Ok, so using a diesel to jump start another vehicle. I had a guy try to tell me it would work better if I would hook one end of the jumper cable (Pos) to one battery and the (neg) to the other battery. Now in my thinking wouldn't this create 2 12 volt batteries in series (24v) instead of being 12v in parallel, which is what we have now. Right?

Also as I was thinking would this take out both systems of both vehicles? It would right?

 

Theoretically I guess it should work since our batteries are hooked in series and as individual batteries. But, I had to jump my tractor every time I started it for a few years and it would only work off the primary battery, the secondary wasn't enough to do it. So there is a difference in there somewhere.

Me personally, every time I have used Jumper cables it has been to just the primary battery and I've jumped started everything from riding lawn mowers to Semis.

 

Aren't our batteries hook in parallel? I thought in series was 24V. I know with my trolling motors I hook 2 batteries for 24v by pos. on one bat. and neg on the other bat. and a jumper wire from pos to neg to connect the 2 batteries together. Stuff like this really screws with me

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I'm going to have to take a closer look at how they run the wiring from the batteries on these trucks. I've hook up batteries many times but never really checked out the whole set-up

 

Our battiries are parallel. How do yuo know which is the primary?

 

The one on the passenger side only goes to the driver side battery and from there to everyplace else. So that would be what I'd call the primary. The passenger side only feeds the driver side to keep it at full crank. In warmer climates you can get rid of the passenger side battery and be just fine. Can't get rid of the driver side battery. Guess I'm gettin type happy here.

 

Thinkin about this some more, if you put one side of the jumpers to each battery wouldn't you be feedin 24V through them.

 

Pos. to Pos. is how their hooked up. Then each grounds to the engine block (on opposite sides ofcourse).

I ditched my passenger side battery a while ago and went with 1 large single on the drivers side.

 

yea, that's what I was thinking

 

Hooking 2 batteries in series you connect the neg - form battery A to the pos + of battery B with the neg - from B going to ground & pos + from A going to the pos + cable. That doubles the voltage but retains the same amperage.

I have considered running 4 6v batteries in my truck for greater storage capacity.

To answer the ? about the jumper cables: No
Both batteries are connected to the same ground so it doesn't really matter as long as you go neg- on one & pos+ on the other. All that hooking to the different batteries does is distribute the load so your not sucking off one battery.

 

That's right, hooking your ground to one battery and positive to the other...on both trucks even, forces the circuit through both batteries for a more even pull. Otherwise, when you pull on one battery only, and when the voltage drops as a result, the second battery just tries to "charge" the loaded battery due to voltage difference and the desire to equalize.

But, for the record, when jump starting, ALWAYS remove the cables immediately upon start up, or unplug a regulator on the jump started vehicle. If you don't the two alternators backfeed one another and a rectifier can be blown out of the weaker or smaller of the two. Food for thought, most wait to long and either get lucky, or lose their charging system.

Chris