Guys,

I just finished installing John's (Benchmark's) Dual Battery Tray and Wiring Kit.

Man, that thing looks good, it's built tough... its just great.

One thing though: My isolator is hot to the touch. Not so hot as to burn you, but damn close... Is that all right?

Any of you guys that already installed it experienced the same?

thanks again for your help!

Hans

 

Are you running Optima Yellow Tops? Where they charged up before you put them in? Or is this just everyday it gets hot?

Hot isolators = short life?

 

Yes. I have Yellow tops, one of them is completely brand new and the other is just three monts old...

I agree with you... at least that's what one would imagine... I don't imagine hot electronics lasting long...

The thing that worries me right now is: Is it a fire hazard?

I'm gonna post a couple of pics of the install...

 

What gets hot? The Isolator itself or the box attached to it? As stated the iosolator will get warm when the second battery is charging.

You said it wasn't too hot to touch. If it were too hot to touch, that would be a fire hazard. If you can leave a fingerprint in the insulation of the wiring...you are in trouble.

Keep an eye on it. New battery: After a few hours run time the charge of the battery should be close to topped off and should cool down to a barely perceptible warm temp.

 

How is it in temperature to other devices in the engine compartment? I guess what I am trying to ask is, we all know the engine compartment gets pretty warm, are other devices just as warm? Is it simply the heat in the compartment, or something else

 

Thanks for your quick reply guys!

It gets hot on its own (without running the car), I can barely keep my finger on it for more than a second... the little red Led on the isolator is on. The thing that gets hot is the isolator itself -not the box-. The metal exterior of the isolator is what's really hot.

I took the jeep for a short drive, and I let the hood open in my garage... The led is still on...

Do you guys have the wiring kit from Benchmark? Did it get hot when you installed it? Voltage is an even 13.7 measured by a voltimeter in the jeep main batt. My aeroforce gauge is giving me V 13.6

Thanks for your comments, please keep'em coming!

 

Here are some pics of the install...

I placed a couple of old battery covers on the positive of each batteries, and some black tape on the top terminals of the isolator, just to reduce any possibilities of shorts with something else. I'll be getting the nice covers later...

Here's an overview shot...



Here's where it gets really, really hot...




And here are other two...

 

Sorry, just caught this thread. Odd as it may seem, "too hot to touch" is considered normal operation per the Cole Hersee applications engineer. I've confirmed this directly with them.

"too hot to touch" is still WAY below it being a problem.

I'm going to rev the instructions to mention this.

 

This is how continuous duty solenoids function. On a hot day, that thing is hot as hell. Definitely not a fire hazard, way below the flash point of anything, and no hotter than many other parts of the engine bay.

 

John,

Thanks for your prompt response! If you say it's normal, then it is normal...

By the way: All about the kit is impressive man, it show that you are really proffesional about everything. The kit looks very good, seems to be very strong, and you really took into account every single detail...

I do wish that you included the indication led and the switch for momentary connection of the batteries; as well as the covers for the isolator and the battery terminals... Nevertheless, I got the first the for the latter I'm gonna be asking one of the members that did the writeup about the wiring kit...

Thanks again!