Battery Relocation

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

basically i want to put the battery in the boot of my car, its going to be a road car... i just want the extra space for the airfilter! i was thinking of doing this...

 

(hope you dont mind me borrowing this pic hilgie!)

 

i was just wondering, would this be legal for me to cut a hole in the boot and would it pass an MOT? i want to do it this way so i can have a useful boot, ie build a false floor over the top and have amps etc under there too...

 

... also if i were to drill a few holes in the box the battery were to sit in under the car, would that suffice for sufficent ventilation for the battery, if it were sealed on top...?

 

Thanks

 

Liam

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

I'm no MoT expert, in fact I was surprised when someone told me that they don't even check the security of the battery (i.e. whether it can move) for the test.

 

I can't see any reason why borrowing the above idea - which I'm sure has been done before - would be questionable at all, either by common sense or in light of the above remark.

 

The spare hangs down further than this and doesn't get clowted by the road, so I can't see why this would be unacceptable to MoT or any other, even stricter standards. Let's face it, with a top brace it ain't going nowhere, and that's really the only concern apart from venting gases you should have.

[Uberderv 6]

Is it possible to do it like this and still be able to fit the spare? Maybe if it was turned length ways?

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

yeh, i reckon there would be enough space... would have to take a proper look first mind...

[Uberderv 6]

yeh, i reckon there would be enough space... would have to take a proper look first mind...

 

Or maybe in the middle so it actually sits inside the wheel

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

This is how the Gutmann i16v conversion is and that is TUV passed too.

 

Just make sure you have the right gauge cable running to it and it is properly grommited too. To do this properly, it is not exceptionally cheap. Someone did have a kit for sale on here historically.

 

My BMW has the battery here already

Edited January 28, 2009 by Henry Yorke

[philfingers 5]

are you stripping the interior out? If so then put in over the rear seat well, the weight distribution is much better. Putting batteries right in the back corner of the car isn't a good idea, the weight is all wrong.

[tom_m 0]

are you stripping the interior out? If so then put in over the rear seat well, the weight distribution is much better. Putting batteries right in the back corner of the car isn't a good idea, the weight is all wrong.

 

only if you're starting out with a perfectly 50:50 weighted car, my 205 is nearly 70:30 front to rear even with the battery in the boot. closer to the back axel instead of overhanging it would be better though.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

alright, cheers for the tips... putting in the middle of the spare wheel sounds like an intresting idea...!!! ill have to do some measuring up

[philfingers 5]

basically you want to reduce you're polar moment of intertia. So putting the battery in the boot area is worse than putting it in the rear seat well. In an ideal world we'd put all the weight right in the centre of the car as low as possible. I could tell the differnce with my 309 when I moved the battery from the front of the car to the centre. other option would be to go for a smaller race type battery and leave it in the front,

 

Phil

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

i understand where your coming from, but the car isnt going to be driven at its limit everywhere i go, as its a road car... its also gonna have amps, and a sub in the boot anyway, plus my cars when on the road always have piles of stuff in the boot (hence the wanting to have a false floor), so theres always going to be weight hanging over the rear axle, i just want more space under the bonnet... and as my car completley stripped down at the min, may as well play around with it.

[weejimmy 1]

minis have this as stock too, nothing for ventalation.

cant see you having any issues with it

[platty 1]

Anyone know if the box pictured on page 1 is something off the shelf or a custom jobbie?

[16v205 9]

My dads vans run the batterys under the passenger seats without ventalation, my old citroen picasso was the same. These were just normal batterys off the shelf not sealed units.

 

When I moved my battery to the boot I went to the local truck factors and bought 350amp cable off the roll. Dont remember the exact cost but it was something like £15 for a long enough lenght, cost about £40 in total to put the battery in the boot inc a isolator switch, connectors, grommits, and battery cage (i made that bit). Only issue ive ever had with the battery in the boot was when it leaked when faults, it made a right mess everywhere and the floor still needs repainting.

