Putting the battery in the trunk...

I got a Summit Racing Catalog in the mail the other day. As I was flipping though it I noticed they had some heavy duty altenators and some nice looking battery boxes and then an actual kit to relocate the battery.

So, here is my question: If I relocate the battery to the trunk, do I need to have a sealed battery box?

I know most batteries are already sealed. The kit came with a box that the battery sat in that was also sealed. I'm just wondering if it is really necessary to have that?

What I was thinking of doing is getting a deep cycle battery, like an Optima or whatever they are called, moving it to the trunk, and then getting a more powerful altenator.

Then I was going to have a cut off switch wired into the starter so that I could cut power to it to prevent someone from trying to steal the car.

On top of that I was going to get a better Kenwood MP3 player (I have the Z919) and re-wire all the speakers with real speaker wire. Put on two smaller amps for the speakers and I think it would sound a little better without adding to much weight.

What do you guys think??

Chris, I've built cars with trunk mounted batteries. I wouldn't remind doing it in a Protege for two reasons:

1. There is nothing between your passengers and the trunk space except for a fold down seat. These batteries can put off fumes. A smoker in the back seat could have an explosive time on a hot day. Make sure the box is vented to the outside.

2. The stock battery is fairly small and well placed behind the front axle. Many cars put the battery up in the nose which is a bad place to have it and benefit from such a move.

Hmm...Good thoughts.

Maybe I should just get a better battery then??

Maybe I just saw things I wanted and now I want to put them in even though I don't need to...Although in my defense, I never asked for the Summit Racing Catalog. And it's a good thing I don't own a V-8 powered car otherwise I'd be in trouble...

I got the same Summit catalogue last week. Cool stuff but none of their import stuff.

I like the battery that gives you 14 volts even when not charged up. I think I saw in the Summit catalogue.

I always go with Sears Diehard batteries on replacement. They have a great battery that has a built-in anti-theft feature that kills the start circuit.

On a unrelated topic:
Damn Tim Studdard and Grassroots Motorsports! I'm driving around seeing cars that would be great for the $2003 Challenge. 240Z with primer and Minilites? Volvo 960? I wonder what it needs??

I also like that Sears will replace the battery at no charge if it dies in a certain time period. I've used that before. I'll have to look into it.

As for the Challenge, I know what you mean. I'm wishing I could get away with working on a car in my damn condo complex. I've seen stuff in their classifieds in my area that I could really build a nice Challenge car out of. Darn it!!

Don't move the battery. Every Mazda I've seen with only a battery in the back running amps has had Alternator noise. The noise is cuased by the batterys locations. Also whats the need to move it? An optima is a sealed battery so it emits no fumes and doesnt leak so it doesn't need to be sealed. Also if you up the alternator you need to upgrade the wiring also.

1st MP3 in NH said:

Don't move the battery. Every Mazda I've seen with only a battery in the back running amps has had Alternator noise. The noise is cuased by the batterys locations. Also whats the need to move it? An optima is a sealed battery so it emits no fumes and doesnt leak so it doesn't need to be sealed. Also if you up the alternator you need to upgrade the wiring also.

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I would the battery to the trunk to move some of the weight to the back end. Also, I've heard that the battery just works a little better when it's in an insulated area such as the trunk. A guy I knew did that on a BMW he had and never had any issues with the car starting and not having enough power. Although I think that's becuase he had a battery that was designed for a tractor trailer.

I'm not having any engine noise coming in over the stereo. I was going to get a stronger altenator just in case the battery would need it.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do.

A BMWs electrical system is designed for a battery to be in the back a mazda isn't. I've seen an MX-6, 626, and Probes all that had this issue when the battery was moved. IF YOU MOVE THE BATTERY AND YOUR USING AN AMP ON YOUR SPEAKERS YOU WILL GET NOISE! IF you have to do it for power add a battery but don't just move it.

Also, some of the miatas had the battery in the back and it was important to have an expensive completely sealed battery so if you got in an accident, you wouldn't have battery acid sprayed down your back.

Plus running the power cable the whole way from the back to the front is like living next to a radio tower. The emmisions will be horrible.

I would just leave it.


Tim