Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

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GRNSHRK
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Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by GRNSHRK »

Fellas, attached is the result of the fruits my labor, a project that wound up taking well over a month to complete :roll:

But with the battery tray rotting away up front, I had no desire to reinstall the battery back in that location, which provided me the opportunity to move it to the trunk :wink:

I had also been wanting to refinish the trunk, and this was the time to take care of that as well :-?

Along with a couple of quick shots, before and after (hopefully in the right order...), here's my story 8)

Please feel free to comment, suggestions, other thoughts, all are welcome :-k
Attachments
BATTERY RELOCATION.pdf
(903.43 KiB) Downloaded 768 times
After :(
After :(
IMG_1925-sm.jpg (133.6 KiB) Viewed 20141 times
Before :(
Before :(
IMG_1857-sm.jpg (97.21 KiB) Viewed 20141 times
:mrgreen:
Bobbo
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Post by hoadie »

Does the trunk need to be vented?
horsetan

Post by horsetan »

hoadie wrote:Does the trunk need to be vented?
Given the usual number of leaks in the trunk area, I'd say it was well-vented already.
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Post by hoadie »

Leaks or rust holes?? I'd say mine is reasonably airtight - I base this on the fact it doesn't suck in any dust, and I recently did about 100km of dirt driving to test that theory.
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Post by vadon »

Looks good,Bob! You've supplied the motivation I need to get back to work on mine.
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Vented, or non-vented . . .

Post by GRNSHRK »

Does the trunk need to be vented?
This is a question that I would like to know the answer to as well :-?

Perhaps the M6 guys can respond with how the battery system is set up in theirs, since it's in the trunk, stock :roll:

It's possible that just opening the trunk on a regular basis may suffice, but I do agree that she's pretty tight back there, mine is anyway :wink:

Don, thanks for the compliments :D

And you are right, some times it takes the work of others to get one stimulated 8)
:mrgreen:
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Vented, or non-vented . . .

Post by GRNSHRK »

Does the trunk need to be vented?
This is a question that I would like to know the answer to as well :-?

Perhaps the M6 guys can respond with how the battery system is set up in theirs, since it's in the trunk, stock :roll:

It's possible that just opening the trunk on a regular basis may suffice, but I do agree that she's pretty tight back there, mine is anyway :wink:

Don, thanks for the compliments :D

And you are right, some times it takes the work of others to get one stimulated 8)
:mrgreen:
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M 635 battery vent.

Post by ron »

The battery is vented via a tube which connects to the battery and runs

down through the boot floor and terminates just forward of the R/H rear

wheel. This assumes that the battery fitted has provision to accept the

vent tube.

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Thanks Ron, but raises more questions :-/

Post by GRNSHRK »

Perhaps this should be on a separate thread, but here goes :-?

What is the difference between vented and non-vented batteries :-k

If you mount the battery in the trunk (where it wasn't originally) does it need to be vented :-k

Or can you simply use a non-vented type (which is what I think I have...) or will this cause other problems :-k

Thanks again fellas, I simply don't understand the requirements for this setup :roll:
:mrgreen:
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Post by dlvad »

Bobbo,

The new brace and battery mount looks good - I'd go with a new Gel or AGM type cell or pick up a euro vented wet cell and drill a hole (EEK!!!), and use the appropriate buna grommet for the vent tube.

I've read of incidents where hydrogen gases from non-vented boot mounted wet cell batteries have been ignited by audio amps, jump starts and trickle charging.

Maybe urban myths?

The boot carpet looks great.
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Hey Dug :)

Post by GRNSHRK »

Thanks for the compliments and feedback :wink:

I will move to a gel type battery (probably Optima) when this Interstate dies, but you make some excellent points about the possibility of igniting the built up Hydrogen gases :-?

It may be urban legend, but I don't want to find out first hand either :roll:

Not looking forward to the possible need for hole drilling, that's why I enquired about the difference between battery types and if using a non-vented unit would suffice. But FWIW, I don't think the Interstate is vented, unless the vent is not outwardly visible :shock:

Anyhoo, many thanks, hope all's well in Baja 8)
:mrgreen:
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Post by World-Class6 »

Excellent project Bob! I will get to this eventually...and do appreciate the information.
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Post by johnnye23 »

It would be pretty easy to pick up a marine battery case and drill a small hole in the floor for a vent tube.
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Thanks again gents!!!

Post by GRNSHRK »

Privilaged, still looking forward to meeting you so that we can compare notes in person :wink:

Are you gonna hit the swap meet on May 8th in Stockton :shock:

Johnny, thanks for the tip, but I don't really need a marine battery box for this setup. If you check out the pix, you will see that I have a rear strut brace now that combines the battery tray built into it :roll:

Again, just sorting out the need for a vented battery or not. And if I do need one, I will address routing the gases out of the trunk, somehow :wink:
:mrgreen:
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Re: Thanks again gents!!!

