TestPoint
01-10-2012, 09:20 PM
Chapter 13: Battery Relocation
Many mount the battery in the same position it was in the stock Volvo. The standard Group 65 Explorer battery that I bought has hold-down protrusions on different sides from the Volvo battery tray so it would probably be better to buy the Volvo sized battery if you are going to leave it in the original position. Mine was originally located on the left side in front of the wheel and with the addition of the Explorer Battery Junction Box there just was no room left for it in the engine compartment.
The other issue with the battery is the weight of the Ford vs. Volvo engine and the resulting weight distribution. The SBF engine with iron heads is reported to add about 100 pounds to the front end of the car compared to the Volvo gas 4 cylinders. The iron Diesel that I was replacing is probably not much lighter than the SBF but I chose to relocate the battery to the right rear wheel well anyway to free up the space in the engine compartment. I had a couple of old 2/0 welding wire jumper cables hanging on the wall that I took to the local NAPA dealer. They spliced the two 10 foot cables into one 20 foot long one with a low temperature soldered sleeve. Three layers of shrink wrap, hopefully, insulated the sleeve connector. The relocation took 18 feet of that cable so the extra couple feet to start with might be wise.
I used some 5/4” OSB to develop a pattern for the battery tray mounting support. It took a few cuts to get it to properly fit then I made the permanent support out of a piece of TREX plastic decking. I secured the TREX from the wheel well side with large Philips screws and a shot of spray undercoating. The tray needs to sit low and level enough to allow plenty of clearance above the battery and to permit the insertion of the battery. The Group 65 battery will fit into the well but must be inserted end first and then turned. Being sealed, turning it was no problem but the next time I buy a battery I will probably look for a slightly smaller case.
The battery is secured via ‘J’ hooks from the tray to the top of the battery and a cross-battery hold down. Be sure to leave a half inch of space between the inside of the tray and the well side to permit the installation of the ‘J’ hook. The battery ends up a little to the rear of the well with the fuse holder mounted in front of it. Just by eyeball measurement the battery ends up about as far behind the rear axel as it was in front of the front axel in its original position. That would leverage the 40 pound transfer into something like an 80 pound weight shift between axles.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/181Batterysupport.jpg
Wood pattern for battery tray support
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/182BatteryRearmountedtray.jpg
Battery Tray and TREX support
Several swappers have chosen to add a manual disconnect at the relocated battery but I thought a 250A fuse was a much more practical device to have with a remote battery. The covered fuse holder is mounted in the well with the battery. The power cable is run from the battery’s new location along the right side under the carpet and connected to an engine compartment fuse block. That fuse block is jumpered with a piece of 3/4" rigid copper pipe hammered flat and drilled and shaped to fit the fuse block. The thought being that it might be reasonable to have a power point under the hood plus a way to jump start the car under the hood in case of battery failure. This scheme is not an original thought as most OEM systems using a rear mounted battery have such an arrangement. The starter is connected to the fuse block and the rest of the car is then fed from the existing Explorer wiring harness. There has been some discussion of issues with voltage spikes affecting added electronics associated with the starter when the battery is relocated to the rear. Since I intend to remain original I will think about that tomorrow.
Because the 2/0 welding cable is very stiff it needed a half dozen insulated cable hold-downs between the battery and the engine compartment to form it neatly under the carpet.
Better to do it right the first time I added a 4 gauge stranded ground cable from the battery ground point to the firewall. That made the routing of the cables under the carpet a little more difficult but everything fit. Rather than drill another hole in the firewall I replaced one of the bolts securing the climate control panel with a longer bolt that secured the ground cable on the inside and permitted another cable connection and nut to be added within the engine compartment and connected to the engine block. There is also a very conveniently located large bolt securing the bumper to the unibody located in the well for a frame ground connection.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/184BatteryBfuseinstoragewell.jpg
Relocated Battery 250A Fuse. The fuse block is NAPA part number 782-1143 and the fuse (250A) is NAPA part number 782-1142
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/185BatteryRearmountedground.jpg
Rear Ground Connection
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/BatteryUnderhoodConnectionPoint.jpg
Under Hood Power Connection to the Starter
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/187BatteryRearmountedcomplete.jpg
Completed battery relocation
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/188BatteryRelocationFinished2.jpg
Completed battery relocation
The parent document to this thread can be found here: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=250257
Many mount the battery in the same position it was in the stock Volvo. The standard Group 65 Explorer battery that I bought has hold-down protrusions on different sides from the Volvo battery tray so it would probably be better to buy the Volvo sized battery if you are going to leave it in the original position. Mine was originally located on the left side in front of the wheel and with the addition of the Explorer Battery Junction Box there just was no room left for it in the engine compartment.
