ive dug through the search on here and from what i can gather the D2 enjoys a significant advantage when it comes to battery mounting room and slick dual battery intalls. it seems as though D1 guys are not so fortunate...

im not worried about how the wiring will be routed, which solenoid to run, what batteries to use, etc.. im mostly curious whether any other folks have pictures they can share of two batteries mounted under the hood of a D1.

ive found no pictures yet of a D1 dual install, other than reading that some folks like to mount the second battery where the jack normally sits.

so, can anyone post a few?
thanks!

 

I have dual batteries in in my '95, but the install is so simple it's not worth the effort to take photos.
For all D1's:

• Remove the jack
• Remove the air filter box horn
• Extend the PS reservoir bracket to move the reservoir a couple more inches away from the front.
• On '94 and '95 relocate the coil
• Install second battery.

 

Do you have instructions for those of us missing our factory jacks...

 

fair enough.

im not automotively-impaired, but was simply seeing if anyone had any other clever spots for it.

if theyre all going in front of the airbox, thats easy enough.

 

And some remove the air box and install a cone air filter, more room. For those disposed to a remote sealed battery elsewhere in the vehicle, one source of very large gauge copper cable is your welding supply company. It is typically made with very fine strands, so it is super flexible, sells by the foot.

Pix of box and jack area (hey - found my vac leak - open hose off cruise)

Pix of underhood fuse box - extra lug connection available on alternator side of wiring. Big wire on left goes to battery, everything other than starter pretty much runs thru here.

 

Very interesting thread. Never heard anything about a dual battery install before. What exactly would a second battery be used for? Would the stock Disco alternator be able to keep both batteries properly charged at the same time? Or would a beefer alternator be required?

Just curios.

 

Just found this thread. So I guess an alternative to a dual battery setup is a super battery!

Defender battery size

 

It is not so much a super batter as it is just more capacity. When running multiple batteries in parellel (a must to maintain 12v) you get more storage. Unless you are running a dozen off road lights, your alternator should have no problem keeping them both charged.

Tip - They should be identical batteries to get the best efficiency. If you install a nice new battery next to some worn out old battery, your new one will wear out sonner than it should.

IMO, I cannot see what there is to gain by adding a second battery unless you are running a heavy duty sound system, or 2 million watts of lights and in that case, you should be looking at an alternator or capacitors.

I am new to this site and Land Rovers in general, so please pardon me if I am missing something. But the only practical thing that I can see is running a second battery for an AC converter when camping etc. In that case, you would probably want to run a deep cycle marine battery with an isolator and you would run your auxiliary equipment off of that.

Borrowing a design from the Marine world, you would have a battery, or bank of batteries that run your electronics, refrigerator, AC converter, and other accessories. These batteries would be "isolated" from your starting batteries. If your battery bank get low, or goes dead, you can use your staring batteries to fire up your engines and recharge your battery bank.

Northern Industrial Battery Isolator — 120 Amp, Model# B-120A1B2E | Energy Storage Batteries | Northern Tool + Equipment

When you hook up a battery isolator such as this, it will first charge your staring battery, and then start charging your auxiliary batteries.

 

I know that winches can draw a lot of battery juice and if you combine that with lights you can start drawing lots of juice. A dual set-up with good deep cycle batteries can come in handy when winching a dead Disco too. In that case two deep cycle batteries can be a life saver. Other accessories can increase the amount drawn as well. Ie an on board compressor, ARB fridge, etc.

 

If you're going the remote mount route and have a front mounted winch, use the remote battery for your starter and the engine compartment battery for your winch. This will reduce the size of the cable you need for the remote battery since the starter doesn't require as high amps as the winch. Just be sure to size it, no matter where you mount it, so you don't get more than 0.5v drop. I like to keep it about 0.3v or less if I can.

But as others have hinted at, the first question to answer is why do you need dual batteries.