowtop show no sign of it being drained. Do you plan on running your system loud while the car is off for extended periods? Well if not, then you really do not need an isolator . That's they are used for. The last time I used an isolator was back in 97. I run additional batteries on all 3 of my vehicles and do not use an isolator. With that said, having an isolator is not going to hurt your system, but it is not needed unless you run the system hard while the car is off. I recommend running your batteries in parallel.

Dual battery wiring tutorial

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/wiring-electrical-installation-help/398527-dual-battery-wiring-tutorial-why.htmlhttp://www.caraudio.com/forums/wiring-electrical-installation-help/398527-dual-battery-wiring-tutorial-why.html

 

[xmakeafistx 10+ year member]

I am not going to be running my system hard at all while my car is off.. & what you're mentioning about matching car batteries is exactly what i'm afraid of.

I have a simple walmart battery up front, and the battery in my sig running in back. This is why I figured I would need an isolator, but I feel like I still misunderstand the use of one really.

If I read that tutorial right (which was very helpful when I was wiring my second battery), it states that if for any reason you are not running the same type of batteries, you should probably install an isolator. And a part of me is questioning how necessary it is..

I don't mean to sound rude at all, but i'm honestly lost as to what you're saying. What I took out of it is that if I'm not running my system hard while my car is off, I probably won't need one... and that not having matching battery types is bad. Would an isolator also fix this?

I apologize if i'm not very clear, I'll just summarize it..

1. Will my system be run strictly off of my secondary battery if I install an isolator?

2. I am running two different types of batteries, how fast will this damage both my front and rear batteries, if so what is the damage?

3. What exactly does the isolator do?

Sorry for all the questions guys, appreciate all of the respectful help.

 

[sacsking916 5,000+ posts]

I am not going to be running my system hard at all while my car is off.. & what you're mentioning about matching car batteries is exactly what i'm afraid of.
I have a simple walmart battery up front, and the battery in my sig running in back. This is why I figured I would need an isolator, but I feel like I still misunderstand the use of one really.

If I read that tutorial right (which was very helpful when I was wiring my second battery), it states that if for any reason you are not running the same type of batteries, you should probably install an isolator. And a part of me is questioning how necessary it is..

I don't mean to sound rude at all, but i'm honestly lost as to what you're saying. What I took out of it is that if I'm not running my system hard while my car is off, I probably won't need one... and that not having matching battery types is bad. Would an isolator also fix this?

I apologize if i'm not very clear, I'll just summarize it..

1. Will my system be run strictly off of my secondary battery if I install an isolator?

no, unless you are playing it with the car off

2. I am running two different types of batteries, how fast will this damage both my front and rear batteries, if so what is the damage?

i run my front which is an autolite battery(wet cell) with agm and gel batts in the rear, prior to switching batts

3. What exactly does the isolator do?

it isolates the front battery from the rear battery when there isnt power going from the front to back. thats the best i can explain that one bro.

Sorry for all the questions guys, appreciate all of the respectful help.

some answers hopefully they help

 

[lionfamlee Premium Member]

^^^^Pretty much sums it up.

To the OP, I have seen different results from running different types of batteries. Some people may not have any issues. There is a good example in the tutorial. I would recommend using voltmeter on the battery and watch the resting voltage (car being off) and see of you notice it staying the same or dropping. You can get a good idea if your front battery is being drained by the rear if you notice in a few weeks that the resting volt that should have started around 13.0 to 12.8 volts starts dropping down to 12.6 to 12.4 and so on after that. The slower the drop in voltage if any at all will mean that it is not draining that battery that much. This can happen even with the same type battery, but the sizes are different. Remember that walmart battery is not meant for rapid charge and discharge. Good luck.

 

[xmakeafistx 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the help guys! I really needed that info, I'm getting a pretty good idea of what its all about now.