I would like to relocate my battery to the trunk but I am nervous since I shaved my keyhole. If the battery dies, I can't pop the trunk to get to it! Is there something I can do? Could I somehow have remote possitive and negative terminals somewhere underneath the trunk which are accessable? Could I mount my battery close enough to the ski pass-through that I can access it that way? Any other ideas? Worth it or should I just forget it?


What exactly are the benefits anyway? It gets the car closer to the ideal 50/50 front/back weight distribution, it keeps the battery clean, and it frees up some space under the hood (for ???). Any other benefits? Am I really going to tell a handling difference by doing this anyway?

Thanks everyone.

 

even if your battery dies can't you still open the trunk with the button on the driver side door?

 

yea what he said

and do you really think that battery will make a significant effect in 50/50 weight distribution Nice thought, but...

 

You know having a battery in the trunk is technically in the passenger compartment due to the pass-through and other breaches of the trunk/passenger area.

This raises the question of fumes from the battery.

This would be even more dangerous in a hatchback.

In the Maxima, Dangerous without careful thought I would say.

If you have a safer type of battery such as an Optima or some such you may be less likely to have either fumes or an explosion, but
it doesn't eliminate the risk.

If I recall correctly a plastic marine case is not enough, you should even go so far as to have a steel case fabricated to surround the battery in case of an explosion.

I'm talking about safety here, not the weight benefits that I will leave to someone else to address.

Just my gut reactions on the topic.

White96MaxSE

 

that makes a lot of sense. that never crossed my mind.

 

that's why you get a dry cell...

 

Nope. You can't.

 

How come?

 

The trunk release mechanism is electric.

 

What does a dry cell with 800 Cold Cranking Amps similar to an Optima cost, and who makes the top brands of Dry Cell Batteries?

How much do they weigh compared to a lead acid battery?

Just Curious.

White96MaxSE

 

makes sense.

 

how much did you pay for it and do u have pics?

 

If your battery dies, which is rare and somewhat unlikely, you can always just take out your back seat, unbolt the metal wall there, and crawl back to the trunk to get to your battery.

Since my stereo is bolted with 2x4's and 3/4" bolts to this wall, I have to remove it to get my amp rack/speaker box out whenever i want to change the system in a significant way. It also, of coure, prevents theft.....

I've gotten it down to removing it in less than 2 minutes. It's not hard.

Just a 10mm ratchet, and you're good.

IanS

 

Wow, that's a very good point Ian. Thanks man. For some reason I thought you would need access to both sides of the wall to remove it. So it can all be accessed from inside the cabin? Good to know. In fact, I'm half way there since I leave my seat unbolted and just 'hooked' (so I can take it out quickly when I need the weight savings). Thanks again for the input.

 

Yep, it ALL comes out from inside the cabin....not from inside the trunk.

I'm trying to figure out a way to make my speaker box/amp rack "quick release" for the same reason, using locking lugs or something, so it still can't be jacked.

IanS

 

I never thought of safety as an issue whitmax. Then how do you explain how my Audi (and many othe German cars) have their battery under the back seat? I think a steel box is a litte extreme, don't you? On Cheston's site, his battery location how-to only uses a special bag I beleive. I have never seen or even heard of a battery exploding. Do they really?

 

I'm almost postive that the button is a cable and not electric. Anyhow if the valet switch is switched (near the latch) then you're outta luck. The button wouldn't work. The odd's of that plus the battery dying would just have to not be your day.

I suppose to test the trunk button you could disconnect the battery and push it?

 

Price, I can't say, sorry. I had too many other things done at the same time. As for pictures, does the link in my sig not work?

 

Trust me man. The button on the door will not run without power.

 

ROFL.....I once took apart my entire door panel to disconnect that freaking switch.

There's a VALET switch in the trunk!?!?

Man I feel dumb...

 

You could try contacting DOWN LOW. He has shaved door handles and trunk key hole.

Check his post from the Woodbury, NY meet:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....890#post616890

 

You've never seen or heard of a battery exploding?

I once saw a special on sixty minutes or some show similar to it that focused on hundreds of people that are injured (mostly in the face and hands) from exploding batteries annually!

I do remember Volkswagens that had batteries under their seats. I think that was and is very stupid, although I wouldn't be surprised (but I didn't know) that automobiles are manufactured today that still place their batteries in idiotic positions like this.

I'm not sure where I read it, but I believe I heard of the steel case for batteries in the context of race cars that had batteries relocated into the passenger compartment and the rules required it for safety (from explosions).

I am really curious about the dry cell batteries that were mentioned as opposed to lead acid batteries, and if they compare to the features of the Optima battery.

