Dual Battery Question

[fly4x4]

Hello all,
Just checking if anybody out there has the same thoughts as me. A while back I installed my own dual battery system into my Hilux D4D, it works like a charm and have done several trips running the Engel and have had no problems. I stayed away from the auto solenoid switching as I have heard some stories about there reliability, this was merely a personal preference.
My system has a manual switch in the veichle and I have become so used to it and I know it will operate when I flick the switch.

The question I have is when the aux battery is not getting used, ie. using the car for every day use, is there any harm in coupling the two batteries for normal starts, would this not keep the aux battery active and save wear on your main battery. btw. my aux battery is just behind the main one. I have also noticed that when the solenoid is operating it tends to get quite warm, is this normal due to the current.

Any thoughts, own experiences or advice would be great.

Cheers

[Dadz Toy BFI]

Fine to use it daily for starting if it's a Normal Cranking Battery the same rating as your vehicles battery

Not a good idea if it's a "Leisure Battery" (deep cycle battery)

I'm also a fan of Manual Switching, as long as it's a good quality Marine Switch.

[fly4x4]

Hi Dadz,Thanks for the feedback, will keep checking the battery to make sure it stays healthy

[Knersus]

The manual switch will work fine and as long if you remember to disconnect the switch when you use the aux battery then you will have no problem to drain the main battery down. On the other hand the solinoid will get warm when it is activated. As dads toy said you should just see what kind of aux batt is used .