Dual battery setup?

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Adieu

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Is there a kit or something? Have inadvertently run down the battery to where I needed a jump once every few months, and it's really annoying
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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That can get a little complicated if you have to mount it inside the cabin, so I wouldn't go down that road unless you really need to. Perhaps an upgraded battery with a higher reserve capacity would suffice? I can easily run my truck in the accessory position for over an hour w/ my current battery, whereas my Motorcraft battery - even when new - would start struggling to start my truck even after running accessories for 20 minutes.
 

jeff kushner

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Yes they sell dual battery kits, for Trucks, RV's and Boats...pick your flavor...

As mentioned, I grew up on the water so I saw a lot of the boat installs and it is never as easy as plug&play&forget.....meters to check, switches to flip to cycle them etc...but it's your truck.....look into them and make your decision.

jeff
 

Plati

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How bout one of these?
I have one, so I haven't needed it (for my Expy) but its there if/when I do.
Fits like a glove under rear of passenger seat. Safe location.
have used it to jump other people, handy when vehicle blocked in parking spot
https://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=539
 
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Adieu

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Afair, there was a FACTORY dual battery option.. either in some of the 5.4 years on expy, or maybe I'm confused and just on 5.4 F150s...

I meant a kit for adding that same setup later
 

iimagine

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Afair, there was a FACTORY dual battery option.. either in some of the 5.4 years on expy, or maybe I'm confused and just on 5.4 F150s...

I meant a kit for adding that same setup later

I vaguely remember that in the cobwebs that I use for brains. Was going to go with a dual battery back on my '05EB.
 

1955moose

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I think it was with the f250 and 350. No room under hood of expeditions. Any install can be done, ever watch fast and loud on discovery! If your set on a second battery, a deep cycle one, you'll need a battery isolator kit, and will have to mount your battery in fear area somewhere. The cables both positive and negative will have to be fabricated. I think our resident electrical gurus stamp, and bedrck can probably elaborate on what all it entails!

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Adieu

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A portable jump box is the easiest way to go.

Big enough for 5.4L triton? The "1000" model is on backorder

Screenshot_2018-03-13-18-31-19.png

Needed a jump AGAIN, barely an hour after starting just fine to move to a better parking spot.

Can't tell if it's me overusing the power sockets for charging phones and tablets and shit, or if it's multiple lock-unlock cycles & the HIDs with the way it lights all the lights when you hit the remote
 

bobmbx

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Big enough for 5.4L triton? The "1000" model is on backorder

Needed a jump AGAIN, barely an hour after starting just fine to move to a better parking spot.

Can't tell if it's me overusing the power sockets for charging phones and tablets and shit, or if it's multiple lock-unlock cycles & the HIDs with the way it lights all the lights when you hit the remote

How far do you drive in a normal day? My commute is 2.5 miles one way, and if I don't put hook up a charger or drive a decent distance (allowing time to recharge the battery) my battery will die in less than a week. I usually discover this on Monday mornings if I don't go somewhere on the weekend.
 
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Adieu

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How far do you drive in a normal day? My commute is 2.5 miles one way, and if I don't put hook up a charger or drive a decent distance (allowing time to recharge the battery) my battery will die in less than a week. I usually discover this on Monday mornings if I don't go somewhere on the weekend.

Its not that, I pile on a ton of miles.

But I oftentimes end up out of county and needing to kill a few hours waiting, I'll sit around watch some films on my tablet or whatever...guess I just run too much juice off my chargers.

Or maybe its the whole lights coming on with lock/unlock, I often step out for a smoke
 

1955moose

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Now that's a jumper. I have a $230.00 unit from Oreillys, works good, but I've found if a battery is below a certain charge say 11.5 it won't start, had to use my Suv and cables. Yours Stamp is the Tesla powerhouse he needs. You might also consider stepping up to a stronger battery, say the yellow top one from Oreillys or interstate. We had this discussion about 6-8 months back, our member swore by his. Also you need to power off any lights when parked, these add to the drain. If your hell bent for the second battery and isolator, that would be the ticket, as you'll be draining the deep cycle battery, and not the main. That's what rv owners do on a regular basis. Keep in mind that even the best deep cycle battery only usually has a lifetime of 2-4 years due to harder drain and recharge cycles.

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chuck s

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Ford leaves the 12vDC accessory outlets hot at all times so anything plunged into them like your GPS and radar detector will siphon the battery dry after a while parked. A long weekend would kill my '07 Expedition battery and parking at the airport required a battery disconnect under the hood. I'm being very careful with the '17 truck.

Starting batteries are severely damaged by deep discharges and you only get a handful before the battery is toast. Deep cycle batteries are designed for this abuse and some "marine" batteries claim to handle both.

I "fixed" my Valentine-1 radar unit by an accessory in the OBD2 port that powers the unit and cuts it off with the engine but the GPS is still running connected to the "cigarette lighter" socket.

Is there a way to cut the voltage to the accessory sockets? Forscan?

-- Chuck
 
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Adieu

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Ford leaves the 12vDC accessory outlets hot at all times so anything plunged into them like your GPS and radar detector will siphon the battery dry after a while parked. A long weekend would kill my '07 Expedition battery and parking at the airport required a battery disconnect under the hood. I'm being very careful with the '17 truck.

Starting batteries are severely damaged by deep discharges and you only get a handful before the battery is toast. Deep cycle batteries are designed for this abuse and some "marine" batteries claim to handle both.

I "fixed" my Valentine-1 radar unit by an accessory in the OBD2 port that powers the unit and cuts it off with the engine but the GPS is still running connected to the "cigarette lighter" socket.

Is there a way to cut the voltage to the accessory sockets? Forscan?

-- Chuck

Pop off the panel or pull out the socket, solder in a switch to kill the socket, and mount the switch somewhere by it
 

deweysmith

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I leave phones and tablets plugged in all night in mine all the time (frequently while camping), always starts right up the next morning. I've even run my CPAP (without the heater) off the battery for multiple nights and it's been fine.

I'd guess it's your lights, or it's just time for a new battery.
 

Boose

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Are you using the inverter for hours at a time, or just the 12V? How old is your battery?
 

1955moose

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I'm with Dewey, get a new high amp battery. If your battery has even one questionable cell, it will drain quick, and they don't always show on a load test. Back in the day I used to run multiple amplifiers that would ruin my battery in about 1-2 years. Had to argue each and every time with salesperson. They'd always say its fine, but it wasn't. Regular lead acid car Batteries don't like being drained on a regular basis, and most deep cycles don't behave well as a main battery. We had this very discussion about 6 months back. A couple members swore by their new style deep cycle battery as working great in your situation. Something to consider before running all the cables, wires, and etc, for a dual battery setup.

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