Vented battery box?

[Webmeister]

Hi Bradley,

You are picking up an a very old thread! I cut a hole for the duplicate vent with a hole saw.

Rob

Very old thread but an informative one. I will be cutting an OEM box hole on the other side of the front storage area perpendicular to the one that came from the factory. I will try a high speed cut-off wheel and see if that will get through the sheet metal floor.
I plan to make 2 identical cable entrance indentations into the original factory battery box to get the parallel + & - cables into it.
I know I have seen vents on the internet so I will get one of those and hopefully cut a nice hole in the body for it.

thanks for any advice...
Bradley

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Bradley,

The OEM battery boxes have molded notches in each end, to allow the cables to enter. One cable per end is best . . . if you try to fit more, it gets complicated. Better to make other connections outside the box and have only two battery cables entering the box.

WRT putting the second battery box perpendicular to the first . . . measure carefully. It will be very tight fore/aft (if this will fit at all).

The "sheet metal" floor is almost 1/8" thick and the cutout is best accessed from underneath . . . it takes some work to cut this with whatever tool you choose and not a fun job, working from underneath.

Rob

[Webmeister]

Hi Bradley,

Better to make other connections outside the box and have only two battery cables entering the box.

Rob

One last question Rob. In your .pdf images I see your new cable in your new box. Where outside of the existing box did you connect these cables to existing cables...maybe the Battery Switch? I do not see other hook ups. I assume maybe the negative is at your new ground bolt?
thanks for all you assistance...

[Cate&Rob]

One last question Rob. In your .pdf images I see your new cable in your new box. Where outside of the existing box did you connect these cables to existing cables...maybe the Battery Switch? I do not see other hook ups. I assume maybe the negative is at your new ground bolt?
thanks for all you assistance...

The various wires that used to go to the +ve post of the OE battery now go to the output of the battery switch. The single wires (2ga) from each battery go to their respective connections on the battery switch. Upsized from the original 6ga to supply my inverter. Note that all +ve wires have heat shrink to make sure no electrical contact is exposed.

All -ve wires go to the common post. This is simply a long carriage bolt through the wooden wall with a nut and washer tight to the wall to hold it in place and then another nut and washer to clamp the wire terminals. I could have used a surface mount stud, but this works just as well and is equally safe. No heat shrink is required on these terminals.

This means that there are only two wires (2 ga cables) going to each battery. The +ve ones are marked with red tape so there can be no confusion or missed wires, if a battery is removed.

Rob