Dual vs. Single Batteries

Genesis Dual Battery System vs Single Battery Stock Systems:

 
1. Extra power capacity.  Dual batteries provide extra power capacity, ensuring a reliable source of energy for various off road accessories, such as winches, extra lights, and camping equipment. A stock battery may have an average amount of cold cranking amps for starting the engine, but they are not designed for running accessories with the engine off. A dual battery system with quality AGM batteries will have more cold cranking amps, as well as extra capacity, measured in amp-hours, and can be drained down low and recharged repeatedly.
 
2. Extended battery life. By distributing the electrical load across two batteries, the individual      batteries experience reduced strain, resulting in prolonged battery life. Our dual batteries are connected in parallel, allowing them to share the electrical load evenly, minimizing discharge cycles and maximizing overall battery lifespan. This is especially helpful with high amp draw accessories such as when using a winch or with high powered stereo amplifiers.
 
3. Backup / Redundancy. Dual batteries provide a backup system in case one battery fails or gets      discharged.
 
4. Reliable starting power. Off road environments may demand extra cranking power to start the vehicle in extreme conditions or after extended periods of inactivity. Quality AGM batteries used in a dual battery system will provide more cold cranking amps and more reliability than traditional lead acid batteries. In the event the cranking battery is too low to start the engine, our system has a manual boost switch which will link the batteries together in parallel, just like using jumper cables, to help start the engine with the power in the second battery.
 
5. Safety. Dual batteries provide an extra layer of safety during off road adventures. With a reliable power supply, you can use communication devices, emergency equipment, or recovery tools without worrying about draining the battery that powers the vehicle.
 
6. Easily add on accessories. Our system includes power & ground bus bars which give you a convenient way to add on many electrical accessories that need battery power, without having to stack up all of the connections directly onto the battery’s post clamp. We have 4 different sizes of connection points to easily add small ring terminals all the way up to heavy gauge cable lugs instead of putting them onto one small bolt on the post clamp which can lead to poor connections and quickly running out of room for additional accessories.        

                            

                          

As for the stock JL/JT stock "2 battery" system, it is intended for a different purpose. When first cranking the engine, both the large battery and the small aux battery are used for starting the engine. When the vehicle comes to a stop and turns off, the batteries will be isolated small aux battery powers the electrical requirements for the vehicle, such as the radio, headlights, etc., then when the vehicle restarts, the large battery is used to start the engine. Once restarted, they are reconnected so they can be charged. This configuration is designed to help save a little gas when stopped, rather than idling the engine. It is not intended, or suitable, for powering aftermarket accessories for extended periods of time with the engine off. 

 The Genesis Dual Battery System replaces the small stock aux battery with a second full sized battery, and has its own smart battery combiner device that watches the voltage levels of the batteries, not the ignition status, to decide when to connect and reconnect them. Typically the engine will start up from the cranking battery, and our system will allow the engine to charge the cranking battery for 30 seconds and then it connects the batteries together so both can be charged while driving. When the vehicle comes to a stop and turns off, the batteries will remain connected together until the smart combiner sees them drop below 13.1v for 5 minutes. Then when the engine restarts, it is typically cranking up from the combined power of both full sized batteries. 

Because of this, many of our customers report smoother and faster restarts at a red light. Once the batteries drop below 13.1 for 5 minutes and separate, all of the aftermarket devices that are connected to our power & ground bus bars will run from the aux battery and will not drain down your cranking battery.