How To: Battery Relocation *w/pics*

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 12:49 am

Hahaha nice. Its a very nice setup. Thanks so much for the how-to. I think I am going to go with 2 gauge instead after talking to my buddy. He said you can get marine battery boxes at wal-mart for less than $10. Can't wait to do this.

OB · Post by OB » Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:30 pm

Yeah 2ga is probably the ideal size for this setup. I only used 4ga because it was readily available to me. I still need to run a dedicated ground back to the engine bay, and I'm considering upgrading to heavier cable as well. I can't believe my stock battery is still doing the job, even with the added stress of pushing amps an extra 7-8 feet.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:12 pm

You think it would be cheaper to piece together a kit then to buy something like this?

Kits include:

* Case straps
* H-bar battery hold-down
* J-bolts
* 20 ft. of positive and 3 ft. of negative cable (both 2-gauge)
* Cable straps
* Connectors
* Grommets
* Mounting hardware

$80 + shipping via SummitRacing
Theres a local with a race SRT-4 and he just drilled sanded down a flat spot on the floor of the trunk near the spare tire and put the ground there from the battery. Edit link to picts of his setup:
http://www.mkcperformance.com/nggallery/page-18/page-5

If not, any recommended places to get 2 gauge wire and the like to complete the kit. Thought the summit kit would be easier since it comes with a lot of stuff. Going to check the dimensions on the battery and make sure that box fits.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1200A/

This looks promising too:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TAY-48000/?rtype=10

OB · Post by OB » Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:39 pm

You see, the best way to piece the kit together kind of depends on the person. I have access to both cable and terminals/connectors from work, so I got that stuff at cost. I decided not to run a box initially, so I bought a universal tray for $10 at NAPA, and some All-Thread rod for my tie down bolts. I cut the rod to size, and made my own tie strap out of aluminum I had in my garage. I used 1/4x20 bolts w/ lock washers to mount the tray to my trunk floor, no modification necessary. The rods are double-nutted to the tray, and I used butterfly nuts to secure the tie strap for easy removal. I'd say I spent around $40-50. I plan to buy a box someday, as well as wire in a dedicated ground to the engine bay.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sun Aug 29, 2010 12:40 am

Well I don't have access to cable/terminals/connectors.
I am curious on what route I should go. So many options. Want a quality kit but don't want to sepnd the big money if you catch my drift.

wheels04sxt · Post by **wheels04sxt** » Sun Aug 29, 2010 2:15 am

i think i spent a good $100 piecing my relocation parts together, 25ft of 2ga cable ran me nearly $65. i bought a universal tray and tie downs and pre-wired terminals, a good $30 there, and have since upgraded the terminals as the cheap ones i got from checker broke already

and i dont have a box yet either

like OB said its kind of up to the person and the availabilty of materials. but $80 doesnt seem to bad IMO for the kit you posted.

btw OB i never thought of using all-thread and a scrap piece of metal for the tie downs, i coulda got that all form work for free! lol

keeders08 · Post by **keeders08** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:31 pm

Swordfish2Cowboy wrote:
keeders08 wrote:
OB wrote:Well, technically the weight of the engine offsets that of the driver. The transaxle probably weighs just enough to make the left-right balance very close with a driver in the vehicle. The best theory to use when relocating weight in the vehicle is that of gravity. The lower the weight, the less transfer and roll effect on the wheels. This increases grip by a ton when done properly. My location for the battery is the lowest position and in my opinion the best place for added weight, considering the nose-heavy orientation of the car. With the previous weight reduction, the rear lost a lot of its influence during cornering, causing the front tires to deal with more load under braking and cornering. Moving 25-30 lbs out of the front and into the rear both unloads the front a bit, while adding some weight to the rear suspension to help comensate for the weight loss. In reality, there is 50 lbs being added to the rear under load, since the 25 from the front isnt a part of the equation anymore; the rear is taking both the 25 lbs from the lost weight in the front, and gaining an additional 25 when the battery is relocated to the trunk. Removing weight from one side 'adds' weight to the other, in a way, by changing the distribution, even without replacing the weight elsewhere.
Well, I agree with you for the most part. I read in a little book my friend ran across, Neon Performance, that relocating the battery to the right rear is best. Although they did add that theres a few things you can do to balance the weight. Maybe one of us should just put one on a 4 point scale? lol I'm sure the weight distribution has been conquered by someone though.
Actually they put it behind the passenger seat.

