Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Anchoring the Engine Batteries (Read 527 times) previous topic - next topic

Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Quote from: Miz Dani –
Trent, these are the 2 coach starting batteries, they weren't secured well, causing the ground wire to come loose (& causing me a lot of trauma lately!) Paul Yasbeck constructed a strong steel cable about 1 inch think that runs across the top of both of them & is anchored securely.....said every time I'd go over a big bump the ground wire would jar loose.

I am replacing my two engine batteries with three new Optima red tops. The anchor mechanism for the two batteries was a metal angle with a long bolt on each end. It did a pretty good job of anchoring the batteries. I had planned to use a longer angle to anchor the three batteries.
 
My new red tops have a slot on each side near the end of the battery. It looks like I could use those with zip ties to anchor the new batteries. Has anybody tried this method? What do y'all think? Would it work to secure them? (My coach batteries do not have any king of a hold-down mechanism, but they are about 165 pounds each.)
 
Thanks for any input,
 
Trent

Trent and Jean Eyler
2000  U295  4003  WTFE  ISC  350
Build#5603 MC#17385

Re: Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Reply #1 –
I have a long piece of angle steel to hold mine down with the long bolts.  I would not use zip-ties as eventually the plasic will get hard and break putting you back in the same spot at before.
I do have a strip of hard non-compressable,  thin, foam under the bar to prevent chafing of the battery tops.
Speedbird 1.
2001 U320 Build #5865
Daihatsu Rocky Toad
VW Touareg
'82 F100 Stepside
Beech' Debonair

Re: Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Reply #2 –
When I made my sliding battery trays I used stainless threaded rods together with angle iron wrapped in rubber to protect and secure the batteries.
Geoff & Pat Haygarth
1994 U240 SBI GV 36ft Cat 3116, Allison 6 speed
 Build #4448
2015 Jeep Wrangler Sport

Re: Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Reply #3 –
Trent I would recommend not using zip ties to secure at battery - just too much weight when you hit a bump.  Steel angle with a rubber strip on the contact surface is what I have used along with self-locking nuts on all-thread.  You only want light torque on the bolts to prevent cracking the battery case.  And the self-locking nuts wont back out with light torque.  I used either 5/16" or 3/8" all-thread.
John Fitzgerald
1991 U300 (SAI) Side Aisle Island Bed 40'
Detroit 6V92 with Allison Retarder
Meridian (Boise), Idaho

Re: Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Reply #4 –
I wouldn't hesitate to use some big zip ties.
They shouldn't be exposed to enough heat
that they will break.  Even if they get brittle you can replace them cheaply and easily. 

Re: Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Reply #5 –
I personally try to avoid using a metal bar to go across my batteries.  I have had good luck using the plastic or composite deck boards cut down to my dimensions and then a bolt at each end
Toby a 94 u280
Cummins 8.3
6 speed Allison
Exhaust brake


Adopted by Derek and Annabelle
 

Re: Anchoring the Engine Batteries

Reply #6 –
We added a 3rd optima to our 2 battery start battery bank, and secure them all with a longer new aluminum angle.  I use a lot of plastic cable ties, but over time they can fail, and the heat of the engine doesn't help.  Not recommended for batteries, especially because the angle is easier and better.
We use 'military' battery terminals with a bolt through each terminal to connect to a common bus bar.  An easier alternative is to use arched short battery cables between military terminals.