Ok, i just spent 3 hours scrolling through many build threads and I'm left a little confused... Where is the best place to mount my battery? On one hand, I want it in the front for much shorter cables, and ease of wiring, but on the other hand mounting it up there leaves no room. If I mount it in the rear, i'll have plenty of room to mount it, but long cables going to the motor and winch sounds bad, not to mention having the battery near the fuel cell makes me worry about sparks when changing batteries....

Like I said, I went through alot of threads, but didn't really get a feel of a good place to mount it. Any thoughts????

A pic of what I have to work with... I plan on putting 2 toolboxes on either side of the fuel cell for parts, recovery gear, tools, ect. I have room just behind it in front of the rear xmember...
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7317/img00049g.jpg

i mounted mine in a battery box under my dash. it isnt really easy to get to and will be a pain in the ass to swap out, but i lost no space, all my wires are short and it is out of the way. I am running an optima redtop

I did mine on the passenger side under the dash mounted sideways using a standard metal battery box. It's out of the way and like you mentioned the cables are much shorter this way. Its not to hard to take in or out either... Just have to watch the metal strap so it doesn't arc the terminals when loosening it up.

I thought about placing it in the passenger floor up near the firewall, but there it limits foot space. I also thought about placing it "jeep style" in front of the firewall beside the motor up high, but there it would need alot of bracing that would look bulky, not to mention it would stick forward of the chassis and look bad.

this really depends on your build. i have had mine in 4 different spots on the buggy. dont worry about cable length, just put it in the best spot that works with your build. make it accessible for charging for when you kill it by winching too much or leaving your lights on.

right now, mine is the very back.

btw, your fuel cell looks really high in the frame. if you havent fully welded it in, cycle the suspension and see how close your rear axle will get to the frame and then put your fuel cell above that point by a couple inches (and use bumpstops)

yeah it's pretty high, but it sits a couple of inches under the top of the frame rail... i do plan on bumpstops, but until I can get it running and moving, I don't know how far up the axle will travel.

Here's a pic of my pass. floorboard and firewall... I thought about putting it there, or making a "bridge" over the tranny to place the battery over that and under the dash...

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6053/img00136y.jpg

yeah it's pretty high, but it sits a couple of inches under the top of the frame rail... i do plan on bumpstops, but until I can get it running and moving, I don't know how far up the axle will travel.

dont mean to bust your balls here, but you should of figured out how high the axle will travel before mounting your shocks

yeah i know, but i really just went on all the other builds I've seen here. Basically, where other axles are, using the same springs I'm using, and the same length shocks I have, I put my mounts where others put theirs... I figure I'll have to change a few things once it's "done", but at least i hope i'm in the ball park.

I would find a way to put it in the rear of the rig as low as possible. Behind pass seat down low? For some reason I never liked the battery right in front of me or my passenger. Probably as safe as anywhere but bothers me.

Ok, assuming i put it in the back, do I just run the cables to the motor (-) and starter (+), and jump everthing else off from there (winch, panel, ect.)? Or do I run them to some kind of distribution block, then run seperate cables to the accessories?

I have my battery in the back. I like it their do to weight distribution (sp). All iI did was run a short grounf from the battery to the frame. then I ran a 00 wire from the positive to a battery switch in front of the driver on the dash. From that switch you can go to your starter and fuse block. I have been running this way for several years with no problem. I did utilize 2 holes in the fram to run my cable. I figures if Hobie can use it for exhaust I can use it for a wire tray.

ya what he said. ground the batt right to the frame. do the same with your winch. run the hot to your main power switch. make sure you get a nice switch that can handle that kind of power if you run the hot thru there for the winch.

I have been using the Moroso's disco. It's the only reasonably priced quality switch that has main battery disco plus another disconnect for the ign. I've been buying them from Jegs. If you choose another unit with only the single disco circuit make sure you run the alt wire to the correct side of the unit. If not the engine will keep running straight from the alt.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/Brand/Moroso/Product-Line/Moroso-Battery-Disconnect-Switches/?autoview=SKU

I read somewhere that Dustin suggested a seperate switch for your winch in the event that the solenoids stuck you would have a backup source to disable it. I think this is wise so we have run our last few cars that way.

If you choose another unit with only the single disco circuit make sure you run the alt wire to the correct side of the unit. If not the engine will keep running straight from the alt.


Ok, I could search this, but you brought it up. Which side is the correct side for the alternator? The battery side, not the ignition side, right?

some switches are made for alt and some arnt. the ones that are have 4 leads. get the one with 4 leads. when you wire it up and run your motor, turn your main power off, the ign should turn off, if it doesnt, you have it wired wrong.

Got mine mounted right behind my passenger seat, never had a problem with my cables being that long

Ours is at the very back. Never had an issue with cables, on several vehicles with the battery very far away.

I thought about placing it in the passenger floor up near the firewall, but there it limits foot space. I also thought about placing it "jeep style" in front of the firewall beside the motor up high, but there it would need alot of bracing that would look bulky, not to mention it would stick forward of the chassis and look bad.

If I did mine over (and still may), I would make my passenger firewall "z" shaped, so there's room under the battery for my passenger's feet, and room above the firewall for the battery (still keeping it under the hood).

...that or maybe under the back floor (to one side above the springs/diff)

Using an Odyssey 925 (much smaller, better than Optima IMO) opens up your placement options as well.

Mine is in the way back by the fuel cell. Meh. Would rather have it up front. Less wires running down the frame.

If you need a way to hold it down, check us out. We have a bunch of types for Optimas and Odysseys (including the 925 mentioned above).

http://artecindustries.3dcartstores.com/Battery-Mounts_c_12.html

Using an Odyssey 925 (much smaller, better than Optima IMO) opens up your placement options as well.


I thought about going to a smaller battery, or even different ways to mount the optima that I have (sideways, or some way "unconventional"), but that wouldn't go with the spirit of my FToy. There is a guy I have learned alot from that I used to 'wheel with, and while I don't agree with all he teaches, one thing I'll always remember is two things: SIMPLE, and AVAILABLE. Keep your builds simple as to easily diagnose a problem on the trail, and make sure the parts you use are easily available for replacement.

The basis of my FToy build is this- everything on this buggy fits an 88 Pickup. From the spark plugs to brake pads, it all can be got at Advance Auto (my discount, of course), and with the exception of the fuel cell, the FJ60 rotors, and birfields, I don't really have to remember anything except that whatever breaks can be replaced from anyone's pickup.

Back to the point, I also wanna make the battery placement easy to get to, and if it were to take a shit on the trail, I could borrow about anyone's battery to get me back home. And you can't mount a regular battery upside down....

I have a lot of wires running the full length of my frame to the very rear drivers side where my batteries are... 12voltguy told me it is best to wire the starter/alt straight to the battery not to the distribution block where everything else is...so I have Alt, starter, winch, and distribution block all ran with 2ga wire the full length...was kind of a bitch but got it all in wire loom and it looks fine. I grounded both batteries with 12" ground straps from autozone straight to the frame right next to the batteries.