Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 490
14MY Disco 2nd Battery Possible Solution??
Right chaps, how am I going to do this?
I need a 2nd battery to power the fridge, the 14MY doesn't have the space the old discos had for a 2nd battery.
So I could fit it in the boot? but it would be a pain to wire a Split into the boot?
Could I rig something to the existing 12v socket?
I reckon with a bit of jiggery pokery and a bracket it would go in the rear wheel arch space. Could then put the split charge under the bonnet, cable under the car and in through the tow socket grommet.
Hmmmmm,
Don't really like the idea of a battery inside the car though, although I suppose it is inside the cab in my Defender..
Last edited by Tiger on 19th Jun 2014 12:05 pm. Edited 1 time in total
16th Jun 2014 1:32 pm
GLYNNE
Member Since: 06 Oct 2006
Location: KENT
Posts: 4695
Squeezed one in my D4 in the second battery box with a few adjustments to the components filling the space as have others on here.
I've not seen in the MY14 so am assuming the same as a MY12
I think I have a pic in my gallery.
16th Jun 2014 2:36 pm
Russell
Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
Tiger can you post some pictures of inside the box?MY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
16th Jun 2014 2:41 pm
DG Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50978
If it has stop start then that would be a real bind as all the gubbins is in the 2nd battery box ...if not then it should be fine ...like Glynne I put my old Traxide kit from the D3 with a yellow top in there with a slight bit of fettling 21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
16th Jun 2014 2:46 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
GLYNNE wrote:
I've not seen in the MY14 so am assuming the same as a MY12
The MY14 is nothing like the MY12 - it has the second battery and a control system jammed in there!
Click image to enlarge
Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 490
As above, hence no room.
16th Jun 2014 2:52 pm
Ent
Member Since: 12 Oct 2007
Location: In the cack
Posts: 6488
Wiggs put a yellow top in the rear behind the near side boot panelpanelmClub Exped trailer
Club Timed Climate
Club Flappy paddle steering wheel
Club 300bhp
Club Prospeed test pilot/lab rat
Club National Luna Stella conditioner
16th Jun 2014 3:04 pm
lespes
Member Since: 17 Sep 2009
Location: Sitting Down
Posts: 2232
Anyway the "New 2nd battery" could be utilized D4 Landmark MY16 Santorini Black THE LAST
D4 HSE MY12 Marmais Teal: Gone. Missed a lot!
Freelander 2 SD HSE MY11 Silver:Thankfully gone.
D4 HSE MY11 Silver: Gone missed !
Range Rover Sport MY06 HSE Buck Blue: Gone missed!
Discovery D2 TD5 Facelift MY Red Gone Missed!
Discovery D2 TD5 Cobalt Blue: Gone Missed!
Discovery D1 Auto Oxford Blue Not missed at all!
Discovery D1 Avalon Blue First LR! missed!
Now demoted to a VW
16th Jun 2014 7:00 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 490
Tell me if there is anything wrong with this?
Make bracket and put battery in rear OS Wing (looks like it may fit)
Get 30amp relay
Take a feed from tow electrics. (Has 30A Perm +ve and 30A switched with ign +ve) also has a Earth stud.
Wire relay into so that it disconnects battery from constant live when the ignition is off.
Seems a very simple way to do it?
What am I missing?
19th Jun 2014 12:10 pm
dubbs
Member Since: 18 Apr 2012
Location: Gloucestershire
Posts: 3626
Did I read right that the MY14 has a second battery fitted as standard?
Can you not simply use that? What's it there for?MY15 DIY Black Pack (Better than factory and half the price!)
Prospeed rock/tree sliders w/steps
HSE Winter wheels
TransK9 B24
Travall Cargo Guard
Hatchbag
19th Jun 2014 1:06 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 490
Part of the Stop/Start system, not a normà l battery and I wouldn't want to mess with it.
19th Jun 2014 1:28 pm
drivesafe
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi Tiger and unfortunately, there is no short cut.
You can either mount a battery in the cargo area, or do as Wiggs has done.
If you mount a battery in the cargo area, you can either mount it permanently or set it up so it can be removed when not needed.
This will also allow you to use a much bigger battery if you need it.
As far as the cabling goes, you need to run at least 10mm2, but 6B&S ( 13.5mm2 ) or 16mm2 would be ideal.
The heavy cabling is needed for two reasons, the first is the fact that a battery like an Optima Yellowtop, if in a low state of charge, will draw 60+ amps while charging.
The second issue is that thick cable addresses voltage drop. The thin cabling in your D4 will mean a low battery will never get charged to a reasonable drive time.
BTW, you can SAFELY mount any form of battery in the cab of any vehicle. Just make sure in is mounted in a plastic battery box and that the box is secured properly.
This is where Wiggs setup is a good proposition. The battery is secured properly, plus you don’t loose load space.2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
20th Jun 2014 11:21 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 490
Why is the tow socket cable not fit for purpose if it designed to charge a lesuire battery in a caravan?
Is it a speed to recharge thing or do I run a safety risk? Obviously it is appropriately fused.
21st Jun 2014 7:14 am
sj9011
Member Since: 04 Jun 2011
Location: Southampton
Posts: 356
Put my yellow top, behind NSR compartment and than put a 1500Watt inverter in front of it. Wired a heavy duty relay to the 12V socket next to it so that when the ignition is on it connects via a newly installed heavy duty feed from the battery ( with a 100 Amp fuse on the battery) this solved the problem that the D4 does not always charge the battery, it tries to save fuel by charging on over run etc, I had a smart relay but found it was only charging intermittently as it only switched in at 13V.
Had it now for 6 months runs fridge and via inverter Kettle/microwave also put a digital Volt/Amp meter in the removable access panel.
All good,
The yellow top sits in the void very well, put some firm packing underneath and behind and snug as a bug!!
Also use it to connect the up the electric winch on the trailer and also for pumping up RIB tubes on boats on trailer after delivery.
cheers
Sean
21st Jun 2014 7:37 am
drivesafe
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi again Tiger. The battery charge cable is about half the size it needs to be to be able to charge a low battery in a reasonable drive time.
If you are just topping of a near fully charged battery, then yes that size cable is fine, but if the battery is low, the current draw a low battery causes, will also cause voltage drop in long lengths of cable.
To over come most of the problem of voltage drop caused by high current draw, you need thick cable, otherwise the thin cable becomes a catch-22 situation, where the high current draw causes a voltage drop which in turn reduces the charging voltage at the battery, and this means the current draw of the battery drops and so on, catch-22!
Even with thick cable like 6B&S 9 13.5mm2 ) you will still have voltage drop, but because of the thicker cable, you can still get a high current draw by the battery, meaning the battery is charging.
For example, while I was testing my dual battery systems for the then new D4, I discharged both the cranking battery and an Optima D34 55Ah Yellowtop down to 11.58v ( 20% SoC ) in my D4.
I had the Yellowtop connected to the cranking battery, via an isolator and 10m of 6B&S Twin cable and the Yellowtop was so low, it caused a near 1v voltage drop in the cable, but it was still drawing 63 amps. So it was charging quite well.
It took just a 90 minute drive to bring the Optima back up to over 95% SoC.
It’s not just a simple equation like halving the cable size, doubles the charging time.
If this had been attempted with the existing D4 battery charge cable it would have take 4+ hours of driving to get near the same same results and with a bigger capacity battery, the drive time blows out much, much further.2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
