Installed Dual Battery with Redarc Isolator

[RAM Patriot]

After installing Mopar’s “Ram Airflow” Cold-Air Intake System; I now have the room to install a second battery to run accessories without draining the starter battery.

Does anyone know if the Battery Tray from the 2500's Passenger Side (Right) Battery Tray - Mopar (68350658AC) have the same bolt pattern as the 1500's?

If it does this will be the perfect solution after removing the Air Intake mount.

 

[RAM Patriot]

I decided to order the battery tray for the passenger side and start the process I will update after I get the parts in and start the install.

 

[ZombieSlayer]

Sweet! I've been contemplating adding a second battery, but before that I have a few other things to get done

 

[MF2020]

I decided to order the battery tray for the passenger side and start the process I will update after I get the parts in and start the install.

Looking forward to photos on this! Thanks!

 

[MetalDog]

Im also thinking about doing a dual battery setup. I've done it on several other vehicles. Check out Blue Sea Systems 7622 ACR. It's bulletproof and marine grade.

 

[Aseras]

Just buy a lithium. Why add another 80 lbs to your truck? Why not loose 70 lbs and get 4 times the capacity and 1800 CCA?

H7/Group-94R Lithium Car Battery

Antigravity H7/ Group-94R Hi-Power lightweight Lithium Automotive Battery with RE-START Technology. Replace lead/acid battery in Hi-Performance Cars.

antigravitybatteries.com

I got it mine from we don't lift racing. Was 200 cheaper for the 60ah and they filled the box with goodies. Bluetooth battery monitor with 30 state of charge tracking and a antigravity lithium Bluetooth flashlight thats cool.

Antigravity H7/Group-94R Car Battery

Antigravity H7/Group-94R Car Battery Features H7/Group 94R OEM Automotive Case size (directly replace stock battery). LxWxH: 12.25 x 7 x 7.5 inches. Amp Hours: 40 Ah, or 60 Ah. High Power: 40Ah=1500CA, 60Ah=1800 Cranking Amps. Exclusive RE-START Technology (Wireless Remote Jump-Starting)...

www.wdlracing.com

on sale for $855 for the 60AH shipped.

 

[MF2020]

Im also thinking about doing a dual battery setup. I've done it on several other vehicles. Check out Blue Sea Systems 7622 ACR. It's bulletproof and marine grade.

Just checked this device out. Brilliant! This will definitely be part of any second battery installation i do. Also, I totally agree with you on the lithium battery, it's a huge weight saver!

 

[MF2020]

Just buy a lithium. Why add another 80 lbs to your truck? Why not loose 70 lbs and get 4 times the capacity and 1800 CCA?

H7/Group-94R Lithium Car Battery

Antigravity H7/ Group-94R Hi-Power lightweight Lithium Automotive Battery with RE-START Technology. Replace lead/acid battery in Hi-Performance Cars.

antigravitybatteries.com

I got it mine from we don't lift racing. Was 200 cheaper for the 60ah and they filled the box with goodies. Bluetooth battery monitor with 30 state of charge tracking and a antigravity lithium Bluetooth flashlight thats cool.

Just checked this battery out... NICE! This will be my choice too. Would like one for my Harley.

 

[RAM Patriot]

Just buy a lithium. Why add another 80 lbs to your truck? Why not loose 70 lbs and get 4 times the capacity and 1800 CCA?

H7/Group-94R Lithium Car Battery

Antigravity H7/ Group-94R Hi-Power lightweight Lithium Automotive Battery with RE-START Technology. Replace lead/acid battery in Hi-Performance Cars.

antigravitybatteries.com

I got it mine from we don't lift racing. Was 200 cheaper for the 60ah and they filled the box with goodies. Bluetooth battery monitor with 30 state of charge tracking and a antigravity lithium Bluetooth flashlight thats cool.

I would love to have this lithium battery. (Hell I would like to replace the factory one with lithium as well.) But this would blow my budget for this upgrade.

