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c.j.
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2004
Posts: 343
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 Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:56 pm Post subject: Mounting battery under the seat. |
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| I need some suggestions of how I can mount my battery under my seat without drilling a hole in my floor. |
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FRNKNSTNGHIA
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Joined: March 05, 2010
Posts: 411
Location: Kissimmee, FL
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| Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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| you have to drill a hole somewhere.... |
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OLD VW NUT
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Joined: February 23, 2011
Posts: 2776
Location: High Desert of Washington 98823
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| Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:52 pm Post subject: |
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Can't be done unless you have some really rusty floorboards. I relocated my battery to the passenger side and under the back 'seat'. I drilled two holes just big enough to put grommets on them and run the two cables through. I then installed the two 'repair' terminals to the cables and connected them to an Optima battery. Its not quite as neat as factory crimped on terminals but the two holes in my car are much smaller for the way I did it. Forget using a lead acid battery if you like your car and want to put the battery under there. Optima batteries last a long time - and much longer if you do like I do in winter - put a Battery Tender on it. I connected the Tender up at the alternator - you can't tell its there since the wires hide nicely away during the driving season. Nobody has yet spotted it.
Those two holes were nothing compared to the holes I had to drill for the AC to fit. That too wouldn't have been possible to install without a few (5) holes.
_________________
71 Ghia Coupe - stock body - no rust! Powered by a 2110 W/Dual HPMX 44's - Rancho Pro Street Transaxle - A/C by Gilmore
Other car - 2013 VW Golf TDI |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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OLD VW NUT
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Joined: February 23, 2011
Posts: 2776
Location: High Desert of Washington 98823
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| Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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My battery negative post is grounded on the bottom starter stud. Stock it was routed to the generator tower - and the battery was located in the L/H engine compartment. Looks like crap there which is why I relocated it. The engine compartment looks much better now.
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71 Ghia Coupe - stock body - no rust! Powered by a 2110 W/Dual HPMX 44's - Rancho Pro Street Transaxle - A/C by Gilmore
Other car - 2013 VW Golf TDI |
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c.j.
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2004
Posts: 343
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| Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Oh, I mean I need to bolt it down to keep it from moving around. |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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c.j.
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2004
Posts: 343
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| Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 1:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Nice, is it bolted to the floor? |
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djway3474
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Joined: August 19, 2011
Posts: 2582
Location: The Real NDK So Cal
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| Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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| I have seen the battery boxes that kinda look like an old milk crate and sits under the battery. there are studs that run up over the battery to restrain it. I found one in a bus once to old a second battery. You could tack welf it to the pan in a couple spots and have no holes. That is my plan at least. |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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kiwighia68
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Joined: October 20, 2013
Posts: 2876
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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| c21darrel wrote: |
This what mine looks like.
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Shouldn't that red wire be black, Darrel? Just asking.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015 |
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Mellow Yellow 74
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Joined: October 14, 2014
Posts: 1615
Location: Sydney, Australia
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:09 am Post subject: |
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These battery cables looks fine to me (red = +, black = -) but I would restrain it rather than just having it sit there. Probably a low risk of it falling over but who knows what will happen if you have a crash?
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1962 Karmann Ghia
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e&m_ghia
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Joined: April 04, 2011
Posts: 418
Location: NoVA
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:18 am Post subject: |
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Re: "who knows what will happen if you have a crash?"...
We've got the same Odyssey battery in the same place. That battery won't leak anything unless you crush it or maybe short it out... It's a dry cell battery. If a crash is that bad, you have worse issues...
We have ours tied to the cable tube in front of the under-seat compartment with a string of cable ties. That's just to keep it from "drifting", there isn't enough space for it to go far or flip over. The cables effectively restrain it as well, if the back seat comes flying off. |
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KGCoupe
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Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 3580
Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 6:51 am Post subject: |
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If you wanted to restrain the battery without the need for welding or drilling any holes, you could try using a big chunk of high density foam that fills the entire space on that side under the rear seat and cut out an opening in the foam just large enough for the battery to fit snuggly.
You know, like the foam used in those protective hard cases that people use to transport delicate equipment.
I suppose you could even get the same effect by making a battery sized cutout in a piece of plywood that is shaped to fit tightly in that area - maybe stack a few layers of such plywood "rings" to create a base that is just tall enough to prevent any lateral movement of the battery. |
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didget69
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Joined: July 22, 2004
Posts: 4927
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:56 am Post subject: |
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I'd use a battery hold down like this / similar to this -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LIGHTWEIGHT-BATTERY-BO...1102474009
- drill 4 holes in bracket & spot/plug weld it to Ghia pan under rear 'seat'.
Peace of mind on restraining battery.
bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door. |
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c21darrel
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Joined: January 22, 2009
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Location: San Dimas
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e&m_ghia
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Joined: April 04, 2011
Posts: 418
Location: NoVA
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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Same idea as c21darrel's, but in a late convertible, behind driver's seat. Space is shared with jumper cables (not needed yet); jack, lug wrench & sundry tools under the seat on the other side.
Yes, yes, I know - 2 blue cables, not red & black or whatever. At least there's a red wire on the hot terminal to remind me which is which. Ground on the outside-wall side, so it shouldn't matter if that terminal hits the shelf.
Also, you can use those big ugly terminals with an Odyssey PC925 - it's short enough. It still clears below the rear seat by a bit. You can also see one side of the cable-tie string we use to keep it in place. Seems to work, I haven't really looked at it in a couple of years, and it looks to be exactly where we put it.
Seems like the terminal configuration is backward from the one in c21darrel's pic, though...
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OLD VW NUT
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Joined: February 23, 2011
Posts: 2776
Location: High Desert of Washington 98823
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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My battery just sits there - and it has a red and a black cable. It never moves about. It can sit in any position required of it since it is a glass mat battery and will not leak.
This is the one I have.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QH55WY?psc=1&...detailpage
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71 Ghia Coupe - stock body - no rust! Powered by a 2110 W/Dual HPMX 44's - Rancho Pro Street Transaxle - A/C by Gilmore
Other car - 2013 VW Golf TDI |
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c.j.
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2004
Posts: 343
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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I just used a ratchet tie down strap around the battery and the front support beam of the back seat for now.thanks for all the suggestions
Last edited by c.j. on Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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kingkarmann
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Joined: November 05, 2003
Posts: 4114
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| Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:04 am Post subject: |
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| c21darrel wrote: |
| It "should" be restrained, but it isnt going anywhere. The two cables keep tension on it and keep it from drifting about during driving. The shape of the battery helps, it is almost square and it is short too. The back seat over the top, seat back folded down most often leaves me not too much worry. |
Mine is 'restrained" using 3M Heavy Duty automotive hook and loop.
Trade name Velcro 
No holes!
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