Ammo Box for Trunk Mounted Battery...

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I'm curious, why would you run your battery in the trunk? Your car is a far cry from an A/FX or Super Duty Pontiac.
Just my opinion.

 

in my opinion its the best place to put the battery because the conditions are better for the battery in the trunk than under the hood.

 

Are you by chance a 461 ? If you don't know what that is, you aren't one. IYAAYAS

 

I did that in my shoebox. I used a vietnam era box...like you pictured. You have to go with a smaller battery. If you have a high torque starter you'll be just fine using the smaller battery....if not you'll probably have problems.

My mounting spot is kind of tight. I can't open the box all the way because it's underneath the package tray. I cut the flange off one side of the lid. The hinge is designed to allow the lid to slide off the hinge in one direction. I ran battery cables through heavy grommets on one side of the box. I used a thick ass piece of foam that sits between the terminals and the underside of the lid to keep it from arcing.

I won't lie.....It can be a pain in the ass sometimes. ....at least in a shoebox. Your Poncho looks likes it's got plenty of room. DON"T MOUNT IT UNDERNEATH THE PACKAGE TRAY. Everytime I open the lid it sticks to the magnets on my speakers and I feel like an idiot.

Get a WWII era box. They open from the front, not the side. Get creative.......weld the lid shut, and cut the box back open about midway up the side to give you better access to the battery without being surrounded by conductive metal. Relocate the hinge to the new opening point.

If the battery location in your Poncho works good for now.....leave it. Only reason I did it was because I had to. After an engine swap, I now had an alternator in the way, where my battery used to sit.

 

No reason to run a ground wire all the way up front to the motor. The body/frame is a bigger consuctor than any piece of wire, even 00. Ground the battery well to the frame out back, and ground the motor to the frame up front.

 

Huh?

 

ammo box ? are you going to paint it black , what car is this going on not the one in his avitar ?

 

BS, where in the hell did you come up with that?

 

Mopar did an article on battery locations years back, always vent and don't contain in a metal box at least no metal lid .some things are obvious . If weight is an issue the cables weigh aprox half the weight of a small case battery ,marginal gains .

 

I've seen guys use plastic tool boxes for battery boxes. They look pretty trick, like all you have in the trunk is your tools.

 

Don't batteries give off fumes? You have to seal the trunk from the passenger area.

 

Remove the outer bumper brackets that will cover the battery weight .
Install an aluminum restoration rad and make a real difference .
Install a taller front tire and soften the front springs .
The cheepest mod would be an easy up shock up front .
also the amo box would add weight overall .
If you have to go the trunk deal use a marine box .
I used a semi battery display dummy battery as a battery box once .

 

heat kills batteries no?????

 

Winter must really suck up there. You that bored?

 

Thats a good idea ! A dry or gel cell battery is the best way to go or vent the box with a fitting and fuel line through the trunk if you have a flooded battery. If you paint the inside of the box with the right paint should not corrode. Most battery boxes are made of stainless and are expensive. Be sure to secure it with a steel piece inside like they do on boats. Go for it !

 

Does it? And what does the cold of winter do to them? Is that why every auto manufacturer has installed them under the hood for over 100 years...... I guess I'll just adhere to my signature on this one.....

 

that's a big frikin car. moving the battery to the trunk would be like riding a motorcycle with your nutsack to the left to help on high speed left hand turns.

with that being said... I like the plastic battery boxes with the woven strap holding the lid on. I had one in the bed of my HOT ROD Datsun pickup for years and never had any troubles with it. I owe it all to good grounds.

 

FYI: My girlfriend's last three late models all had the battery in the trunk...

 

I think it would be ok if you vent it or use an Odessey battery,they are dry cell and half the size of a comparable battery of the same capacity.

 

Unless you are going to race the car on the strip I don't see any advantage except for the Bubba factor. I had the battery in the trunk of my 51 Merc and I can say for sure that is a royal pain in the ass to have the battery in the trunk. This may be the Popular Hotrodding wizz bang trick but in reality it sucks to have to get in the trunk to deal with the battery, especially when on a road trip and you have to unload the trunk to get to it.

If "Hey Bubba look at dis, Dude's got his battery in da trunk". is what spins your wheels go for it. If being practical works for you I'd rethink it.

There is a series of batteries made for Audies and Mercedes that have the batteries under the back seat that are set up with a built in hookup for a vent tube that can go down through the floorboard. They also have a pretty serious amp rating and they are somewhat low profile.

 

yea that make sense. but i live in so cal. we dont have that problem here. i forget about the rest the country, we only get hot and wet weather out here.

 

If you do mount the battery it in the trunk, run the ground all the way to the front and ground it to the block. The frame is not as good a conductor as a copper cable.

 

First automotive site where i've seen guys try to talk someone out of battery relocation. I guess none of them have been to a drag strip, or road course, or car show, cruise, or even to the HAMB because i remember many threads/posts about bat relo and clever ways to hide them in plain sight on roadster pickups and special brackets/boxes to hide under fenders.

My gasser's getting the bat in the trunk. Let the man do the right thing and put weight where it is used most -right rear of the car. It's a small shift in weight for that size of car, but it's fun, it's his, and it's hot rodding. Or doesn't anyone allow hot rodding anymore.

 

heat causes the battery to give off hydrogen gas and cold causes the electricity to not want to flow because the cold acts like a resister also if the battery is in the trunk its better protected in case of an accident.

 

Give me some of what this guy's smokin.......

 

Actually heat and resistance are directly proportional. More resistance, more heat, and vice versa. Electric stoves work on this principle. The reason for cooling fans in the computer your using as well.

Cold is great for electrical circuitry. It also happens to slow chemical reactions, which is why your older bat wont start the car on a winter morning. ON winter mornings, the engine bay is the same temp as the trunk, so protection from cold is no reason to locate the battery up front.

And it's the reaction to a charging voltage, that causes bats to give up hydrogen. Heat is byproduct of the chemical reaction. Putting too much juice or for too long makes them toasty, ya know. but you can put that to work for you. Turn your lights on for a few seconds before starting a dead cold battery. It wont drain excessively but does get a current path flowing through the cells and some localized heat in the cells. This lets the bat not get surprised by the starter, which can cause some problems inside.

 

Those type of ammo boxes are still used today. Yes, there are some new plastic ones that are kinda weird, , and side opening ones, but you can still get those pictured in the 1st post, just depends on what you are issued.

I know that doesnt help him with the real issue at hand, but the 5.56 ball ammo boxes do make great little carry-n-go tool boxes.

 

The same people that drill holes in shit to "lose weight" and to make it "cool" and "fast" will tell you you are an idiot to put your battery in the trunk. Who cares? OEMs put the battery under the hood because it used less/smaller cable. Cost less. Simple as that. Do what makes you happy. Mine is in the trunk. More out of force of habit than anything else. PLUS...the "Bubba factor"...fail to see a problem with Bubba thinkin' it's cool. Seen some Bubba's build some fine cars. 90% of the "Hot Rod" stuff people do on cars doesn't amount to a hill of beans from a performance standpoint anyway. Mostly about the show. Again...nothing wrong with that.

 

If you put in the trunk, seal it and vent it. If you don't use a full length ground cable, grind the mounting places on the frame bare and use 'star' washers on both sides of the cable connector.

I like having the battery out of the engine compartment because it looks better.