12" of 1g from battery to 100amp circuit breaker (which has been installed for a year now with out tripping itself) and then 1g to the trunk distribution/fuse blocks and then on to two amplifiers. I want to install an OPTIMA in the trunk and I also have a EFX PMBC100 isolator. My question is...where do I install the isolator? close to the first battery or close to the second battery in the trunk? also anyone know what those two smaller screws are for?

The isolator goes up front close to the primary battery. The 2 smaller screws are for a ground and ignition line. This turns the relay on and off then the vehicles ignition is engaged. Don't forget to add a large fuse on the power line into the battery in the rear.

Thats not what I would suggest. That is like stated above, that EXF piece you want to use is a "relay", not a true isolator. I would suggest looking at a real battery isolator that will perform better for what you are after. You can find them at Canadian Tire for about 40 bux or so, and they are not a "relay" but a true isolator. Very easy to install, and there will be no worries about either of your batteries going dead. Ive used them before in several sytems and they work perfectly. PM me if you want more details. Good luck either way

Battery isolators vs solenoids.

I believe, for car audio enthusiasts a solenoid is better.

On my Ridgeline, I have an Optima Blue top connected to the alternator via a Scosche EFX 200 amp solenoid. A switch has been installed on the trigger wire. When the auxiliary battery is run down, I can switch the trigger wire off when starting the vehicle. This way, the start up battery will not take a hit.

From what I've read regarding isolators vs solenoids, isolators are inefficient due to use of diodes. Notice heat sinks on isolators? I guess for some people, "install and forget about it" is the advantage of using the isolator.

I am not an expert, so I suggest you do a search on the Internet and consider the pros and cons of both methods. I'm very happy with my setup, but that means nothing to anyone else because their needs may be different from mine. I like the solenoid method because it was so easy to install. BTW, my solenoid is in the trunk of the Ridgeline.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...065_4_full.jpg

Can't really see the solenoid, but it is behind the battery in this picture.

While we are on the subject, I am also looking into using a PAC TR7 or something similar that will delay the trigger wire during startup. Has anybody out there done such a thing?

Put on your reading glasses....

http://www.canadiancaraudio.com/cgi/...3;t=010620;p=1

^^^^^ has nothing to do with orinal post ^^^^^ [img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img] :confused:

Sure it does. It's my own "super-post". ;)

Read my post, click the links to other threads in my post. Amongst all those posts, are good cable advice, relay/isolator advice, batteries, starters, etc. etc.

Dropping a link to an old post just saves me a lot o' time for retyping.

hmm Maybe I should compile it all sometime into a single file that I could copy & paste out of...

Thanks for the tips..