Hot Rods Creative places to hide your battery

I put mine under the right front fender, per advice from olscrounger here on the H.A.M.B. I also used the small mini battery and it works well. I would recommend these smaller batteries for hiding in tight spots.


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^^^^
This for the win!

 

Maybe I used the wrong terminology,I was thinking ice chest.



There is no doubt in my mind a cooler would bet too big and fugly to boot! HRP

 

I hear ya Flyfisher. I used an Optima Red top, so it would be somewhat sealed. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I won't do it again.

 

Check out them lithium ion batteries.
Small and freakishly light - they weigh about the same as an equivalent size piece of wood.
You can stick them anywhere, any way.
My parts guy gave me one for my moms OT ride. When I picked it up I thought it was just a empty display battery case.

 

Have they worked the bugs out of those yet? They're touchy about charge rates (don't like high rates IIRC) and have been known to catch fire.....

 

A old friend of mine used a vintage metal box a router came in as a battery box and bolted it to the bed,we were at a show and another friend almost dislocated his shoulder when he was helping take all the gear out when we were at the motel..



Priceless to see the look on his face thinking it was a toolbox that needed to go inside the motel room.. HRP

 

There hasn't been any issues with it so far.

 

I just had my girl friend hold the battery on her lap. I miss her.

 

A guy that use to be a hamber Flathead T mounted the battery in the passenger floor,wonder why his wife refused to ride with him? HRP

 

I put my battery in the 49 (in the picture in my avatar) up under the passenger fender well. Make a bracket that bolted to the front frame rail behind the headlight. Lots of room up under there. I thought I was clever.

On time, my starter solenoid stuck in the on position and I didn't have a battery disconnect switch. Took me what seemed like forever to get it jacked up and disconnect the battery while the starter grinded itself away. Moral of the story, make sure you put in a master disconnect switch and a remote terminal if you place the batter somewhere that is not quickly assessable.

 

My battery and box are too sexy to hide, under the hood for me too.

 

I can attest that even brands that have "overcharge" protection do NOT like high voltages put into them. The voltage regulator on one of my off topic bikes went bad and this was the result:




Lots of acrid smoke but no flames. I've heard the newer lithium batteries do not flame up like the previous generation batteries could. Lithium ion vs lithium iron IIRC.

From how I understand it, with over voltages the battery begins to plate it's inner workings and eventually shorts itself out so once it's started melting down there's no stopping it. In my case, the bike quit running, and I had time to get off, remove the seat and start checking fuses before the smoke hit. And once the smoke hit it was pretty spectacular. NASTY fumes, I can't imagine being in a closed vehicle with it when it happened. The scary part is, guys use these in airplanes... This brand has built in protection for over charging and under voltage (you can kill them letting the run down too far too) but its only good to around 50 volts or so, with no regulator I was pumping more than that into it.

A little video for your entertainment:
http://www.teamyikes.com/851/EarthX.mov

Fun fact to know - you can not remove the fairing from a 1991 Ducati 851 with the factory tool kit. Luckily I broke down in front of a motorhead's house, who looked out the window, saw the smoke, and thought "That's not overheating, that's electrical" then came out to see what tools I needed...

All that said... They are so amazingly small and light I'll still use them. They absolutely need a robust charging system and a voltage meter though. They are finicky little bastards but considering what I use them in that's par for the course.

 

Lithium batteries are great for phones, etc. that need a small, lighweight, efficient power source. But I don't want one running my car. I'll take the weight penalty (and the cost benefit) of a lead acid battery.

 

Try putting battery where Richard Childress Racing of Nascar does! To get to it merely lift the side of the car off the ground by more than 3 feet. LOL

 

On all the 40's I've done they are under the pass side fender-not that difficult to remove if needed. Never has been an issue. They have kill switches as well and are lead/acid batteries. Neighbor has several cars with the newer style batteries (Optima) and they are forever going dead/bad. I have gone thru one of the cars and the only drain is a digital clock. My 40 doesn't go dead unless you leave it for 4-5 months.

 

This is my solution. Covers that look like bags and hiding the battery, and fire extinguisher . I'm probably not the first person who solved it in this way, but it works well and people like what they see.

 

I fixed that for ya

 

I have been running a Shorai Lithium in my Harley for about 4 years now - no issues and I know others with the same results. BUT I also know of 3 guys who have had similar Problems with EarthX batteries.
I also know guys who use the Braille in Pro Mods, but that's a different kind of abuse.

 

Here's the battery in my RPU

 

My other RPU, the Red 29

 

Not familiar with the Earth X, it's the Shorai I've seen go up....

 

Like I say mine and the guys I ride with are fine - But all of us were smart enough to heed Shorai's warning and use their charger, which is specific to these batteries. I have yet to see a Shorai melt personally.

 

In my A coach, two Optima 6V make up the arm rests in the back.
Warren

 

Here's my observation on hiding battery Under car or somewhere else inconvenient, don't do it. In all the years I have been doing this, cruising, shows, traveling in groups, it's always the car with the battery "hidden" somewhere that has the problem.. I have seen some ridiculous deals and of course these cars didn't have the remote posts for jumping battery or a cable for car/trunk entry. So..... IMO OP, Keep this in mind with your placement.

 

inside the frame in front of the rearend under a trap door in the bed, just an angle iron battrey tray.

 

Mount it with the easiest access for jumping / charging / change out and shortest leads to fuse panel. I've done one in the trunk - stupid long leads and you might have to unload the trunk to get to it if you are packed for a long trip. I'll not repeat that deal. But it did give a nice clean firewall! Next up, the battery is under my truck's bed but the bed slides back for easy access. This setup has a trickle charge plug that is easily accessible from outside the car. 3rd time? I'm thinking of under or behind the pax seat and 3/4 recessed into the subfloor of my Model A coupe. Or under the dash on the pax side if I use one of those super small sporty car batteries. In any case, easy access for jumping / trickle charging will be at the top of the decision list. Perhaps a hidden door with a two pin RV style charge plug or banana plugs - and a corresponding custom made jumper cable with the right ends to match the car? Gary

 

Custom battery charger!!! I like it!

 

How about in plain sight?



This is were the battery is mounted and I had originally intended to move it under the car and access via a hinged door but will I was re-installing the seat yesterday I thought why not make a aluminum cover and roll a bead design like the doors or punch a few louvers in it.
HRP

 

Me too. My 47 is a larger car than a 30's something and the engine bay is long, so I need something to balance the power brake booster and master cylinder on the other side of the firewall. The factory location on the right fender against the firewall works fine for me, high enough it's above the engine, easy enough to get to if you need a jump. If I had a smaller car, I'd do things different.