 

Rich

[dirtdog 4]

I don't like the fact that it's not ventilated. Don't they give of hydrogen gases when they are working? I've never seen a battery explode but..I really don't want to. Sulphric acid isn't something I want splattering all over me!!

 

If you want to put it in the rear of the car, loose your spare wheel and stick the battery in it's cage. Then carry a can of that tyre juice stuff or something

[platty 1]

A good idea to fit some kind of lid to stop something shorting the terminals. The battery pictured is a sealed jobbie (optima red top by the looks of it) so not much chance of getting covered in acid.

Difficult to see in the pics, but you really should have a fuse/circuit breaker at both ends of the long positive cable.

Edited February 11, 2009 by platty

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

plan is to have a lid mate , ill post pics up when i get started on it...

 

might be a while tho

[Anthony 1,003]

Difficult to see in the pics, but you really should have a fuse/circuit breaker at both ends of the long positive cable.

I might be missing something, but why at both ends? Surely a fuse near the battery would suffice to cover a short anywhere in the cable?

[DaveW 6]

http://www.205gtidrivers.com/cars/pics/lybker5.jpg

[platty 1]

With the engine running, the alternator will happily continue tying to weld the cable to the body in the event of a fault

[Guest Ian King]

I have mine same as pictured but in the center due to twin exhaust, and it must be secure insecure battery = MoT failure (im a tester) but you can only test what you can see, so a tester wont hunt around for the battery unless they are in a pissy mood^^, batteries in cars should be sealed units, just imagine all them poisonous gasses your breathing in and say you light a smoke with a leaky battery under your seat, if any1 has seen a battery explode its not pritty. a small hole in the box will suffice for ventalation tbh, and even for letting water escape. thats what ive done for mine 8mm hole in the middle, and counter sink it just make sure you coat the metal inside and out with sum sort of decent paint or hammerite.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

are you sure battery has to be secure? i had a mondeo a few years ago and the battery was never secure... and it went through 2 MOTs fine

 

ps.. not that it wont be secure this car lol

Edited February 13, 2009 by BERTMAN

[Guest Ian King]

Its all down to the testers discretion, if you cant see the battery or it has a cover over it you cant test that item, a tester will not take covers off to check things, you can only test what you can see, if a car came to me with a insecure battery i will fail it depending on how insecure it is, if its able to move alot then yes, hit a bump and watch that battery weld to the bonnet and blow. see it a few times, aint pritty. if its just slighty insecure then no, everything is down to the tester tbh. but aslong as it aint gunna jump about or move in excess then its fine. you can put it in a box under the boot without a single bit of security and it cant be seen so cant test it.

[philfingers 5]

A good idea to fit some kind of lid to stop something shorting the terminals. The battery pictured is a sealed jobbie (optima red top by the looks of it) so not much chance of getting covered in acid.

Difficult to see in the pics, but you really should have a fuse/circuit breaker at both ends of the long positive cable.

 

where would you go for these high current circuit breakers? What sort of rating would you need? 300A? bearing in mind it's a rally car and I may wish to move the car a short distance on the starter (with it in gear) if for instance the motor wouldn't start and I needed to move it out of the way quickly. Wouldn't want it tripping and me (and car) sitting like a duck in the middle of the road. It's a good idea tho. I routed my cable through hard nylon grommets in the bulkhead and took precautions as required to stop it shorting to ground but you never know.. . .

 

Phil

[Uberderv 6]

My dads vans run the batterys under the passenger seats without ventalation, my old citroen picasso was the same. These were just normal batterys off the shelf not sealed units.

 

When I moved my battery to the boot I went to the local truck factors and bought 350amp cable off the roll. Dont remember the exact cost but it was something like £15 for a long enough lenght, cost about £40 in total to put the battery in the boot inc a isolator switch, connectors, grommits, and battery cage (i made that bit). Only issue ive ever had with the battery in the boot was when it leaked when faults, it made a right mess everywhere and the floor still needs repainting.

 

Rich

 

When fitting the isolator does it go on the earth or the live cable? There is a small hole behind the rear passener light cluster (goes into wheel arch) which you could run a tube to for ventilation