Battery relocation question

[nebojsa_o]

I've found some info about relocating the battery to the trunk, and I am really considering doing that in spring/summer if I have the time. But I got thinking. With the battery in the trunk, what would happen during winter time? When the battery is under the hood, and the engine and all that warms up, the battery warms up too. If I kept it in the trunk, in -40 winter weather, would it start in the morning? And even if it does start, the trunk never gets as warm as under the hood. So would that cause a problem with starting, or something along those lines, or is there absolutely no problem if the battery doesn't get warm? Someone please explain that...

[manitcor]

when you relcoate the battery to the trunk you have to upgrade to a gel pack style battery, like a Optima or Exide, instead of good old fashioned liquid. Gel pack batteries provide more Cold Cranking Amps and are more resistant to cold. My battery has been relocated for 3 years and its been through one Michigan winter, one Jersey winter and one Minnesota winter. Going on its 4th year and its gotten cold here in maryland with no problems.

 

Dont skimp on the wire, get good quality 4ga or better wire (some people will say 2ga or 0ga but ive run 4ga with no problems but i used a wire with alot of small strands as opposed to fewer larger strands).

 

You will also need a 200A fuse for the wire hooked up as close to the battery as possible.

[Crazy K]

do what I did, mount it in the center console! j/k

[pwmin]

why u relocating? they also make a honda size optima (about half the size of the stock batt). i would use good 4ga stereo wire or 2ga battery wire unless you are going to have a huge system, then i would go with 1/0ga stereo wire. you can also get a battery warmer a/o blanket

 

you can also do the "big 3"

[AWeb80]

I just relocated mine, here are pics

[Garrett Powered]

I always thought it was best to have an aux. battery and keep the one in the engine compartment. Then you need an isolator, but the isolator takes the strain off your alt. so it is worth the upgrade. anything else would be not as good as stock. But it depends on why you are relocating.

 

Q: why would you put a starting battery in the trunk?

[MonteCarloChick]

I have a Summit Battery Box with all the wires if you need it

[sonyman87]

i have the liquid style in the trunk for 2 winters now. no problems yet. although i replaced my battery over the summer b/c it was 4 years old and weak.

[nebojsa_o]

Sorry I didn't mention why I was thinking of relocating it. I want to do a true CAI or a FWI, I'll still think about that. And I don't like how hard it is to reach the damn positive and ground when I gotta boost somebody. My dads car needed boosting once, and it was close to imposible, we managed, but it was just hard. That's just a bonus though, the biggest reason is the CAI, or FWI. I think I've read somewhere that I can do true CAI with 3100, but it's a long ways from filter to the engine, and it will probably just get warm, plus it's hard to install as far as I know... I thought there was a write up somewhere on how to move the battery to the trunk, and what all needs to be done, but I didn't see it in the FAQ section.

 

P.S. Lets say I get 2ga battery wire, what's the best way to get it to the trunk?

[pwmin]

hehe..,http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35837

 

should be a large grommet you can go through on the driver side firewall. tear out the seats and mouldings and run it under there at the driver side

 

 

d.o.h.c._v6 on [insert "competing board" here] sells some w/o reloc for x's at least

[AWeb80]

I just relocated mine, here are pics

 

i have my CAI/FWI pics there too.

[Baddflash]

Here's my current setup, I am using a 4ga wire. I've had the battery in the trunk for like 2 yrs and no problems. The battery doesn't have to be the gel type but it needs to be sealed. The CAI works well too so it's worth the effort.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Baddflash/000_0717.jpg

 

I don't have any pics of the finished product it looks kinda hacked in these. (old pics)

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Baddflash/000_0171.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Baddflash/000_0533.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Baddflash/000_0546.jpg

[yes2slim]

really hacked...what w/f res u use? n-body?

[nebojsa_o]

Aah crap, I was hoping I could do without pulling the seats out. Would the back seat (bench) also have to come out? Is there any big difference in FWI and just dropping it further down? I was also worried about the water getting in there, but I'll worry about that later. I was leaning towards just dropping it under the car, instead of FWI... Also what's the difference between the smaller K&N filters I've seen plenty of times, and that long ass 6" one, for fucks sakes that thing is almost longer than my wang. Thanks for helping out guys...

