Dual battery setup

Gr8FrozenNorth · February 13, 2020

Hi everyone, I just picked up my truck about a week ago and wanted to add a second battery with a battery isolator. Also, I wanted to upgrade my 170 amp alt to the available 220 and didnt know if I could swap them with having to reprogram anything. I already added a 9 foot Vplow and I am going to add a light bar so I want to make sure I have enough power.

Wondered if anyone had already done this and what battery isolator you had used.I wasn't sure if the setups that I saw posted from the previous year's would be applicable to the brand new trucks.

What do you do for storage since they robbed us of the armrest storage spot?

Using the glove box for insurance info is so 1995. Hahahaha

Rabbittown · February 14, 2020

I'm also curious about what we could do to replace the missing center console on the custom trucks. Surely someone has created a solution or replacement, but I haven't found anything.

Gr8FrozenNorth · February 15, 2020

I guess nobody has added a dual battery setup to a new model yet. I just was unsure about which isolator to run since I wanted to upgrade the alternator to a 220 amp and I thought I read that different manufacturers used different methods for voltage sensing so you had to be sure to buy a compatible model for that manufacturer or something like that. Since I am not a mechanic or an engineer I was hoping to find someone who had done it successfully,and without any issues later down the road..

I am very surprised that there has not been an alternative storage method invented or suggested yet.

Why would Chevy not give us that feature? I have transferred items from one truck's armrest to another truck's armrest for years,I was very disappointed to find out that was no longer possible. I did not check to see if there was still the under seat storage in the middle seat,I will have to check tomorrow.

mkeddie · February 16, 2020

I paid the small amount to have the dual battery installed at factory it's alot easier that way lol

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ROOK Lucky 13 · February 20, 2020

I paid the small amount to have the dual battery installed at factory it's alot easier that way lol

Well where is the fun in that? Lol!

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mkeddie · February 20, 2020

Well where is the fun in that? Lol!

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Stay tuned and u will see all my fun

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ROOK Lucky 13 · February 21, 2020

5 hours ago, mkeddie said:

Stay tuned and u will see all my fun

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I’m just kidding man, I wish I would have ordered a few options myself. I’m getting too old to do all these upgrades after the fact

February 22, 2020

I added a second alternator to my 12 dmax... a dc power 270 amp xp. Tied into the factory alt wiring with factory connectors and added the bracket and idlers.... new belt and new charge wire to the second battery. Shouldnt be the hard, I did add fuses on the battery as well in case of over amps to prevent a fire... works great.

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redwngr · February 22, 2020

And now the factory dual alternators are a 220 with a 170

KHF Alternators, dual, 220-amps primary, 170-amps auxiliary

1 - With (L8T) 6.6L V8 gas engine, (K4B) 730 cold-cranking amps/70 Amp-hr auxiliary battery is required.

davester · February 22, 2020

Not sure exactly how a fuse prevents overcharging...

February 22, 2020

Not sure exactly how a fuse prevents overcharging...

My bad what I meant was i put a 300 amp fuse to protect the charge wire in case more than 300 amps went through it so it didn't start a fire. The charge wire was I think 0 gage. The bcm controls the charging..... it all looks factory. The point is the op could get one alt like I added and it puts out 125amps at idle.... hairpin stator.

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February 22, 2020

Here are some pics...

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Gr8FrozenNorth · February 23, 2020

That is a nice setup!

February 23, 2020

That is a nice setup!

A guy on dmax forum made the replacement charge wire to look factory and the plug in wire for the alt to turn on.... I bought the passenger side battery fuse block and modified it to fit the drivers side and added the large fuses... ideally you could have just replaced the stock alt but since my new alt puts out 125amps idle and 270max, not sure I would trust the stock charge wire, I would replace that. Also not pictured I added the stock ground off of a chassis frame as it was twice the size from the firewall to the engine as my stock one.

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