I want the batteries to be the same since I will be charging both from the alternator, need the AMP's to be the same for balanced charging.

 

[RAM Patriot]

Im also thinking about doing a dual battery setup. I've done it on several other vehicles. Check out Blue Sea Systems 7622 ACR. It's bulletproof and marine grade.

Thanks for the information.

I have decided to go with a REDARC SMART START SBI 12V 100A. It uses a microprocessor-controlled battery isolator which protects the start battery from excessive discharge, while allowing the auxiliary battery to supply charge to non-essential loads.

It looks like the Blue Sea Systems 7622 ACR you have to manually isolate the batteries.

Smart Start SBI 12V 100A

The REDARC Smart Start® SBI12 is a 100A 12V microprocessor-controlled battery isolator which protects the start battery from excessive discharge, while allowing the auxiliary battery to supply charge to non-essential loads.

redarcelectronics.com

 

[Aseras]

Just checked this battery out... NICE! This will be my choice too. Would like one for my Harley.

I use this in my seaplane, same on neighbors two harley's

Amazon.com: Fire Power HJTZ7S-FP Featherweight Lithium Battery: Home Audio & Theater

Buy Fire Power HJTZ7S-FP Featherweight Lithium Battery: Batteries - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

1.3 lbs, it feels like a toy. has more power and recharges in < 5 minutes. Original lead acid weight was over 11 lbs for less CCA and AH.

 

[RAM Patriot]

So the Mopar 2500 passenger side battery tray finally came in.

Unfortunately the battery tray for the 2500 will not mount in the wheel well on the passenger side of the 1500.

The mounting holes are in different locations and it does not follow the wheel well liner that also mounts to the intake box to hold the liners in place from rattling.

I have reached out to Mopar to see if they have plans to offer a battery tray for the 1500's. If not I will have to look at third party vendor or try to fabricate something that will work.

Here are some pics of the intake holder and the 2500 battery tray sitting side by side.





Back to the drawing board.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I would love to have this lithium battery. (Hell I would like to replace the factory one with lithium as well.) But this would blow my budget for this upgrade.

I want the batteries to be the same since I will be charging both from the alternator, need the AMP's to be the same for balanced charging.

Good point. Lithium needs a different charging profile than agm/fla batteries which our computer isn’t set up for.
There’s also another issue for you way up north folks and that’s lithium without a low-temp charge shutoff built into the BMS. If you don’t have one and charge the battery (idling/driving) when it's below about 22 degrees F you can ruin it. No matter what the brands are, do yourself a favor and read up/call the battery maker to verify the charge profile and the low temp issue. Could save you a lot of $. Just sayin’.

 

[Bighorned]

What if you buy another battery tray like the stock one from mopar and fab it to fit? Or would that not fit. Sorry just trying to brainstorm for ya

 

[Aseras]

Good point. Lithium needs a different charging profile than agm/fla batteries which our computer isn’t set up for.
There’s also another issue for you way up north folks and that’s lithium without a low-temp charge shutoff built into the BMS. If you don’t have one and charge the battery (idling/driving) when it's below about 22 degrees F you can ruin it. No matter what the brands are, do yourself a favor and read up/call the battery maker to verify the charge profile and the low temp issue. Could save you a lot of $. Just sayin’.

The ones I've post are made for automotive applications. Same charging profiles, have an integrated BMS and thermal and voltage protections and work well down to -10c and up to 60c operating termperatures.. below 10c you need to run some accessories to warm them up to get full power. Considering the H7/94R for the 1500 would have 1800CCA I don't think loosing 1/2 that or more is going to not start your truck. It is NOT lot a lead acid battery. Below 10C, you need to be garaging or hibernating or running a heater anyways.

you are going to spend $200 on another AGM battery, $70 on the battery tray, $100 for the isolator. The lithium already does all that, no worries about voltage or amps or load balancing, no worries about a discharge. it cuts itself off at 20% capacity and you can "jump start" yourself and reactivate the battery. Price wise, you are already halfway there. No think about how nice it would be to loose 60+ lbs of dead weight.

