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Originally Posted by Romer
Painless:
Do you normally drive with switch in combine to charge both batteries, or do you isolate them to prevent something from draining both batteries while you are driving like a bad alternator?
Is there another way to see you have a bad alt before the voltage stops to drop (see on gauge)?
How long would a fully charged battery be OK if isolated from the charging circuit.
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There is an Alternator Good signal that goes to the dash. I assume (but have not personally checked) that there is an idiot light there to indicate failure).
An AGM or Spiral Cell battery has a very low self-discharge rate, and, with no load, would sit for months without issue. Typical starter and wet deep cycle batteries have high self-discharge rates, and may have problems after even a month.
My concern with this setup is leaving a switch in the wrong position and not fully charging BOTH batteries when the engine is on.
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Originally Posted by Romer
Hellroaring:
If you flip the switch to start the vehicle, is the main still in the loop potentially drawing down the main?
If your alternator is bad (Cause of dead main battery) will the backup be able to do more than just start you, can it effectively run all your electronics.
Looks like wire from backup goes to starter. Is this the wire that takes the backup battery power and powers the loads via the main battery?
If you flip the switch to start the vehicle, is the main still in the loop potentially drawing down the main?
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I don't know the specifics of the Hellroaring system. If your main battery and alternator are both dead and you parallel the backup (self-jump), the backup is going to be drawn down by both the EFI/ECU and other "normal" loads, and ALSO "charging" the main battery.
That said, I haven't seen a high incidence of alternator failures on any forum.
My concern with the Hellroaring system is that high DOD loads (fridge is the most common example) are run off of the MAIN battery. Typical starting batteries have a very low tolerance for repeated deep discharges. ALL batteries have limited (or no) tolerance for repeated 100% discharges. You should probably consider an AGM or spiral cell battery for your MAIN battery with this system.
Have you looked into a "custom" system using the BlueSea ACR (or other high-current solenoid)? I'm not aware of any off the shelf, currently shipping, systems that will support the full load of a winch (up to 475A for the Warn).