The Optima battery has 6 individual cylinders that have the acid packed in each cylinder such that they have been tested by shooting the battery with a 38 caliber bullet and apparently there is very little acid leaked in this test.

The ability of the Optima battery to hold a charge for many months when car collectors don't often start their cars, and the safety features built into the Optima battery that enable it to be mounted in any position I understand make it a popular choice for race cars as well. (Don't get me wrong I don't sell Optima batteries, but I do own one that I purchased after my Nissan OEM battery failed after the Maxima was 3 years old)

Optima's also advertise to have more cold cranking amps for the same battery package compared to traditional lead acid batteries.

They also say that they are maintenance free, and will not corrode the battery terminals. This has been true so far in the three years I have had the battery in my Max I have seen no corrosion around the terminals. It is supposed to have much less gas leakage, but I wouldn't put it in the passenger compartment under the seat or in the trunk!

I have seen regular batteries start to unexpectedly begin discharging fumes so excessively as to eat all of the paint off of the underside of the hood in close proximity to the battery in the engine compartment.

I wouldn't want any of this battery activity in the compartment where I ride (and breathe) every day.

If you found a dry cell battery that you felt you wanted to put in the trunk you still have to consider the cabling and charging issues that haven't been discussed about relocating the battery to the trunk.

You might check into that as well.

White96MaxSE

 

i agree wiht you on the the cable for the trunk...it seems weird for it to HAVE power to work....but i guess i could be wrong....

it is very easy for him to have his battery take a $hit on him....all he needs to do is forget to leave a swtich on...for example fog lights....or something that drains power that he does not notice....im just saying....it happens everyday escpecially when its foggy or its raining and people r in a such a hurry they cant even remember to turn their headlgihts off......just a thought....im going to have to test that cable out someday to see if it does need power or not!!

 

nice maxima, looks good.....i think ur interior would look pimp as hell with aluminum dash trim instead of the wood....wood looks good but aluminum would look better........nice ride!!!!!

 

NO. Luxury on the inside, sport on the outside.

 

OH MY GOSH!!!! That thing is awesome. Oh my gosh. Speechless...

 

there is nothign wrong with that.........

 

door panel- electric
floor- cable

maybe

does anyone have a door panel trunk release...

 

Like I said...i have door panel trunk release...I have taken it apart.

It is DEFINATELY electric.

IanS

 

Oh, that's true. The owner's manual showed an 'a' and a 'b' for trunk releases. I forgot they have floor trunk releases (by the gas release). I have door. So the floor one is a cable?

 

If you locate your battery close enough to the back seat, you could remove the back seat to get some jumper cables in there. OR you could possibly have a type of "tap" in the engine bay where your battery used to be. if your battery went dead, you could hook into the taps with jumper cables and get power up to start the car or open trunk lid.

Last thing you could try are those cig lighter things that plug in and provide power (supposedly enough for jump start)

If your battery is dead AND you have a 5 sp, you can roll or push start the car too!

For the door mount trunk releases, they DO require power!

just some alternative ideas for you here!

 

Damn, you are the man Nigel. Those are some awesome ideas. Now that you mention it, my Audi did have terminals under the hood for that reason. The cigarette lighter is a good idea too. Thanks a million man.

 

No prob dude! . how's the S/C running?

 

Awesome man, thanks for asking. I have driven it for about 200 miles now. So it's early but enough to get a good feel for it. I feel 100% confident with the install. Everything seems in check. Starts right over each time, smooth idle, belt is fine, no leaks, it's fairly quiet, no check engine lights, etc., etc. I'm only at 1/2 a tank but it doesn't seem to be harming my gas mileage. We'll see...

As for performance, I still need to get numbers (0-60, 1/4 mile, HP, etc.) but man all I have to say is I can't imagine not having it. There's no going back. In fact, I wish it had a hair more power. So down-sizing the pulley is definately in my future. I'm loving it.

How about you? How's your Turbo coming?

 

Hey Ptatohed;

Here is a link I found of a web site that sells Dry Cell Batteries
you might want to check out if you plan on mounting a battery in the trunk.

This does look interesting as a lead acid replacement.

Just a thought.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/

White96MaxSE

 

Turbo is moving a little slower than I would like. The exhaust place doing the pipework is busy doing other stuff. I got a little ****ed cos they started it and left it halfway to finish something else off. It'll probably take a week or so to finish it off. Good to hear the S/C is going well! Yeah, once you've felt the power there's no going back! Can't wait to get my max back with the Turbo! There's nothing better than doing something like this yourself. I couldn't do the pipework, but I'll be installing the turbo and other stuff myself, if all goes well. Problem is I have to go away for three weeks starting Saturday on business trip.....sucks!

Take care dude!