Auxiliary Battery and Inverter Install

[Heiserton]

Great thread, but let me get one thing straight - you manually plug the setup into the 12 outlet on the dash when you want to charge it? I really like how you thought through the details. You basically took one of those DIY solar generator setups and built it into the truck - it would be great for camping!

Correct, kinda. You manually plug it in but you can leave it plugged in with the Victron DC-DC charger as its able to detect input between whatever voltage ranges you set it to. So you can leave it plugged in forever if you wanted and it wont leach off of the main starter battery, it'll only charge when the vehicle is running. Its isolated from the main battery and operates only when theres input above a set threshold.

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[Heiserton]

I don't think you understand what he did. His system only draws power from the vehicle to charge the Lifepo battery. The inverter he added ONLY draws power from the lifepo, not from the vehicle. The charge controller takes power from the 12 volt system for charging the battery but that shouldn't overload the system.

Look up you tube videos on DIY solar generators. They are basically the same as the Jackery units but a lot less expensive.

I don't understand why his solar charge controller wouldn't work but he figured it out.

Correct, everything is isolated off of the second battery. There is no electrical backfeed into the main power system.

 

[Heiserton]

Per manual page 151 power outlet precautions. Do not plug in any device that supplies power to the vehicle through the power points. This could result in damage to vehicle systems

This does not supply power to the vehicle. The entire system is isolated and the current only flows one way, from the vehicle > Charge Controller > Aux Battery> Inverter.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

I don't think you understand what he did. His system only draws power from the vehicle to charge the Lifepo battery. The inverter he added ONLY draws power from the lifepo, not from the vehicle. The charge controller takes power from the 12 volt system for charging the battery but that shouldn't overload the system.

Look up you tube videos on DIY solar generators. They are basically the same as the Jackery units but a lot less expensive.

I don't understand why his solar charge controller wouldn't work but he figured it out.

I understood what he did and it's safe I apparently misread a response or replied to the wrong post I thought someone said they could recharge vehicle 22v through power point. I would suspect the varying voltage at the power point 12.1-14.8v (as seen in mine, apparently due to soc of vehicles 12v) was not what voltage his solar charge controller was expecting.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Correct, kinda. You manually plug it in but you can leave it plugged in with the Victron DC-DC charger as its able to detect input between whatever voltage ranges you set it to. So you can leave it plugged in forever if you wanted and it wont leach off of the main starter battery, it'll only charge when the vehicle is running. Its isolated from the main battery and operates only when theres input above a set threshold.

I have question. When the vehicle 12v drops to the voltage that triggers the HVB recharge cycle whether it occurs in 4hour or 4 days is at that time the power point also seeing that recharge and possibly continuing to recharge his inverter battery? If so that would help drain the HVB quicker. Would this possibly be seen as as a ghost drain and initiate a deep sleep state to prevent draining the HVB? The set threshold could possibly have to be above the maximum recharge voltage during the "middle of the off period recharge" to prevent "ghost" charging??? Just some thoughts.

 

[Decayed]

I have question. When the vehicle 12v drops to the voltage that triggers the HVB recharge cycle whether it occurs in 4hour or 4 days is at that time the power point also seeing that recharge and possibly continuing to recharge his inverter battery? If so that would help drain the HVB quicker. Would this possibly be seen as as a ghost drain and initiate a deep sleep state to prevent draining the HVB? The set threshold could possibly have to be above the maximum recharge voltage during the "middle of the off period recharge" to prevent "ghost" charging??? Just some thoughts.

It's no different than leaving something like a usb charger plugged in to the socket. The thing to remember is that the only point of contact between the vehicle's electrical system and the inverter/battery combo he installed is at the 12v socket and it's one way from vehicle to external battery. The vehicle just sees it as another electrical load on the system.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

It's no different than leaving something like a usb charger plugged in to the socket. The thing to remember is that the only point of contact between the vehicle's electrical system and the inverter/battery combo he installed is at the 12v socket and it's one way from vehicle to external battery. The vehicle just sees it as another electrical load on the system.

Most likely there will not be a problem and I will assume that the power point will remain inactive during any charging if the 12v vehicle battery while truck is in not ready mode.

 

[Decayed]

Most likely there will not be a problem and I will assume that the power point will remain inactive during any charging if the 12v vehicle battery while truck is in not ready mode.

