QUICK GUIDE

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

AGM: Absorbed Glass Mat; a type of lead acid battery

AMP HOURS: Is a measure of charge or current flow over time. 1amp/h is a current of 1amp flowing for 1 hour

BATTERY ISOLATOR: Used to separate the flow of direct current (DC) to more than one branch in a single direction, allowing two batteries to be charged from one alternator without the batteries being connected in parallel

BATTERY MONITOR: Measures voltage and current in and out of a battery, and tracks the charge remaining

BMS: Battery Management Systems are a comprehensive watchdog for a vehicle’s batteries, and will prevent them from being too drained, overcharged, undercharged and about a billion other things

CURRENT: Voltage divided by resistance gives us electrical current, usually measured in amps

COLD CRANKING AMPS (CCA): The amount of punch a starting battery packs. Basically, the higher the CCA, the quicker it’ll spin your starter motor

CURRENT DRAW: How much battery power a device or accessory needs to run DC-DC

CHARGER: A step up from an isolator, a DC-DC charger will ensure a battery gets the correct amount of charging current for its charge profile, extending its life and speeding up the charging process.

DEEP CYCLE BATTERY: A battery that is designed to be deeply discharged many times over its lifespan, making them ideal for running accessories when the engine is switched off. Modern units are usually AGM or lithium

HYBRID BATTERY: Can be regularly discharged while still providing a substantial number of cold cranking amps. Can be used in either deep cycle or starting roles, and if you can only afford a single battery in your 4x4

INVERTER: A device that takes a 12V input and turns it in to a 240V output. Essentially, it allows you to run household electrical items while you’re travelling remotely

LEAD ACID: A standard wet cell 12V battery, largely superseded but is used in budget builds without a worry

LITHIUM: The new wave of aux batteries that can be discharged deeper and for longer. Pretty much the best you can get, but be warned, cheap lithium batteries are just that and will leave you disappointed

RESISTANCE: A counteracting force against the flow of current. Resistance in a circuit can be introduced by accessories drawing current or faults in the circuit itself

SHUNT: See battery monitor, but its smarter and betterlooking brother

VOLTS: Voltage is the force from a battery that pushes charged electrons through the various circuits in a vehicle

12V: Common voltage of almost all modern

ICE vehicles 240V: The voltage found in Australian households