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June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine

June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine

There are a lot women out there and it can be hard to pick the right one. Now I’m not an expert at women, but I hear that when you find the right one you just know. I never thought too much about it. I figured when the right woman found me it would be like a rock dropped on my head or my foot or something and I’d just know. As it turns out, there are a lot of dual battery setups out there too. From the simple switch through remote-switched solenoids up to and including complex micro-chip controlled setups, it can be hard to tell which one is right for you. When I saw the IBS dual battery kit on the Sierra Expeditions website, I just knew, and I think I can relate to all of you love birds now.

June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine

The expedition thing means those guys are relying on their vehicles far from anything, so they need good stuff. The electrical stuff on Sierra Expeditions is really good stuff. The company has relays, lights, circuit breakers, and more. I just like browsing the site to see what neat things there are. Plus, whenever I order something it shows up quickly. The company has other things too, but you know me, I’m an electrical nut. So, when I saw the Intelligent Battery System (IBS) from Extreme Outback Products, I was confused. I’d never heard of it before. It provides a display to see what condition each battery is in all the time, eliminating the guesswork that most dual batteries require. If that wasn’t enough, it monitors the voltage of the system when charging and automatically charges both batteries when the Jeep is running. This is something I should have known about. Then I saw that it was made in Switzerland and that Sierra Expeditions is one of the only companies here carrying it and I didn’t feel so bad.

So I talked the wise old Jp editors into giving me two pages just for this month so that I could get my hands on this cool new dual battery system. Once it showed up, I decided to put it in the ’91 Comanche that I put the jumper cables in a few months ago. I apologize to all you Wrangler guys out there, but I will add in a few Wrangler tidbits as I go. As for you Comanche and Cherokee guys with the inline-six (’87-’01), much of this will be right up your alley. If you have done a dual battery kit before, this one isn’t terribly different. And if you haven’t done one before, let ol’ Randy give you some tips and tricks on how to do it.

June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine PhotosView Slideshow June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine June 2011 Randy’s Electrical Corner - Jp Magazine