- 1). Set up a plastic battery box for the second battery. Locate it in a place that's dry during installation and stays dry during boating operations. Bolt the box down, or otherwise permanently secure it in that location.
- 2). Secure the new battery in the battery box. If you have a starting battery (there should be a notation of the number of "Cold Cranking Amps" or "CCA" on the battery), then be sure that your new battery is a "deep-cycle" type battery: it will list the number of hours of "reserve power" on the case of the battery, rather than the number of cold cranking amps.
- 3). Install a battery selector switch on your dashboard: drill a hole in the dash sized to fit the selector switch. Fit the switch and its cover down through the hole and secure the switch in place with the locking ring that comes with the switch. With a soldering gun and silver solder, solder the wire from the selector switch to the ignition switch on your dash and cover the soldered joint with an electrical insulation spray.
- 4). Solder the red positive battery cable from your starting battery to the "Starting Battery" post on the selector switch and cover the soldered joint with insulation spray. Remove the wing nut on the positive post of the starter battery, slip the ring terminal over the post and replace the wing nut.
- 5). Solder the red positive battery cable from your deep-cycle battery to the "Ship's Battery" or "House Battery" post on the selector switch and cover the joint with insulation spray. Remove the wing nut on the positive post of the new "ship's" battery, slip the ring terminal over the post and replace the wing nut.
- 6). Connect one yellow ground cable to the negative post of each battery (one cable per battery) by removing the wing nut from the negative post, slipping the ring terminal over the battery post and replacing the wing nut. Connect the cables from both batteries to the boat's common ground.
previous post
next post