wants to move the battery to the back, good idea?

[serehill]

Hot rodders have done this for decades. I've owned a car for 5 years with the battery in the back in the passenger compartment. FROM the factory!! How do you jump it off with an electric tailgate when the battery is dead? OPEN the freakin hood put a ground cable on the block & the positive on the solenoid ROCKET SCIENCE. Of course someone that couldn't figure that out may not be able to open the hood. Who in thier right mind would run the alternator wire to the back?? My Dodge Magnum doesn't have the alternator wire run to the battery in the back. The battery will connect to the solenoid right where the alternator is connected now!! REALLY?? I also used to run a 2K rf amp off the battery in the back with all factory wiring for 5 years no problems. I don't really see a lot of reason to do this but I certainly think all the stuff in this thread as way off base. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles have done it. For tens of thousands of reasons. The voltage drop in 15 feet is nothing. OK battery venting & Issues: Anyone know of anyone that has any of the issues in a classic volkwagen bug? How about a porcshe? LOL These were old vented batteries without even vent tubes. Battery technology today is 10 times better. Under the Back seat. Uh they still do it this. Rich 88 if your a navy vet why don't we talk about submarine design it flies up in the face of all these theories. Generators way in the back batteries in the midship for better electrical & weight distribution. 300 to 400 batteries which the older subs primarily runs off of. How did the sailors survive when one battery is going to do all this???
On those subs contrary to popular belief the primary propulsion was the batteries & electric motors. When submerged. Last but not least your alternator doesn't have a clue where your battery is located. Voltage sensor is not that critical but does have bearing. Wired properly it will work like it has for a hundred years. There are probably close to 5,000 battery boxes manufactured today that you can put a battery in. Vented non vented all kinds. Google it.

Just for a break stop & think of Hybrids & their battery systems.

I will concur least path of resistance & shortest circutry equals less resistance but not at the amplified levels that are being claimed. Moving your battery to the back is not that over complicated.
You ever go to car shows & see all of these fantastic looking chromed out exposed engine compartments where do you suppose their batteries are? The technology & proven fact this works is old school technology & fact.

Yes I realize the thread is old but I couldn't resist.

[Logans Run]

I am glad you chimed in ... still more to think about lol

[MonsterZ]

I know, I know, most people would think that an airplane just "naturally vents" because it flies in the air, right? Take a look at a Cessna 150 sometime, or just about an Piper Cub in existance. Almost all of them have the battery mounted under the seats. Just like old chevy and ford pickups from the 40's and 50's. I learned to drive in my Dad's 1950 Chevy 3100 Pickup. Know where the battery is? Under the Passenger seat. Venting issues? None. Even after he dropped in the very over built 283 and did the 12 volt conversion, never moved the battery. Know why? Over redundant, didn't need to. Funny how some one can have a neat idea and there will be some "experts" that are highly educated in that specific field who will tell you it is such a bad idea, until you see several thousand others doing the exact same thing without all the doom and gloom prophecies the "experts" told you they would have. If you would like to see another great example of this type of debate, google search Roger Bannister and the 4 minute mile. Seriously, if you want to relocate your battery to the back, go for it!! There are dozens of good reasons to do it and it isn't terribly difficult to do. Yes, a battery box is a good idea. Yes, there are some truly great advances in battery design. Take the good ideas and run with it. That is part of the great thing about belonging to the Jeep community. No other vehicle community pushes vehicle wheeled vehicle innovation harder or farther Jeepers. Period. Just remembe to shoot pictures and post em. Good luck!!

[Lindel]

And, as was mentioned before in this thread, if it's designed that way then everything has probably been accounted for.

Does that mean that your average guy down the street needs to start designing all the electrical circuits in the car? Most likely, NO. If a little thought and education goes into it, you'll probably do ok, but you'll need to account for wire length vs wire diameter vs current capacity of said wire. You need to account for the protection of the wires, to keep them safe from idiot/over-zealous mechanics and average guys down the street. Battery placement and venting (even gel cell batteries should be vented in case of accident. They'll leak if their case is damaged)

All of that needs to be considered and taken into account. As far as the vehicles of the 40s, 50s and 60s, they also used asbestos in them and lots of other chemicals/materials that we know are unsafe now. Basically meaning that ignorance is bliss. My 65 bug had the battery under the passenger rear seat, and if someone was sitting there and a bump was hit, then the two terminals would short against the seat springs. Not the ideal situation.

