My Battery Relocation plan

[SirThomas88]

What
Ok, so I've done a bunch of research on this, and I haven't found one definitive source on relocating your battery to the trunk. To remedy this, I've drawn up my own plans (combining a few I've found online) to figure out what I need to do to make the best battery relocation set up. I've made diagrams of two various wiring options trying to decide which is the proper way to go. I think Diagram 2 is what I'll probably go with. One thing I'm not sure about is where I need to put a fuse. Please let me know what you think of my plan and if I need to improve or revise anything. Or if I've forgotten anything. I want this to be a complete guide.

Why?
To answer the obvious question with a not so obvious answer, I'm relocating my battery to make room in the engine bay for my GLP turbo kit install coming up soon. I'll be mounting it in the lowest and most forward position in the spare tire well. Improving handling is not a reason for doing this but is one of the motivations however as to how I'm mounting the battery.



I have four goals in mind to try to make this the ultimate battery relocation set up.
Goals
1. Improve voltage/ minimize resistance
2. NHRA legal (requires externally accessible trunk mounted kill switch)
3. Protect from potential voltage spikes
4. Eliminate drain to battery

To solve Goal 1, I'm using 1/0 gauge wire everywhere I can, with solid connectors and accessories which I'll be doing a careful and diligent job of soldering. I think Diagram 2 would be better for this, as there are less cables involved.

For #2, I'm going to mount a kill switch in the trunk. The switch must kill power from the battery and from the alternator to be NHRA-legal. Diagram 1 has two positive 1/0 gauge wires coming from the external NHRA-required Kill Switch in the trunk all the way to the engine bay. Diagram 2 has one 1/0 gauge wire coming out from the trunk and into the engine bay and instead uses a Alternator Kill Relay that will cut power from the alternator when the Kill Switch is pushed.

For Goal 3, I'll add fuses where needed. This is still a gray area for me as to where to put the fuse(s) and at what AMP.

To solve Goal 4, I am planning to include a Battery Protector. This device is mounted on the positive terminal of the battery and if battery voltage drops below 11.8v, it will shut off all circuit to the battery. You can run a button from the Battery Protector to the cabin that will allow you to reactivate the battery. You can also use this button to turn OFF the battery, effectively immobilizing the car. This can also be a good theft deterrent. Button requires you to hold it down for 4 seconds before it will reactivate the battery. Even without hiding the button, unlikely a would-be thief will have the imagination to figure it out before they give up.
Battery Protector: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SMS-334126/

Questions
So, if I understand it correctly.. one wire off the battery is the alternator wire, and the other one goes to the starter and THEN to the fuse box. Right? So those are the same two wires I'm extending into the trunk? If my diagrams are in any way incorrect please let me know!

Also, if I were to go with Diagram 1, is it okay to stick with the original wires coming off the Positive Battery Post, cut off the old terminals from the wires and attach them to 1/0 gauge wire? Or would going from 1/0 gauge down to smaller wire cause any problems or decrease in performance?

Looking to have a definitive solution to a trunk battery relocation. If I'm lacking in my plan or I've got something wrong, please let me know!

Thanks.
-Josh

[tooshorty]

I'm interested on seeing this done! are you going to take pics during your step by steps? It looks like the plan will work but putting it in play is another story haha

[SirThomas88]

No I dont think I'll be taking photos of the process since the diagram I think covers most of it. However I suppose I should post some photos of how I attached everything and the final product.

Thanks for the support!

[tooshorty]

nope... WANT PICTURES! haha interested to see the final outcome bro!

[SirThomas88]

I'm super dissapointed. I put a lot of thought and research into this battery relocation and no one has any input?? There's like hardly any other posts on SG that I could find regarding this topic.

[Bostonlara]

I'm super dissapointed. I put a lot of thought and research into this battery relocation and no one has any input?? There's like hardly any other posts on SG that I could find regarding this topic.

i think you nailed it man, for your purpose at least. there isn't much you can do when relocating the battery besides adding kill switches and fuses to go along with them. pictures of the finished product would be nice too! but relocating a battery is only so complicated and a lot of cars do it nowadays. hope it works out for you