It only really matters if you have a 24v vehicle though. More than likely your 80 was a 12v system, so you can have a regular start battery for your main battery and a deep cycle for your house battery.
Builds 1988 BJ74 “Number 1” (8 Viewers)
- Thread starter FJBen
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Kaderabek
GOLD Star
Correct - my 80 was 12 volt and I had a 12 volt starter battery and an isolated 12 volt deep cycle. My 73 is a 24 volt system with two 12 volt batteries (I presume having never really examined them but that creates a 24 volt system in my world). So if I had a 24 volt starter battery and an isolated 24 volt deep cycle battery, would that work in terms of never having a dead system? Seems like it would. Thanks for your patience.
Yes, it would. But 24V deep cycle 'house' battery means actually 2x 12V batteries. Costy $$$.
You can also have one 12V deep cycle 'house' battery. To properly charge the 'house' battery you need a DC-DC charger anyways. There are also 24-12 DC DC charger available. Works also much better with solar. (24V solar panels are also $$$ and there are some more hickups with 24V solar systems)
Uups. The hijack of this thread is about to escalate quickly now. Dual battery and solar setups are a deeeep rabbit hole
Sorry
If you haven't (yet) bought that Hiace, this is pretty cool. It caught my eye and I've never really seen anything like it before...
FJBen
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #1,545
Dropped the battery off last night and got a call this morning. Your battery is good, tested 799 CCA out of 810. 
“Batteries just die in the cold, but charge them up and they are good”.
Well I know the “power” of the battery drops but I’ve never had a battery die in the cold, that just came back as “new” when charged. Usually when they flat die like it did, it’s done. So the other shop that tested said it tested bad, possibly to get a sale?
I know nothing was on, ie lights etc so I’m a little baffled as to why after a few days it’s done. I had been driving it every few days when it was much colder.
Suffice to say, I’ll slap it back in and do some testing if I have a draw or not. If it fails again it’s getting relegated to backup or hay truck.
“Batteries just die in the cold, but charge them up and they are good”.
Well I know the “power” of the battery drops but I’ve never had a battery die in the cold, that just came back as “new” when charged. Usually when they flat die like it did, it’s done. So the other shop that tested said it tested bad, possibly to get a sale?
I know nothing was on, ie lights etc so I’m a little baffled as to why after a few days it’s done. I had been driving it every few days when it was much colder.
Suffice to say, I’ll slap it back in and do some testing if I have a draw or not. If it fails again it’s getting relegated to backup or hay truck.
FJBen
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #1,546
No parasitic draw that I can detect. Started right up.
At idle up to 1200rpm 13.4v.
Turning on lights,brights and cranked heater and turned stereo on. 12.5v at battery and terminals on alternator.
Turning everything off, the alternator crept back up to 14.1v to top the battery off.
So it seems, unless I’m missing something, that my alternator doesn’t have enough juice to cover the needs. I know @pradoblivious just updated his alternator with an NPR version that looks promising.
Currently mulling my options
At idle up to 1200rpm 13.4v.
Turning on lights,brights and cranked heater and turned stereo on. 12.5v at battery and terminals on alternator.
Turning everything off, the alternator crept back up to 14.1v to top the battery off.
So it seems, unless I’m missing something, that my alternator doesn’t have enough juice to cover the needs. I know @pradoblivious just updated his alternator with an NPR version that looks promising.
Currently mulling my options
PabloCruise
SILVER Star
Another X2.
The only difference was this one was mo money, less warranty.
PabloCruise
SILVER Star
The X2 is a sexy battery, but I ran the numbers on price vs warranty period and the Diehard AGM from advance auto won out in that comparison. And I think that was with a 5 year warranty on the X2. If they’ve dropped to 4 or 3 years then it makes it really hard to justify. For me.
FJBen
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #1,550
I just did the old school test light between negative cable and battery terminal. It was very dim for a second then went off.
Alternator I checked with multimeter on battery when off then running. Also put it directly on alt terminals.
Thanks I might borrow that from you just to confirm.
FJBen
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #1,551
I did look at that a little bit. I remember back in the day it was the hot ticket, but I lost track of those.
Yes it’s 4 years now. Plus Odyssey bought North Star who made X2 so I’m not sure what will happen with that.
Sears diehard AGM platinum doesn’t come in group 27 for some reason.
With a 10% discount the price would be around $100 more than the sears AGM. Are the 100 extra cranking amps and year warranty worth it?
The extra CCA might be worth it for a diesel?
PabloCruise
SILVER Star
I remember when all the cool kids were running Diehard.
Back when Sears was a legit retailer.
It seems like Interstate has largely taken over the battery market.
And Interstate is putting out some AGM batteries now, but when I went looking to replace the battery in the LX, they weren't making it in my size...
But I would be willing to try a Diehard AGM next time - hopefully >5 years from now...
Kaderabek
GOLD Star
Looking at 12V dual bank battery tenders. What's the correct amperage for a 24V 1HZ system?
I would just work with the largest size you can fit, then it is simply a choice of AGM or regular lead-acid and deep cycle or not. Lastly, once you have made those choices, get the highest amperage you can.
Just make sure both batteries are identical and hopefully you do not have to go through this again for 10 more years...
Just make sure both batteries are identical and hopefully you do not have to go through this again for 10 more years...
FJBen
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #1,557
As @Rigster said, just make sure you get the correct charger for the batteries you get
AGM vs Regular etc.
Some battery tenders have switches/settings to choose between the 2 types. Some are mountable on the vehicle and water proof.
I always want to get the biggest battery and ah I can fit in the space. OEM should be group 27.
Kaderabek
GOLD Star
It looks like there are options such as this one, which is flexible by battery type and amperage. Options are not always the best idea for fools like me though.
My apologies.... I misunderstood. I was speaking batteries..... you were speaking charger/tenders. That one looks like it does indeed take into consideration the different needs of different designs.
The one thing I would check is that when the battery is close fully charged that it slows/lowers the amps that it is putting out and shuts off when the battery is full. Otherwise you end up cooking your investment(s) and lowering how long they will last
The one thing I would check is that when the battery is close fully charged that it slows/lowers the amps that it is putting out and shuts off when the battery is full. Otherwise you end up cooking your investment(s) and lowering how long they will last
Kaderabek
GOLD Star
No worries at all. I appreciated the reply.
"Connect It And Forget It: Once connected, the Battery Tender Car Battery Charger Automotive manages your battery’s health on it’s own"
You can also monitor it via wifi and their app.
Also they need an editor.
"Connect It And Forget It: Once connected, the Battery Tender Car Battery Charger Automotive manages your battery’s health on it’s own"
You can also monitor it via wifi and their app.
Also they need an editor.
