Gary McCormick wrote:
>
> Based on what Barrie says here, my next question is – Why the heck do we
>need those big
> batteries that normally take up so much room in the engine compartment? If
>all you need is a
> little cranking power to start 'er up and a bit of current to generate a
>field in the
> alternator, it sounds like Barrie's motorcycle battery installation is a
>helluva good idea. Is
> there something I'm missing? (entirely possible – I'm not a sparky-type
>guy...)
>
> Gary McCormick
> '70 2000
> San Jose, CA
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
Think of the bigger battery as insurance. Obviously, if it's been working for
Barrie "for the last couple of years", it works. So, we don't "need" the big
battery. But in this imperfect world, where starters get tired, lights are
sometimes left on, etc., most of us would probably like the extra
margin for error that the bigger battery gives us. It's sure a personal
decision. A racer, of course, is a different situation than a daily driver.
If you DO go with the smaller battery in the trunk, look in the archives (one
of these days I'll learn how to get to them) for a discussion a few months back
on the right way to put a battery in the trunk. Someone (Barrie?) noted the
right way is to run some heavy gauge wire for BOTH the hot and
ground lead back up to the engine compartment - don't use the frame for ground
at the trunk.
--
Mark van der Hoek
Houston, for now
"They that can give up essential
liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin
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