Auxiliary Battery in 82 Diesel

[vegiDsl]

i hate posting where i don't have spelling checks. (i'm dyslexic)
i really could use an aux battery or two in my Diesel Westy. if anyone can lead me to diagrams of how to do this, or have done it on a Diesel, i would greatly appreciate any help. for those who aren't familliar with the 81-83 Diesels, both battery compartments behind the front seats are empty. the main battery is in the engine compartment.

[Vanagonjr]

try http://www.knology.net/~felder/Vanagons ... Wiring.pdf

He has a diesel, so the diagram should be good for you.  I guess you can mount your auxiliary under the passenger or driver's seat (or anywhere else you please.  

John

[vegiDsl]

thanks John, that is a help.
anyone out there ever put an extra battery in one of these?

[Vanagonjr]

Rich M has a diesel - I can;t seem to find a post by him.  Also known as the Con Kid - see if you can find him on this site.  I'll e-mail a few and see if I can find him

[alain riaud]

I've done it. I own a 1988 turbo diesel.

First, choose a deep cycle battery, not a starting battery.
I chose a 85 Ah/20 hours battery

You put it the compartment behind the seat, either driver's or passenger's.
I had a problem, the battery is 3mm too high, I was not able to close the cover.
I modified the hinges and put a 4mm spacer...plus an insolating sheetunder the cover, just in case.

From the electric side, I used a salvaged copper jumper cable, connected to the main battery through a relay controlled by the fuel valve wire. The two batteries are interconnected only when the engine is running.

Be sure to protect the line on both end with 32 Amp fuses (You have two batteries, two sources of short circuit)

A refinement worth the money: an undervoltage protection between the aux battery and your camping electric network.
This prevents overdischarging and ruining the battery.

I use this system from the beginning, more than 20 years. I changed the battery every ten years.

My 2 cents