Connecting 2 12 Volt Batteries in Parallel on my Polaris Ranger

Question:

Hello. Sorry if the following questions seem dumb but electrical is not my strong suit. First question is what guage wire do I use to connect these batteries in parallel? I want to connect 2 led light bars that draw 30 amp each to secondary battery. Was also considering connecting smart isolater between battery one start and stock accessories and battery two led lights. Any suggestions on a make or type? Also my wiring harness that includes relay and fuse too short for vehicle. Need to splice three feet extra between lights and toggle switch. Was considering using 12-2 low voltage out door sheathed light cable you see used for out door lights to add length. Is this a smart idea? Or do you have a better thought. I dont want an electrical fire on my 570 Polaris RZR. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated

asked by: David

Expert Reply:

This is a good plan to help ensure you don't get stranded. To start You want to use a heavy gauge wire to connect batteries in parallel. I generally make the jumper you need from MaxxTow Jumper Cables part # MT89FR you can cut these down to whatever size you need then add on the appropriate cable ends to connect to your battery.

For the isolator using the Redarc Smart Start Battery Isolator part # 331-SBI12 will handle all you will be putting it through I really like the isolator here because if your starting battery start to see low voltage the isolator wil prevent it from being drained leaving you stranded.

As far as the wiring harness I would extend it with the exact same size and type wire. Is is likely a 14 or 16 gauge stranded copper wire like part # 16-1-1

expert reply by: Randy B