2014-2016 Traxide Dual Battery Kit Lessons Learned

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Michael Gain

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Posts
612
Reaction score
283
Location
Clarksville, TN
Batt2 stud connects to the start stop battery. Batt1 is the cranking battery. Load carries the batt1 voltage from that stud, back to the fuse box.

Essentially, a zero gauge wire crosses the back of the engine and carries voltage from the cranking battery (and the alternator) to the Batt1 stud . That voltage is then transferred to the load stud and is carried back across the back of the engine by another zero gauge wire to the fuse box. Also, the voltage supplied to the batt1 stud supplies voltage to the starter solenoid and pinion relays, and activates the starter when ignition is applied.

Batt2 stud provides current to the start stop battery from the alternator, but also reads the status of the little motorcycle battery so that it knows if it contains the proper voltage to run vehicle systems while the vehicle is off.

Bottom line. The box and the little battery get in the way of putting in a large agm battery, and the system is needlessly complicated

I noticed the three large studs, two of them being tagged as Bat 1 and Bat 2.

I assume that they connect to nothing right now but it suggests LR did think of an aux battery.

I wondered what those three studs were to do?

Thankfully, my 3 does not have Start / Stop - had not yet been regarded as a good idea - sounds like the concept has since fallen out of favor - kind of like seat belt buzzers that do not go off.
 

bbyer

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Posts
895
Reaction score
151
Location
Alberta
Batt2 stud connects to the start stop battery. Batt1 is the cranking battery. Load carries the batt1 voltage from that stud, back to the fuse box.

Essentially, a zero gauge wire crosses the back of the engine and carries voltage from the cranking battery (and the alternator) to the Batt1 stud . That voltage is then transferred to the load stud and is carried back across the back of the engine by another zero gauge wire to the fuse box. Also, the voltage supplied to the batt1 stud supplies voltage to the starter solenoid and pinion relays, and activates the starter when ignition is applied.

Batt2 stud provides current to the start stop battery from the alternator, but also reads the status of the little motorcycle battery so that it knows if it contains the proper voltage to run vehicle systems while the vehicle is off.

Bottom line. The box and the little battery get in the way of putting in a large agm battery, and the system is needlessly complicated
I wonder if that is how General Motors does it Stop / Start? It is not really a new idea and I have to my annoyance, run into it on rental GM cars - have not noticed it on newer Ford pickups but maybe Stop / Start is now "yesterday".

I hope LR gets a good deal on zero gauge copper - twice across the bow is a bit much. One would think that they would find room for all that under something on the starting battery side - below water level would seem about normal.

Mind you I am still puzzling why LR ran a zero gauge from the B+ of the cranking battery to the starter and then a second zero from the starter to the alternator. Yes, both down low etc, but GM etc normally runs a zero from the battery B+ to the starter and then about an eight again separately from the B+ to the alternator. I have always wondered what LR knows that none of the other manufacturers do?
 

Attachments

  • LR3 Battery Starter Alternator wiring.pdf
    69.8 KB · Views: 52

Michael Gain

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Posts
612
Reaction score
283
Location
Clarksville, TN
Finally got around to rigging the power supply distribution box back up to the truck for testing.
20201219_130705.jpg

20201219_130710.jpg

I used my second battery to replicate the original start/stop battery and grounded terminal 1 to a body grounding point.

I had the air filters and MAF sensors off already (smoke testing tonight or tomorrow) so I did not leave the vehicle running very long during my testing.

Two of the pins measure the alternator supplied voltage (~13.8v), while the final measured about 12v.

12v is the LIN wire, and the 13.8v is the VBATT2 and B Sense wires. Using this information, I decided to attach all three wires to the new battery and see what it does. Due to the small variance, in voltage, I am not worried about burning out any of the harnesses that it traces through, nor the gateway module where it terminates.
20201220_131824.jpg

20201220_132009.jpg


Once I complete the smoke test, I will reassemble everything, start it up, and see what happens lol
 

bbyer

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Posts
895
Reaction score
151
Location
Alberta
The 4 sure appears to be a lot more complicated than the 3; there just seems to be more stuff in the engine compartment. I do not envy you.