Anywho, I really need to relocate my battery and free up some space in my engine bay so it looks like I can fit more stuff in there.

Speaking of weight distribution, will coilovers work with an Eibach Prokit, or are those two completely incompatible and I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about?

Lol, never caught where they put it. hmmm.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:41 pm

what do i do about the battery temp sensor?

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 5:52 pm

lol good question... his probably doesn't have one. My 05 battery blanket has no sensor on it, but my 03 does...

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 7:16 am

viewtopic.php?t=26158

viewtopic.php?t=49602

You can leave it in place, or extend the wires to the trunk.

The only real concern is if the trunk temps get too hot, vs engine bay, (not too likely) it might overcharge the battery, causing it to either fail, or just have too much outgassing.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 11:45 am

occasional demons wrote:viewtopic.php?t=26158

viewtopic.php?t=49602

You can leave it in place, or extend the wires to the trunk.

The only real concern is if the trunk temps get too hot, vs engine bay, (not too likely) it might overcharge the battery, causing it to either fail, or just have too much outgassing.

well what do you mean leave it in place? obviously if i move the battery to the trunk i want rid of the stupid blanket around it. So, do i cut the sensor out of the blanket and just let it hang out in there?

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 3:31 pm

Other than moving it all to the trunk, yes.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:17 pm

occasional demons wrote:Other than moving it all to the trunk, yes.

what about putting in a resistor like we do with the airbag delete?

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:26 pm

You may screw up the PCM VR circuit, or get a CEL for charging voltage too high or too low. The resistor would need to match a given resistance of the battery sensor for a given temperature. I would see what the resistance value is at the warmest engine bay temp., and use that. The voltage might be a bit lower, but overcharging the battery won't be a risk.

It would be best to just cut the sensor from the blanket, or roll it up and zip tie it. If an IAT sensor has the same connector, for $8 you might be able to plug one of those in. It is what the other years of neons use to give ambient temperature input.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:52 pm

occasional demons wrote:You may screw up the PCM VR circuit, or get a CEL for charging voltage too high or too low. The resistor would need to match a given resistance of the battery sensor for a given temperature. I would see what the resistance value is at the warmest engine bay temp., and use that. The voltage might be a bit lower, but overcharging the battery won't be a risk.

It would be best to just cut the sensor from the blanket, or roll it up and zip tie it. If an IAT sensor has the same connector, for $8 you might be able to plug one of those in. It is what the other years of neons use to give ambient temperature input.

ill head to the junkyard monday and see if the connectors are the same.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:56 pm

Why?

You should have the IAT sensor in the air intake of your car. Just unplug it, pull it out, and see if it plugs into the battery blanket connector.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:42 pm

occasional demons wrote:Why?

You should have the IAT sensor in the air intake of your car. Just unplug it, pull it out, and see if it plugs into the battery blanket connector.

yea yano what, your right

be back in 15 min with an answer

EDIT:
is the iat sensor the one on the left side of the intake manifold below the last runner on the left? if so, the sonsor on the intake mani has 3 wires connected to it where as the battery temp sensor has two

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:55 pm

no... it's the sensor that goes into the tube from the airbox down into the fender. you have a cai so you probably stuck it in the hole in your intake.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:57 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:no... it's the sensor that goes into the tube from the airbox down into the fender. you have a cai so you probably stuck it in the hole in your intake.

dont most of them have two? mine had one on the elbow and one in the box

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:00 pm

idk about the airbox, but its in the elbow. if you look in through your front bumper by the driver's side you will see one clipped to that core support. it's the same sensor that is used in the elbow.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:01 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:idk about the airbox, but its in the elbow.

mine had two. one in the elbow and one in the bottom of the airbox. if somebody wants this "confirmed" ill take a picture of it

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:02 pm

The one that is/was in the elbow from the in fender silencer, to the oem air filter housing.

