movin' the battery

[toysports2k]

i'm thinking about moving the battery to the bed...

do i just ground the battery to the frame and then connect the starter ground to the frame as well? same thing for the chassis grounds around the engine bay?

thanks to any who answer.......

[rogerman]

why dont you just move the battery to where the stock air box is supposed to be and make a short ram intake?

[toysports2k]

i'm moving the battery completely out of the engine bay so i can cut out the fenders, and begin a "shaved" look for the area. battery is currently where i want to move the engine bay fuse box to. i guess in the Painless Wiring kit i've seen, i'll get the directions and it'll probably be covered there.

[rogerman]

oh shit i didnt see that your truck is bagged my bad

[toysports2k]

yeah, i'm one of those idiots that goes the other way....... although i don't behave like that portion of mini-truckers that gives the rest of us a bad rap.

anyways.....if y'all have suggestions about best way to wire it all up, i'm all ears..i mean eyes.

[Mushroom_Toy]

If I were you I would just run the wires through the frame, or beside it. This way if you want you can ground it to the frame. I suggest just lengthening all of the stock battery cables though. You can mount the battery in the back, though if you don't have a tonneau cover, you'll want to buy a box for the battery. If you have a Tonneau cover then you'll want something similar to this: http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...64&prmenbr=361

If you don't have a Tonneau cover then you'll want something like this:http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...0&autoview=sku

Here's a great writeup with pics if you want to do it yourself.
http://www.tacomaterritory.com/wiki/...ery_Relocation

[Mushroom_Toy]

Oh btw I want to see your truck. Post some pics!!

[8ac1v1c]

Most performance shops sell Battery relocation kits with "Easy to follow" instructions for DIY's


....yeah - post pics

[smasheromalley]

IMO you MUST ground the engine, frame and cab. Run a heavy cable all the way to the engine block, then strap to the frame and strap to the cab.

[toysports2k]

sorry the delay in saying "thanks!!" for the input...

run a ground cable all the way from the battery to the block? i was going to ground to both frame rails and reroute my hyper-ground system to ground both sides of the block and the cylinder head to the frame rails and engine bay grounds. solid ground throughout, no?

i'm a bit of a computer-tard, so here's my attempt at posting pics of my truck. this is pre-bagged, pre-shaved. taken about a year and a half ago......

http://minitruckzone.tenmagazines.co...394-album-6612

[dally41888]

nice truck. what have you done since those pictures were taken?

[toyotaspeed90]

best way to do it....... if you're using a lot of high draw electronics use 2 gauge wiring.... use a stereo fused distribution block under the hood (makes it look better and allows you to have seperate wires for seperate connections) and use a circuit breaker (i only need a 100A in my mr2, but you will probably need a larger one) within 2 feet of the battery.... it's a safety precaution.

use a gel cell/dry cell battery.... you won't have to worry about venting it to the outside..... then run a ground to the chasis (make sure it's not painted... you want a good solid ground).... to make sure the engine has good grounds, you might want to run an extra 4 gauge ground (or 2) from the chasis to the engine.

when you do it, you need to realize that if you don't do it right, it can cause a fire and destroy everything.

[smasheromalley]

Originally Posted by toysports2k

...run a ground cable all the way from the battery to the block? ...

Hmm that would be a long cable

[toysports2k]

ok, i think i'm on the right track then. i've been accumulating the parts over the last month or so. i have 1/0 gauge wire to make the run from the bed to the engine bay, a Ron Francis Wiring block to connect all the hot leads together in the bay, 4 guage negative leads to hit both frame rails from the battery, a 140 amp alternator from HO, 4 guage positive lead for the alternator to the wiring block, and a couple Painless Wiring bulkhead terminals to pass the power through the bed floor, and an inline 150 amp fuse. i'm already running the Optima so about the only thing missing at this point is the battery mount (not gonna use a plastic box!). i'll take pics and try to post them. i think my wife is gonna let me back out to the garage in a week or so to get it done.

the only real addition since the photos: shaved doors (still not painted tho') and the Can-Do Specialties' bagged suspension.