Help Battery Systems

Whether in our personal or professional lives, we have all experienced the dreaded occasion where the car battery is dead or as the English put it ... "flat". In our personal lives, this apartment is mostly a nuisance, but it is a whole other story in our professional lives, especially for those of us with critical jobs in public safety, utilities, towing, etc. A dead battery in these professions can literally put life on the stocks.

Despite the critical nature of jobs such as public safety, it never ceases to amaze me how increasingly common dead batteries are. On many occasions, these dead batteries can simply be taken up for poor terminal maintenance, replacement, and band voltage. Others are the result of phantom power draws from the myriad of electronics that constantly lower battery power even when the power switch is off. Another important reason for flat batteries is technicians who maximize the specified load and that they do not understand the charging capacity of vehicles is never constant.

Along with performing proper vehicle maintenance to prevent dead batteries, another good way to remedy problems is by using an auxiliary battery. The use of an auxiliary battery is especially recommended for missions that require operating electronics for extended periods with the engine off, ie. emergency management, bait trucks, slipcars and surveillance vehicles. No matter what mission, onboard electronics must be connected to the auxiliary battery, leaving the vehicle's starting battery fully dedicated to normal use. As a result, starter batteries tend to last longer this year, and the auxiliary battery can play a dual role by providing emergency power if the starter battery ever fails.

To get the most out of auxiliary batteries and to protect the operators, there are some simple things to consider and recommend things to include in any installation.

1 - Battery insulator
Perhaps the most important element needed for an auxiliary battery system is a battery insulator. Insulators allow auxiliary batteries to receive a charge from the vehicle's electrical system, but as the name suggests, it insulates and prevents a backflow of current and depletion of the auxiliary battery. Advanced battery insulators also give operators the opportunity to manually override insulation and help start emergency jumps.

2 - Fuses
When you add an auxiliary battery system, a new circuit is created, and in some cases, such as a monitoring car, many subcircuits are also created. Without compromise, whenever a new circuit is added, proper fusion must be installed. For auxiliary battery systems, I generally recommend using a master or a.k.a. limiting fuse between the auxiliary battery and the vehicle electrical system. In addition, any subcircuit arising from the auxiliary battery must have its own dedicated fuse. Fuse sizes depend on total load or, in other words, current demand, which will be placed in the new circuit (s) and potential use. For example, an auxiliary system designed to support 40 amps worth of electronics and the potential emergency jump start should probably use a 150 amp limiter fuse and a separate 50 amp fuse for the subcircuits. In essence, the hedge size must be greater than the demand by a small margin.