The other issue with the battery is the weight of the Ford vs. Volvo engine and the resulting weight distribution. The SBF engine with iron heads is reported to add about 100 pounds to the front end of the car compared to the Volvo gas 4 cylinders. The iron Diesel that I was replacing is probably not much lighter than the SBF but I chose to relocate the battery to the right rear wheel well anyway to free up the space in the engine compartment. I had a couple of old 2/0 welding wire jumper cables hanging on the wall that I took to the local NAPA dealer. They spliced the two 10 foot cables into one 20 foot long one with a low temperature soldered sleeve. Three layers of shrink wrap, hopefully, insulated the sleeve connector. The relocation took 18 feet of that cable so the extra couple feet to start with might be wise.
I used some 5/4” OSB to develop a pattern for the battery tray mounting support. It took a few cuts to get it to properly fit then I made the permanent support out of a piece of TREX plastic decking. I secured the TREX from the wheel well side with large Philips screws and a shot of spray undercoating. The tray needs to sit low and level enough to allow plenty of clearance above the battery and to permit the insertion of the battery. The Group 65 battery will fit into the well but must be inserted end first and then turned. Being sealed, turning it was no problem but the next time I buy a battery I will probably look for a slightly smaller case.
The battery is secured via ‘J’ hooks from the tray to the top of the battery and a cross-battery hold down. Be sure to leave a half inch of space between the inside of the tray and the well side to permit the installation of the ‘J’ hook. The battery ends up a little to the rear of the well with the fuse holder mounted in front of it. Just by eyeball measurement the battery ends up about as far behind the rear axel as it was in front of the front axel in its original position. That would leverage the 40 pound transfer into something like an 80 pound weight shift between axles.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/181Batterysupport.jpg
Wood pattern for battery tray support
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/182BatteryRearmountedtray.jpg
Battery Tray and TREX support
Several swappers have chosen to add a manual disconnect at the relocated battery but I thought a 250A fuse was a much more practical device to have with a remote battery. The covered fuse holder is mounted in the well with the battery. The power cable is run from the battery’s new location along the right side under the carpet and connected to an engine compartment fuse block. That fuse block is jumpered with a piece of 3/4" rigid copper pipe hammered flat and drilled and shaped to fit the fuse block. The thought being that it might be reasonable to have a power point under the hood plus a way to jump start the car under the hood in case of battery failure. This scheme is not an original thought as most OEM systems using a rear mounted battery have such an arrangement. The starter is connected to the fuse block and the rest of the car is then fed from the existing Explorer wiring harness. There has been some discussion of issues with voltage spikes affecting added electronics associated with the starter when the battery is relocated to the rear. Since I intend to remain original I will think about that tomorrow.
Because the 2/0 welding cable is very stiff it needed a half dozen insulated cable hold-downs between the battery and the engine compartment to form it neatly under the carpet.
Better to do it right the first time I added a 4 gauge stranded ground cable from the battery ground point to the firewall. That made the routing of the cables under the carpet a little more difficult but everything fit. Rather than drill another hole in the firewall I replaced one of the bolts securing the climate control panel with a longer bolt that secured the ground cable on the inside and permitted another cable connection and nut to be added within the engine compartment and connected to the engine block. There is also a very conveniently located large bolt securing the bumper to the unibody located in the well for a frame ground connection.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/184BatteryBfuseinstoragewell.jpg
Relocated Battery 250A Fuse. The fuse block is NAPA part number 782-1143 and the fuse (250A) is NAPA part number 782-1142
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/185BatteryRearmountedground.jpg
Rear Ground Connection
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/BatteryUnderhoodConnectionPoint.jpg
Under Hood Power Connection to the Starter
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/187BatteryRearmountedcomplete.jpg
Completed battery relocation
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/tporterellijaycom/188BatteryRelocationFinished2.jpg
Completed battery relocation
The parent document to this thread can be found here: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=250257