Of course, you could go get a Chevy Volt...it doubles as a garage heater when it's not using up it's 25 mile range...but it only heats the garage once...

[MonsterZ]

Yup, things have improved greatly since the 60's, the point I was getting at is that even when things were still ignorantly blissful of stupidity, the systems still worked and there was still a remarkable lack of horrible consequences. Were there some? Of course. But impractical or impossible, or even a super bad idea? Especially with all the advances made in batteries, cables, and our understand of electric theory and principle? No, not when you put some thought into and instead of looking at a reason why its a bad idea or a problem, but look at is at a challenge or puzzle and simply solve it and get the desired result. In this case, a more solid place to mount a battery than an engine bay with no inner fender wells. Inside a vented battery box firmly bolted to the body does sound considerably more stable and safer than mounted to a battery tray barely bolted to a fender. For what it's worth, that sounds considerably more stable than the original factory setup, though maybe not as user or maintainance friendly. Main reason for putting the battery in the engine bay from the factory? It is quicker for production. In an industry where seconds means very real dollars, why waste the time crawling back inside the cabin when the engine bay is faster? Not every design concept on our vehicles is there because of a technology advance, some really are there as a means for quick assembly line production. Current mounting of engines and wiring harness in F-series trucks being a great case in point. All that to say that if you want to try something on your vehicle that may not be orthodox, like use a carb when the better part of the civilized world just knows that fuel injection is so much better, don't be afraid to step out there, overcome whatever challenges rise up at you, and do it. Who cares if a couple people think its a bad idea? Solve some basic issues, and do what you want, it is a hobby passion after all.

And on a slightly different note, you could always mount the battery underneath the body where the spare tire used to be, so long as you had it very securely mounted, like in a solid battery box. This is what we do for our 5 and 7 ton trucks in the Army now. Just throwing another idea out there.

[serehill]

Originally Posted by Lindel

And, as was mentioned before in this thread, if it's designed that way then everything has probably been accounted for.

Does that mean that your average guy down the street needs to start designing all the electrical circuits in the car? Most likely, NO. If a little thought and education goes into it, you'll probably do ok, but you'll need to account for wire length vs wire diameter vs current capacity of said wire. You need to account for the protection of the wires, to keep them safe from idiot/over-zealous mechanics and average guys down the street. Battery placement and venting (even gel cell batteries should be vented in case of accident. They'll leak if their case is damaged)

All of that needs to be considered and taken into account. As far as the vehicles of the 40s, 50s and 60s, they also used asbestos in them and lots of other chemicals/materials that we know are unsafe now. Basically meaning that ignorance is bliss. My 65 bug had the battery under the passenger rear seat, and if someone was sitting there and a bump was hit, then the two terminals would short against the seat springs. Not the ideal situation.

Of course, you could go get a Chevy Volt...it doubles as a garage heater when it's not using up it's 25 mile range...but it only heats the garage once...

The sorry Jeep recharging system is a Joke But I won't go there you'd think Iran completed their first Nuclear bomb!!!!!!! Doing things to correct it will get you killed. I get tickled with folks talking about how great the charging systems are then turn around & talk about how vulnerable they are when it suits the need.

WOW My 58 Bug had isolation protection on the bottom of the seat & space between the seat & the battery. Wonder what the deal was there??? Those vehicles Millions of them & 40's & 50 cars still have the batteries there & have inspired thousands to do the same thing. You can even buy a cut in the floorboad battery box. Why is that not a great solution to this problem?? IT's alive & well.

Sometimes there is clear proof that we all ignore some people shouldn't be doing any of this stuff. But then what would they make funniest videos out of??
We never sit in Judgement if the individual should be doing this. That has lead plenty of inexperienced the wrong direction for their capabilities. Some guy will give them a rocket fuel formula & go what was that exposion????

Here's something to think about & it was mentioned in the thread you should do something about monitoring heat. Although there are some short situations that may cause extreme heat what are you going to do about it no matter where the batteriy is? If this were a real issue we would see recalls & people suing car companies that have batteries in the rear. Another aspect the battery lives in an environment of 250 to 300 degrees heat & it takes its toll. Moving it out from under the hood would greatly improve the life of the battery. HMM?
EL Jefe Done right it works fine & you don't need to do a lot. Sorry the thread went all over the map just look around you pick up a few magazines. History is arguing with this thread. I know you started this a long time ago but evidently it was buried in the pet cemetary.
I'm done