Possibly you tried the MAP sensor?

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:08 pm

occasional demons wrote:The one that is/was in the elbow from the in fender silencer, to the oem air filter housing.

Possibly you tried the MAP sensor?

ok i tried the correct one. we'll call it the nipple sensor

anyways, does it fit, no. can it fit? yes. the two little tabs on the side will/ would need ground off.

so the question is, if i get this plugged in, am i just going to tuck it with the "temp sensor" still connected?

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:28 pm

Well, I would take both sensors somewhere where the temp is constant, (inside the house) and measure the resistance on both to see if it is the same. Just try not to hold them in your hand, or they will warm up and change value. Then put them both out side if it is colder and see if they still are equal values. Or do the outside part first, it doesn't matter, as long as they are the same temp. If the values are different, the IAT will not work, so no need to modify it.

FWIW, the battery temp sensor is PN 56041053 $44.60 vs 5293138AA $8.30 for the IAT sensor.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:34 pm

occasional demons wrote:Well, I would take both sensors somewhere where the temp is constant, (inside the house) and measure the resistance on both to see if it is the same. Just try not to hold them in your hand, or they will warm up and change value. Then put them both out side if it is colder and see if they still are equal values. Or do the outside part first, it doesn't matter, as long as they are the same temp. If the values are different, the IAT will not work, so no need to modify it.

FWIW, the battery temp sensor is PN 56041053 $44.60 vs 5293138AA $8.30 for the IAT sensor.

well i just tried the sensor and the light still came on

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:13 pm

I didn't have a lot of confidence it would work, but now we know it won't work. Hey, it was worth a try.

So you have the choice of running two small wires along with the battery cable to the trunk, and cutting the connector off, and moving it back there, or hacking the battery blanket.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:19 pm

occasional demons wrote:I didn't have a lot of confidence it would work, but now we know it won't work. Hey, it was worth a try.

So you have the choice of running two small wires along with the battery cable to the trunk, and cutting the connector off, and moving it back there, or hacking the battery blanket.

yea, you owe me. when it didnt work i got a check engine light. ( i didnt know it would do that) and i had to disconnect my battery outside in 20 degree weather

anyways, will it even read being how long the wires will be?

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:26 pm

I doubt there will be enough additional resistance. You could use some high quality speaker wire to connect the two ends.

If you could get another battery temp blanket for very cheap, you could mock a 12' length of wire to see how it responds, but I think it will be fine.

XxWhiteNeonxX · Post by **XxWhiteNeonxX** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:32 pm

occasional demons wrote:I doubt there will be enough additional resistance. You could use some high quality speaker wire to connect the two ends.

If you could get another battery temp blanket for very cheap, you could mock a 12' length of wire to see how it responds, but I think it will be fine.

im gonna use either 12 or 14 gauge wire for the sensor.

i think what ill do is remove the blanket, get my small alligator clips and connect them to the sensor and then get 20ft of wire with alligator clips connected to the blanket and start my car and see if it throws a code.

if it doesnt throw a code then i should be good. if it throws it though, im gonna scrap the relocation idea.

wheels04sxt · Post by **wheels04sxt** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 10:33 pm

XxWhiteNeonxX wrote: if it doesnt throw a code then i should be good. if it throws it though, im gonna scrap the relocation idea.

just remove the sensor form the blanket and zip tie it back out of the way in the engine bay. ive been running my set up like this for a while and have had no battery/charging issues and im sure if you talk to the OP (OB) he will tell you the same. no need to scrap the idea over the temp sensor, you know you want to clean up the bay

2GN.ORG

How To: Battery Relocation w/pics