Auxiliary Battery Tray - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

'68 C-20 · 04-26-2008, 03:05 PM

Was there a dealer item to add a second battery under the hood? I have a second battery tray mounted to the frame on the drivers’ side of the motor (292-6 so there is room) between the steering column and the motor.

I am thinking dealer item as it is not listed on the glove box sticker.

It appears to have been there as long as everything else has been there. However, there are no battery cables running to it. No breakouts from the wiring harness to support it either. Perhaps it was an option to power a slide in camper? If so, how was it wired?

I will probably just remove it anyway, but I am curious about it.

JimKshortstep4x4 · 04-27-2008, 02:09 AM

The only auxillary battery installation that I have seen is the factory option. Here is a schematic of how the battery was wired in to the system.

Jim

Longhorn Man · 04-27-2008, 03:20 AM

it was a dealer installed piece too. My first longhorn had it, and as '68 C-20 described it, it looked original but not listed. When i contacted the owner's widow, she remembered him being very PO'd that it wasn't on there like he ordered, so the dealer installed one in house.

'68 C-20 · 04-27-2008, 04:37 AM

Cool,
Thanks for the info. Now I gotta' decide if'n I want to keep it in, now that I know how to wire it. Thanks!

Longhorn Man · 04-27-2008, 04:50 AM

on the longhorn i have now, i have the aux tray, I wired it with neg on one of them to the frame, neg on the other to the engine, then positive to positive to starter. This keeps the voltage at 12, and increases the amps to a gazillion. (or the sum of the amps on both batterys.

**special-K** · 04-27-2008, 02:03 PM

^They used to do that on the early high-compression 6-volt drag cars.I actually had a battery under both sides of the rear seat in my hopped-up`56 Bug because I wanted to keep it 6-volt.

I`ve seen trucks where the inner fender was dented and reshaped to create a spot for the aux.battery along with some "L" channel.It was done right and didn`t look too shabby...definately did the job.

'68 C-20 · 04-27-2008, 08:05 PM

We owned the local repair shop when I was a kid. My Grandfather had a 54 GMC 5 window-one ton wrecker with a PTO drive winch that ran both the Boom and a recovery winch. I could fill this page with stories about things he did with that wrecker! But he had two batteries in it wired as Longhorn Man described. It would always start in our New Hampshire 20 below winters and had the cranking amps to start any customer's car he put the jumper cables on. Funny I have no memory of what motor it had in it and I cannot remember where the battery was located.

04-26-2008, 03:05 PM	#1
'68 C-20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dansville, NY Posts: 248	Auxiliary Battery Tray Was there a dealer item to add a second battery under the hood? I have a second battery tray mounted to the frame on the drivers’ side of the motor (292-6 so there is room) between the steering column and the motor. I am thinking dealer item as it is not listed on the glove box sticker. It appears to have been there as long as everything else has been there. However, there are no battery cables running to it. No breakouts from the wiring harness to support it either. Perhaps it was an option to power a slide in camper? If so, how was it wired? I will probably just remove it anyway, but I am curious about it. __________________ DIY body and paint work is cheap, making it look good... priceless -------------------------------------------- My Toys; ’26 Ford Model T ‘72 Triumph Spitfire 1500 '09 "The Briggs Flyer" Gettin' High.

04-27-2008, 02:09 AM	#2
JimKshortstep4x4 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Muskegon,MI,USA Posts: 6,026	Re: Auxiliary Battery Tray The only auxillary battery installation that I have seen is the factory option. Here is a schematic of how the battery was wired in to the system. Jim Attached Images __________________ 1971 Shortbox step side 4x4, 350 sbc, 3:07 rear end 1965 Impala SS 400 sbc, Muncie rock crusher 1966 Impala SS 396 bbc, TH 400 1969 El Camino, 350 sbc, TH 350 1971 Snowplow built on a Blazer frame 1972 GMC Short bed, stepside, TH 400, 427 BBC

04-27-2008, 03:20 AM	#3
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,693	Re: Auxiliary Battery Tray it was a dealer installed piece too. My first longhorn had it, and as '68 C-20 described it, it looked original but not listed. When i contacted the owner's widow, she remembered him being very PO'd that it wasn't on there like he ordered, so the dealer installed one in house.

04-27-2008, 04:37 AM	#4
'68 C-20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dansville, NY Posts: 248	Re: Auxiliary Battery Tray Cool, Thanks for the info. Now I gotta' decide if'n I want to keep it in, now that I know how to wire it. Thanks! __________________ DIY body and paint work is cheap, making it look good... priceless -------------------------------------------- My Toys; ’26 Ford Model T ‘72 Triumph Spitfire 1500 '09 "The Briggs Flyer" Gettin' High.

04-27-2008, 04:50 AM	#5
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,693	Re: Auxiliary Battery Tray on the longhorn i have now, i have the aux tray, I wired it with neg on one of them to the frame, neg on the other to the engine, then positive to positive to starter. This keeps the voltage at 12, and increases the amps to a gazillion. (or the sum of the amps on both batterys.

04-27-2008, 02:03 PM	#6
special-K Special Order Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mt Airy, MD Posts: 85,863	Re: Auxiliary Battery Tray ^They used to do that on the early high-compression 6-volt drag cars.I actually had a battery under both sides of the rear seat in my hopped-up`56 Bug because I wanted to keep it 6-volt. I`ve seen trucks where the inner fender was dented and reshaped to create a spot for the aux.battery along with some "L" channel.It was done right and didn`t look too shabby...definately did the job. __________________ "BUILDING A BETTER WAY TO SERVE THE USA"......67/72......"The New Breed" GMC '67 C1500 Wideside Super Custom SWB: 327/M22/3.42 posi.........."The '67" (project) GMC '72 K2500 Wideside Sierra Custom Camper: 350/TH350/4.10 Power-Lok..."The '72" (rolling) Tim "Don't call me a redneck. I'm a rough cut country gentleman" R.I.P. ~ East Side Low Life ~ El Jay ~ 72BLUZ ~ Fasteddie69 ~ Ron586 ~ 67ChevyRedneck ~ Grumpy Old Man ~

04-27-2008, 08:05 PM	#7
'68 C-20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dansville, NY Posts: 248	Re: Auxiliary Battery Tray We owned the local repair shop when I was a kid. My Grandfather had a 54 GMC 5 window-one ton wrecker with a PTO drive winch that ran both the Boom and a recovery winch. I could fill this page with stories about things he did with that wrecker! But he had two batteries in it wired as Longhorn Man described. It would always start in our New Hampshire 20 below winters and had the cranking amps to start any customer's car he put the jumper cables on. Funny I have no memory of what motor it had in it and I cannot remember where the battery was located. __________________ DIY body and paint work is cheap, making it look good... priceless -------------------------------------------- My Toys; ’26 Ford Model T ‘72 Triumph Spitfire 1500 '09 "The Briggs Flyer" Gettin' High.



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