Adding a winch has caused me
to think about the battery and whether or not it is up to the task.
The last thing I want is to be miles from pavement and need to use
the winch and then have the battery die on me. My battery is the
original one that came with the Jeep so that means it is over 7
years old. On top of that I believe its on its way out anyway
because I can no longer see the battery test indicator light.
Ideally a dual battery setup would be best, but I know I don't
have any more room inside the engine compartment, and I'm not realy
wanting to carry a heavy battery in the rear cargo area. So I needed
a quality battery that was also a "deep cycle" battery
that can handle the huge power demands of a winch. A regular battery
might be able to provide enough power but its the ability to recover
thats the problem. After doing some research I chose an Optima
BlueTop D34M deep cycle battery. Optima batteries are extremely
popular and you've probably seen the Red and YellowTop batteries
they have also. Here's why I picked the BlueTop D34M:
RedTop - starter battery only
YellowTop - dual purpose (starting and deep cycle) It
has auxilliary side posts, as does the RedTop also. The side
terminal accepts a 3/8"-16 screw. YellowTop has a 12 month free
replacement / +12 month prorated warranty.
BlueTop - built for marine applications. They have a
starter only version (34M) and a dual purpose (starting and deep
cycle - D34M) so be carefull if you order that you get the deep
cycle. Performance wise its technical specs are identical to the
YellowTop however instead of side posts it has two auxilliary posts
on top of the battery. The warranty is better however, as it is 18
month free replacement / +18 month prorated.
Auxilliary posts, either on the side or on top, should not be
used for starting or heavy loads (like a winch). However they are
perfect for auxilliary stuff like lighting, CBs, etc. Maximum load
should be kept to 75-100A to be safe.
Along with the new battery, I decided to upgrade my battery
cables also so I ordered a set of HD cables from
Kelly's Works In
Progress
Jon Kelley goes by "5-90" on NAXJA and he's very
knowlegable ( he's the author of The Jeep I6 Power Manual)
and has great customer service as well. But honestly, that's not why
I decided to get his cables instead of going with a different
company that offers a similar product. I went with Works In Progress
simply because they are heavier gauge (1AWG welding cable vs 2AWG),
they are more complete (I got 5 cables instead of just 4), and they
even cost less also! On the Works In Progress website, Jon has the
kits broken down very well by year with clear instructions so you
know you are getting the right cables for your XJ. I should also add
that he can make any custom cables you want so don't feel limitted
to order from just what you see on his site. He can easily provide
cables for a dual-battery setup, or secondary distribution for
stereos and lights, and this can be for any vehicle, not just
Cherokees.
Here are the HD battery cables next to my stock ones. The size
difference is quite remarkable. As I mentioned above, these HD
cables are 1AWG and the stock cables should be 8AWG. Jon tells me
that if yours is a 1990 and earlier, AMC specified the use of 6AWG.
Either way, it almost seems like the stock ones would be innadequate
even for OEM applications; and these HD ones might even be a tad
overkill. I like that though!
Because I would need a new set of terminals, I got these brass
ones from Works In Progress also. I appreciate the explanations on
his site about why brass is a better conductor than lead.
After installing the HD battery cables, I was ready to add in
the Optima. The Optima is also slightly smaller than the stock
battery was but it still fits in the stock battery tray and uses the
battery hold-downs just fine. You'll also notice that I have the
power leads from the winch connected to the main terminals and have
some smaller wires that power my other junk attached to the aux.
post (positive).
Here's a final photo of everything I installed under the hood
for this project.
When I fired up the engine for the first time with the new
battery and cables, it literally started on the first crank! I could
definitely notice the improvement. It should be interesting to see
the difference next winter because my stock battery used to really
seem weak when starting in cold weather. |