Post by johnnye23 »

GRNSHRK wrote:Privilaged, still looking forward to meeting you so that we can compare notes in person :wink:

Are you gonna hit the swap meet on May 8th in Stockton :shock:

Johnny, thanks for the tip, but I don't really need a marine battery box for this setup. If you check out the pix, you will see that I have a rear strut brace now that combines the battery tray built into it :roll:

Again, just sorting out the need for a vented battery or not. And if I do need one, I will address routing the gases out of the trunk, somehow :wink:
I suggested the marine box so you could properly vent it for safety reasons.
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OK, think I see where you're going with this . . .

Post by GRNSHRK »

By using the marine box, the fumes could potentially be contained, and thus properly vented as well :-k

Unfortunately, the battery mount barely fits my Interstate battery as it is, with zero room to spare. Alas, no space to even think about shoe-horning a box in there as well :-?

But I will take all of this into consideration, BEFORE I connect the stereo :shock:

Again, don't want to become another urban legend :roll:

Thanks yet again fellas :mrgreen:
:mrgreen:
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E28_Turbopanzer

Post by E28_Turbopanzer »

Optima Red Top 34R fits perfectly and shouldn't produce any dangerous fumes.

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Hey, that brace looks familiar!!!

Post by GRNSHRK »

Thanks Turbopanzer, that's just the ticket as soon as my Interstate throws in the towel :wink:

Are you installing that in your E28 :-k

You should have plenty of rom to work in that trunk, unlike the 6er "boot" :roll:

Thanks for the tip and model number on the Optima 8)
:mrgreen:
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Post by E28_Turbopanzer »

No problem!

Nah, the E28 isn't getting too much love lately... I'm driving it daily and it doesn't need anything at the moment! Except for new paint...

This brace is going into my '83 Euro 635 along with countless other cool parts that I've been hoarding over the last year or two. The 6 is stripped to bare metal right now and is awaiting a couple of coats of epoxy before I get to work on block sanding. She should have some color by the middle or end of this summer though!
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Re: Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by tschultz »

Bobbo,

How did you route the cable to the trunk and which cable did you use? Also did you drill any holes to make it happen? I was thinking of doing this conversion maybe...
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Re: Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by sansouci »

On my E32, the battery is under the rear seat. There is a vent line from the battery to a hole in the floor with a proper grommet. All BMW engineered. So if you are using a battery that emits H2 or H2S, I would definitely vent that set up.
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Re: Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by Mark Shutt »

loving thr Rockford power 300, had one myself many years ago! what's it powering?
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Re: Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by zinnocoupe »

Bobbo, Nice job. I have considered doing this myself. I assume you had to lift the carpet and remove the seats etc. Any pics of that? Where do you get the battery holder thing? I would also point out that the trunk does vent into the cabin of the car. If you look at the very bottom of the back window where it meets the package tray there is a series of vents there. I assume any fumes would work their way inside there. Aside from the flammable nature I wouldn't want to be breathing that either. It seems to me there are batteries that are sealed and wouldn't need venting but I'm not sure about that. Its a great project. I've got a couple of cars with rotted battery trays. Also is that all new carpet? OEM?
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Re: Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by GRNSHRK »

Hey Tom and Dave, thanks, old thread :shock:

Tom, if you go to the first entry, you will see a .PDF file that you can download, has all of the info you are enquiring about, well, almost :wink:

The cable is from a prior battery relocation kit that I "just happened" to have still kicking around :lol:

This is obviously a very important part of the process, it's 1/0 gauge (or is it 1:0 gauge...) about the diameter of your pinky finger :-?

No actual holes to drill, save the one in the rear panel of the trunk, to feed the cable through #-o

But in the latter portion of the .PDF, I explain exactly where and how I routed the cable up through the interior and into the engine compartment =D>

I suppose you "could" route the cable underneath, but really don't think that's a very good idea [-X

Dave, the brace was custom made by a gent named Brent Kemi, former board member who appears to have since parted ways with us and his 6er, I guess. Maybe try Googling his name :roll:

He was making front and rear braces for both E12 and E28 chassis, reasonably priced, too bad he's off the grid :(

Oh, and the new "carpet" is actually something called "trunk material", I kid you not [-(

Once again, I'm sure a Google search will land you in the right place \:D/

Too bad we didn't hook up at Legends Dave, I could have given you the 25 cent tour :-({|=

Any other questions regarding this now 7 year old project, please ask away :wink:

:mrgreen:
:mrgreen:
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Re: Battery relocation/trunk refurbish project

Post by zinnocoupe »

Bobbo, Hahaha. If I had a nickle for everytime I’ve made a comment on an old thread :oops:
Will I ever learn. I would have loved the $0.25 tour, maybe next time. Still a good project even if is yesterdays news. Cheers
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