Factory dual battery setup

[Kd0603]

As title says i got factory dual battery on my 2013 nav
Heres my question s as i have no doubt nissan put the cheapest half assed version in instead of a decent setup
1 what would be wired up to either battery? I think the drivers side is the starting battery
2 there seems to be no solenoid or switching capabilities so am i right to assume it requires both batteries to start like a 24 volt system
3 what can i do to improve the setup
Thanx bill
Damn can a mod please move this to d22 electrical .i stuffed up

 

[VillageSTX550]

It's a 12V system, nissan cheaped out by instead of using a larger CCA single battery, they swapped to two smaller cranking amp batteries, a must for the colder operating climates the navara's are in over seas.
They are wired in parallel, so imagine as one big battery. There are cables going from the alternator to both batteries, though all accessories etc are off the drivers battery post, but since the batteries are linked, it's "virtually" connected to both.

Plenty have had success with disconnecting the passenger battery as our warmer climate doesn't need the extra grunt to start up, but I'm against that as I'm based down in the snowy mountains.

The best mod you can do is isolate the passenger battery so it can be used to jump start if you ever get a flat battery, and allows it to be used standalone with a fridge etc.
All you need to do is disconnect the alternator lead to the passenger side battery, then run a high gauge wire from the drivers battery through a an isolator to the passenger battery, then you can run your fridges etc off the passenger battery.
This means that when all is good, the batteries are connected, and act exactly the same as before, but when the car is off and you have accessories draining off the passenger battery, the isolator will disconnect the batteries and you can save your main battery from draining, saving your from a flat starter!
In the future it would be good to replace the passenger battery with a deep cycle, as the batteries in there from the factory aren't the best for running accessories!

There's some more info in this thread to have a read, otherwise any decent autolecy would be able to do it in no time at all if electrics is all foreign to you!
http://www.navara.asia/showthread.php?t=14463

 

[4WheelingInNSW]

It's a 12V system, nissan cheaped out by instead of using a larger CCA single battery, they swapped to two smaller cranking amp batteries, a must for the colder operating climates the navara's are in over seas.
They are wired in parallel, so imagine as one big battery. There are cables going from the alternator to both batteries, though all accessories etc are off the drivers battery post, but since the batteries are linked, it's "virtually" connected to both.

Plenty have had success with disconnecting the passenger battery as our warmer climate doesn't need the extra grunt to start up, but I'm against that as I'm based down in the snowy mountains.

The best mod you can do is isolate the passenger battery so it can be used to jump start if you ever get a flat battery, and allows it to be used standalone with a fridge etc.
All you need to do is disconnect the alternator lead to the passenger side battery, then run a high gauge wire from the drivers battery through a an isolator to the passenger battery, then you can run your fridges etc off the passenger battery.
This means that when all is good, the batteries are connected, and act exactly the same as before, but when the car is off and you have accessories draining off the passenger battery, the isolator will disconnect the batteries and you can save your main battery from draining, saving your from a flat starter!
In the future it would be good to replace the passenger battery with a deep cycle, as the batteries in there from the factory aren't the best for running accessories!

There's some more info in this thread to have a read, otherwise any decent autolecy would be able to do it in no time at all if electrics is all foreign to you!
2010 D22 Dual Battery Setup

Brilliant explanation mate, well done.

I agree 100% with above. The 200 Series Land Cruiser also had a dual starter battery setup until about 2 years ( models ) back when they went to one larger cranking capacity. These would probably be more beneficial to the Cruiser and their twin turbo V8 diesel due to large compression needed to fire it up but the Navara engine wouldn't need so much. A mate had a 200 series and used to leave a fridge in the back all the time, switched on 24/7, and it regularly stuffed his standard starter batteries because they're not designed to be discharged & recharged over and over again. They're designe3d to give short full bursts to start you up and get you moving where they can then recharged off the alternator as you drive.

So yes I'd do the same, disconnect one and replace it with a decent deep cycle battery then run a suitable fuse / distribution block of that aux' battery to run camp lights, fridges, spare stereo etc that way you won't have any issue with a flat starter battery. And being a manual car, there's always the option of roll start / clutch starting in case you do have a flat.
Get a good isolator - even like a basic and reliable old Aussie made redarc SBi12 isolator - work a treat and will charge while you drive. Then once you switch off the ignition, after a little while the starter battery voltage will drop down to the point where the isolator cuts in and disconnects the 2 batteries from one another. Then all your accessories will draw from the deep cycle. Grab a solar panel with an inbuilt regulator and some alligator clips and shot that on your auxiliary battery and away you go.
Hope that info helps too.

 

[Old.Tony]

^ You'll possibly be surprised, the 2.5L Navara engine's starter draws somewhere in the region of 550 amps to start. Measured by a member on this forum some years back with a decent meter.

+1 on the solar panel idea. I've got a 130W one on my aux battery, and a 40W one on my starter (it is disengaged by a relay when the ignition is turned on, mostly to protect the charge controller from the car's alternator).

 

[gazza414]

The D22-2.5L did come out with a single battery ONLY in 2012 when they were made in Japan for that year only. I added a second battery and an isolator --REDARC..very simple with a switch on my console.

 

[NavAl68]

It's a 12V system, nissan cheaped out by instead of using a larger CCA single battery, they swapped to two smaller cranking amp batteries, a must for the colder operating climates the navara's are in over seas.
They are wired in parallel, so imagine as one big battery. There are cables going from the alternator to both batteries, though all accessories etc are off the drivers battery post, but since the batteries are linked, it's "virtually" connected to both.

Plenty have had success with disconnecting the passenger battery as our warmer climate doesn't need the extra grunt to start up, but I'm against that as I'm based down in the snowy mountains.

The best mod you can do is isolate the passenger battery so it can be used to jump start if you ever get a flat battery, and allows it to be used standalone with a fridge etc.
All you need to do is disconnect the alternator lead to the passenger side battery, then run a high gauge wire from the drivers battery through a an isolator to the passenger battery, then you can run your fridges etc off the passenger battery.
This means that when all is good, the batteries are connected, and act exactly the same as before, but when the car is off and you have accessories draining off the passenger battery, the isolator will disconnect the batteries and you can save your main battery from draining, saving your from a flat starter!
In the future it would be good to replace the passenger battery with a deep cycle, as the batteries in there from the factory aren't the best for running accessories!

There's some more info in this thread to have a read, otherwise any decent autolecy would be able to do it in no time at all if electrics is all foreign to you!
2010 D22 Dual Battery Setup

So the positive lead on the left battery gets eliminated completely ? Where does it go from the battery ? Or cut it off, hear shrink it ?

 

[Old.Tony]

If you're going to remove the second battery completely, it's your choice: remove the cables completely, or leave them intact for some future time when you might want to restore it to a two-battery setup, in which case you'd need to thoroughly insulate and secure the end of the positive lead.