[Baddflash]

yes2slim, You shouldn't bother posting, if you're gonna be an ass.

[Baddflash]

As long as you are getting air fron outside the engine compartment I don't think it matters much unless you're doing a ram air setup.

[yes2slim]

damn, i was just joking. wouldnt have asked a serious question afterwards if i wasnt.

[Psych0matt]

Hey Baddflash, what car is that washer resevior from?

[Farqineh]

Never in any case is a battery location neessary due to weather......

Think of a big rig .......24 Volt sys, and nothing but wet cell all the way..... The things hang outside the truck on a frame rail behind the front wheel and collect snow, dirt, salt and ice..... They're no different than a 2.2V x 6 wet cell battery other than they're bigger, or there is just simply more of them.....

 

 

The only thing to worry about regarding remote battery location is resistance. Shit man you could tow your battery behind you in a trailer if you wanted to it doesnt matter other than the load on your electrical system. The larger the wire the lower the resistance...... Therefore the farther the battery, the larger the wire. THIS IS GOSPEL! There is no argument to this theory..... this is fact. The farther you place your battery, the higher the resistance of wire due to length, thus the requirement for larger wire to compensate. Route your wire however you please as long as you have sufficient ground and positive contacts and sufficient insulation to rubbing or chaffing on metal or conductive components. Use of grommets, or tie straps recommended where necessary. Also, batteries release hydrogen gas while charging under certain circumstances therfore proper ventalation is required. This is why safety regulations state the use of safety glasses while working around batteries, and to keep away from flame or spark. I recommend looking into your local state law regarding the proper mounting and ventalation of a battery!! This is significant information...... I highly recommend looking into it before choosing to do so!! Just slapping into your trunk is not as wise as you might think. Your average race car has a fuel cell in there along with a battery...... Tell me they are not ventilated??? It is law, especially if your car has to pass inspection every year as do some places in Canada..... For the most part you will likely get away with it, but I would look up a proceedure If I were you....... I've seen batteries explode...... It's not pretty! The guy hovering over it that accidentally layed his wrench accross the posts often doesnt look pretty afterwards either!!! This is why I've gone into detail regarding this post!!

 

Best of luck!

[nebojsa_o]

Thanks for the heads up. In SK, there is no inspection every year so I'm not worried about that. Well if a battery needs ventilation, I'm guessing trunk isn't the best place for it, but everyone on here that relocated has their battery in the trunk, and so far so good...

[Baddflash]

Sorry man I was in a real shitty mood yesterday. The washer reservoir is stock for a '90 lumina as well as gp's and cs's I think. I forget if it's '90 only or if there were more years with it. Both my Lumina's have that reserve.

 

It is a good idea to vent the battery box to prevent fume build up, which a tiny spark could ignite. The trunk is a fair size space and shouldn't allow fumes to build that much but it doesn't hurt to be sure.

[89GPSE]

I was going to do mine sometime soon and just use my amp cable 4ga, that is already run. Then run a new 4ga to the amp from the now closer battery.I just worry about the strain on the Alt. It has to send power 15 feet to the trunk, with a bit of resistance. Not good, and I have a 200 amp Alt. I forget the math on amps/volt and the resistance of the wire they can run on, but his is important to take into consideration.

[nebojsa_o]

I went to some place today, that's gonna install my remote starter, and I figured I'd ask them about it. He said, first of all, it might not be legal to move it to the back, without going through an inspection to see if it was all done properly, and if it's safe to be back there, in case of an accident or something he manetioned. He also mentioned the fumes, might get a little too much, and they might even get to the interior of the car, since there is no firewall back there. I figure I won't have a problem with ventilation since my trunk lid is not aligned properly

I'll look into this, to find out if I can do it or not... I'm just wondering if it's possible to buy a smaller battery, that would perform the same? I'm thinking that illegal in the trunk thing sounds like BS, because I've seen plenty of cars with an additional battery in the trunk for audio equipement.. :?

[pwmin]

my 98 riv battery was under the back seat! as long as it has a vent tube it should be ok

[nebojsa_o]

Ahh, I see. Well how would you get the vent tube out of the trunk? Are we talking about cutting/drilling a hole for the vent tube?