 

[MetalDog]

RedArc BCDC1225D In-Vehicle Battery Charger - Adventure Ready

The RedArc BCDC1225D is a 12V In-vehicle DC to DC battery charger designed to keep your battery charged whilst driving, featuring a MPPT solar regulator

adventure-ready.com

Let's you mix and match batteries. Go to IH8MUD forums to see how dual battery should be done. Overlanders do the best builds.

 

[RAM Patriot]

What if you buy another battery tray like the stock one from mopar and fab it to fit? Or would that not fit. Sorry just trying to brainstorm for ya

I believe I'm going to have to try and fabricate the tray that I have to fit.

I do not see any other options.

 

[MF2020]

So the Mopar 2500 passenger side battery tray finally came in.

Unfortunately the battery tray for the 2500 will not mount in the wheel well on the passenger side of the 1500.

The mounting holes are in different locations and it does not follow the wheel well liner that also mounts to the intake box to hold the liners in place from rattling.

I have reached out to Mopar to see if they have plans to offer a battery tray for the 1500's. If not I will have to look at third party vendor or try to fabricate something that will work.

Here are some pics of the intake holder and the 2500 battery tray sitting side by side.

View attachment 57858
View attachment 57859
View attachment 57860
View attachment 57861
Back to the drawing board.

Darn!! I really wanted this to work for you... US, LOL. Not really laughing though. I was really wanting this to work because I would really like to do as you are doing here. I have the Ram Air Flow Intake so I have a HUGE amount of space to work with "if" somebody can find a good fit in a battery box for these 5th gen rams on the passenger side of the engine compartment. Thanks for trying this for all of us that are also looking. So as you say... perhaps after market or custom fit options. Please continue to keep us all informed of your progress. Thank you!

 

[RAM Patriot]

Got the battery tray & Battery installed this weekend.

After some serious thought and no other options, I decided to modify / fabricate the Mopar 2500 Passenger Side (Right) Battery Tray - Mopar (68350658AC).

The first thing that I had to do was cut off the bottom hangers from the battery tray since they did not have a place to mount to the frame and they were in the way for setting the tray on the wheel well liner.

The next step was to sit the tray down in the wheel well and see how it lined up.


After sitting the tray down in the wheel well. I had several more challenges:

1. The wheel well holes did not line up with the holes in the bottom of the battery tray.
2. The front bottom of the battery tray did not touch the bottom of the wheel well.
3. The hood shock is hitting the lip of the top battery bracket.

So back to the work bench for another round of cutting and some fabrications.

Cut the top hanger from the battery tray. (I had to add a T-Strap)

The next step was to add a heel to the front bottom part of the tray so that it would sit on the wheel well and allow me to drill a hole for the wheel well screw.

I had a 3/4 in. Schedule 40 PVC Type-T Conduit Body on the shelf left over from a wiring project and it happen to be the perfect size.
Mixed up some J-B Weld and the next day it was ready to go.

I also should mention that I had to cut off the wheel well factory towers that lined up with the 2500 so that the battery tray would sit flat on the back part of the wheel well.

Since I lost the top battery bracket I had to fabricate a T-Strap to work to hold the top part of the battery tray. Lined it up with the factory hole on the frame. drilled a hole in the tray for the bottom of the T-Strap and bolted it on.
Used a 6 in. x 5 in. 14-Gauge Galvanized T Strap


I had to drill two holes for the front brackets to the frame. Used the factory bolts that I took from the air filter tray.
The factory bolts are: M8. 1.0
I used a Drill Bit: 1/4”
Then used a Tap thread bolt M8. 1.0

 

[RAM Patriot]

Drilled some holes in the bottom of the tray and put the factory wheel well screws back in.
Installed the Battery Tray.


Then I installed the Mopar Battery that is the same as the factory starter battery for matching the charging profile.