I imagine drivesafe is keeping an eye on your progress as it seems Australia does not have Stop / Start.
I always regarded the Aussies as generally smarter than most the rest of the world.
 
Last edited:

Michael Gain

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Posts
612
Reaction score
283
Location
Clarksville, TN
It is very complicated. Needlessly so. The Australians are lucky they didn't get that "luxury feature". They also got the diesel versions... I guess north American gas is cheaper though...

I actually have an Aussie buddy or two and they are so much smarter than me lol.

The 4 sure appears to be a lot more complicated than the 3; there just seems to be more stuff in the engine compartment. I do not envy you.

I imagine drivesafe is keeping an eye on your progress as it seems Australia does not have Stop / Start.
I always regarded the Auzzies as generally smarter than most the rest of the world.
 

bbyer

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Posts
895
Reaction score
151
Location
Alberta
It is very complicated. Needlessly so. The Australians are lucky they didn't get that "luxury feature". They also got the diesel versions... I guess north American gas is cheaper though...

I actually have an Aussie buddy or two and they are so much smarter than me lol.
The Aussie's are serious about 4x4s, that is for certain.

They take the kids for the weekend to see Grandma and Grandpa a couple of hundred miles back of beyond; it then rains five hundred miles away and they have to swim their 4x4s just to get back. What were dry low spots become rivers in a matter of hours and one can be caught between them. The 4x4 thing can be for real over there.

D4 on typical gravel road in Australia IMG_0306sm.jpg


D3 wading bonnet covered with water.jpg
 

Michael Gain

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Posts
612
Reaction score
283
Location
Clarksville, TN
All of that is beautiful to me lol. Maybe I'll become an expat and head over there to retire

The Aussie's are serious about 4x4s, that is for certain.

They take the kids for the weekend to see Grandma and Grandpa a couple of hundred miles back of beyond; it then rains five hundred miles away and they have to swim their 4x4s just to get back. What were dry low spots become rivers in a matter of hours and one can be caught between them. The 4x4 thing can be for real over there.

View attachment 12108

View attachment 12110
 

Michael Gain

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Posts
612
Reaction score
283
Location
Clarksville, TN
Ok. Smoke test did not show any leaks. So, at least that is good news. I cleared all the codes from running it without the MAF sensors and started it up.

ECO light is still on, but truck runs great. We'll see what happens after a couple of drive cycles.
 

AdventureTim

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2017
Posts
137
Reaction score
102
Location
Seattle, WA
12v is the LIN wire, and the 13.8v is the VBATT2 and B Sense wires. Using this information, I decided to attach all three wires to the new battery and see what it does. Due to the small variance, in voltage, I am not worried about burning out any of the harnesses that it traces through, nor the gateway module where it terminates.

A thought: if LIN is a serial bus, it might show up as 12V either because it's switching very quickly (if your multimeter has a frequency mode - Hz - it'd be worth attaching it to see what it says), or because there's a pull-up resistor. In either case, pinning it to B+ unfortunately won't give it the signal it's looking for.
 

Michael Gain

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Posts
612
Reaction score
283
Location
Clarksville, TN
I bet you're 100% right. Not sure if it would be worth the effort to replicate the signal just to turn the light off. There don't seem to be any I'll effects. Other than the heated steering wheel and windshield--not sure if either work after the latest work I did...pouring over the wiring diagrams for both and tracing back through connectors and canbus, the power supply distribution box does not affect either....

Unless of course some random code in the gateway module does...

A thought: if LIN is a serial bus, it might show up as 12V either because it's switching very quickly (if your multimeter has a frequency mode - Hz - it'd be worth attaching it to see what it says), or because there's a pull-up resistor. In either case, pinning it to B+ unfortunately won't give it the signal it's looking for.
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
36,223
Posts
217,601
Members
30,474
Latest member
sawcut
Top