That's a good question but I would guess the charge controller is smart enough to know how to allocate power. If you connect the whole thing to one of the switched power outlets it should never cause any problems. And again I would guess that the vehicle's computer is smart enough to turn off any 12 v outlets when the battery gets low.

The external charge controller's manual should say for sue. Dunno where you would look for the car if it isn't explicitly stated in the manual.

 

[Heiserton]

I have question. When the vehicle 12v drops to the voltage that triggers the HVB recharge cycle whether it occurs in 4hour or 4 days is at that time the power point also seeing that recharge and possibly continuing to recharge his inverter battery? If so that would help drain the HVB quicker. Would this possibly be seen as as a ghost drain and initiate a deep sleep state to prevent draining the HVB? The set threshold could possibly have to be above the maximum recharge voltage during the "middle of the off period recharge" to prevent "ghost" charging??? Just some thoughts.

No. The Victron charger has thresholds you can set for charging. For example, If I want it to only charge if the alternator is putting out 12v+, then it will only charge if the alternator is putting out 12v+. If the vehicle is off, it senses shutdown and no alternator output, and disables any charging/draw from the 12v socket. The socket is not constantly hot.

 

[Heiserton]

That's a good question but I would guess the charge controller is smart enough to know how to allocate power. If you connect the whole thing to one of the switched power outlets it should never cause any problems. And again I would guess that the vehicle's computer is smart enough to turn off any 12 v outlets when the battery gets low.

The external charge controller's manual should say for sue. Dunno where you would look for the car if it isn't explicitly stated in the manual.

Correct, the 12v sockets are not constant hots anyways. The Victron charger bases its charging off of alternator output (thresholds that you set since the alternator is variable). It will sense vehicle shutdown and stop drawing power. It's not pulling from the battery, even through the other battery is in line with the vehicles electrical system. It's completely controlled by the alternators output.

 

[Heiserton]

Just as an update here, I used this setup with an Alpicool fridge on a 4000ish round trip road trip up to Montana to see family. I was able to leave my fridge in my truck, running for 4-5 days and only saw about 40% drain on the battery. Testament to the fridge and its efficiency, and its nice to know that doing that to a LiFePo4 battery won't damage it at all. Love the setup. Unfortunately I'm selling my Maverick as I'm separating from the military and downsizing to one vehicle to move back up to Montana. It will be sold with every mod/accessory I have for it, including this setup. If anyone is interested, its in the "For sale" section of the Forum.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

No. The Victron charger has thresholds you can set for charging. For example, If I want it to only charge if the alternator is putting out 12v+, then it will only charge if the alternator is putting out 12v+. If the vehicle is off, it senses shutdown and no alternator output, and disables any charging/draw from the 12v socket. The socket is not constantly hot.

I'm talking about the hybrid. The ice runs intermittently and the three phase generator may or may not be charging the HVB during the times it is running. The charge controller drawing current from the HVB can charge the 12v at anytime with or without the truck being in the ready state only limited by a previously set low soc of the HVB at which time the charge controller would not receive any more current from the HVB. Then the computers and sensors would continue functioning until the 12v soc would drop to a voltage (+/- 5v???) at which time deep sleep would have to be initiated (hopefully there is a memory chip with a backup battery to maintain settings and operating tables, but??). It is unreasonable to not initiate 12v recharge while there could be 0.5-0.6 KW (+/-) available in the HVB. Easily replaceable by running the ice for 15 minutes every 2-3 weeks as mentioned in the manual.

 

[Heiserton]

I'm talking about the hybrid. The ice runs intermittently and the three phase generator may or may not be charging the HVB during the times it is running. The charge controller drawing current from the HVB can charge the 12v at anytime with or without the truck being in the ready state only limited by a previously set low soc of the HVB at which time the charge controller would not receive any more current from the HVB. Then the computers and sensors would continue functioning until the 12v soc would drop to a voltage (+/- 5v???) at which time deep sleep would have to be initiated (hopefully there is a memory chip with a backup battery to maintain settings and operating tables, but??). It is unreasonable to not initiate 12v recharge while there could be 0.5-0.6 KW (+/-) available in the HVB. Easily replaceable by running the ice for 15 minutes every 2-3 weeks as mentioned in the manual.

Ohhhhh, wouldn’t know. Don’t have or want a hybrid model lol. But I understand the concern.

 

[Finnster]

How does the Victron "sense" that the alternator is operating?

 

[Heiserton]

How does the Victron "sense" that the alternator is operating?

Through alternator output voltage

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