William's 150 GXL D4D

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Thanks for the advice Sam, ultimately I'd like to have something like that, but at this present time, I think I can make do without the rear wiring. I suppose I've spent too much on the dual battery system not to do the rear wiring lol :lol:

Thus far I've spent:
ARB Battery tray: $122
Redarc Isolator: $90
Amptech D50Z Battery: $200 (I think I got ripped off but that's the price I had to pay to get the battery exchanged)
Total: $412

I've been quoted roughly $100 for the wiring, lugs and an LED to complete the dual battery link-up (I think it's a bit overpriced)... I think it's more than $100 to do the rear wiring? There's quite a lot involved to get it done correctly:
- Wires, fuses, fuse box, lugs, sockets... all these little bits and pieces add up. To think that I'd have to spend almost as much as the fridge itself just to power the damn thing lol :lol:

D4D, I suppose what you're implying is "Why do you need a secondary aux if you're gonna have a solar setup". As I already have an aux battery box, why not use it to my advantage? I have a feeling I could probably get away with the two batteries without solar using solar. My average camping trips go for 2 nights, some over 5 nights (like this upcoming easter). Nearly no driving is involved once camp is set up, hence charging via alternator is pretty much non-existant. Alternator charging is only useful for the 6hour drive to and from camp. I need the flexibility of battery power and space in the car.

I think I'm being too finicky and indecisive. Let me get the fridge first then I'll be in a position to decide which setup suits me best. Thank you all for your input, I value it greatly.

Cheers

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

The dual battery wiring has arrived from our friend Derek at ABR Sidewinder. Very happy with the price, postage time, service and most definitely the quality. I had the cable length's custom made to suit the ARB tray (as the isolator is mounted right beside the battery).

Here are a few of pics:
The cables... included were cable ties which aren't pictured.


Rubber on the positive terminal lug


Heatshrink on the lugs


A tiny 12v LED that redarc should have included in their kits


In my opinion, the quality of the product makes it well worth the money. I know where I'll be going should I decide to get the rear wiring done. Now lets hope it all fits well once the battery arrives later this week. More pics to come.

Cheers

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D


Tadah! Credits to D4D on this one

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I installed my first dual battery system today. Let's start off with a quick summary of the parts I used:
ARB Battery tray
RedArc SBI12
Supercharge Amptech D50Z
ABR Sidewinder cabling (3B&S with 8mm lugs)
- Aux pos to RedArc: 25cm
- RedArc to Main pos: 150cm
- Aux neg to Main neg: 200cm
Wire splicer
Split tubing
Electrical tape
Cable ties

First thing I did was spliced into the black wire of the redarc and ran it to the chassis. The wire length provided was too short for where I wanted to earth it. I then crimped a wire to the blue lead for the LED. While I had the chassis bolt off, I crimped another cable for the negative for the LED and bolted it back on. Sorry no pics of that. I then split tubed and taped it all up.

I previously had the tray installed, it was just a matter of screwing in 4 bolts. I took the plastic radiator cover off and began laying the wiring. I ran the wire underneath the cross bar in which the two grill arms are attached to. This is where Toyota ran their wiring and likewise where I ran the wiring for the spotlights. I did a mock fit with the battery in.


I removed the battery and connected up the wires to the redarc (but not to the batteries). I then cable tied everything neatly then put the battery in and clamped it down.







I then disconnected the main battery terminals and taped the battery terminals for added security. I then connected the Aux terminals to the aux battery and the other wires to the main battery terminals... untaped the battery terminals then linked the terminals back. I've been told that it's important to reconnect the positive terminal first, then the negative and in reverse order if disconnecting the terminals.



For those curious, this is what the aircon pipe looks like. I removed the plastic rubber piece I had on there before as I found the battery tray has a catch on the end which would prevent the battery from sliding (if it ever decided to) far enough to touch the aircon valve.


Hooked the multi meter up and took some readings (measured at the terminals):
Main (cold engine/engine off). 12.75V


Aux (cold engine/engine off). 12.42V


Main (cold engine/engine on). 13.77V


Aux (cold engine/engine on). 13.66V


Took it for a 15 minute drive then took some more readings:
Main (hot engine/engine on). 13.60V


Aux (hot engine/engine on). 13.53V


Reinstalled the plastic radiator cover and tied down the LED wiring (to be completed tomorrow). Job done.




Now I have a question. The ARB installation instruction says that when the engine is on, both batteries should be reading the same Voltage. Now with my readings - with the cold start, there is a difference of 0.11V and after a 15 minute drive, the readings had a difference of 0.07V. Is this normal?

The Amptech and RedArc are new and the cables were tested prior to fitting (using my battery box and multimeter). I'm not sure what would account for this voltage drop, would it have to do with the Aux battery needing to "warm up" to equalise?

Cheers

[ABR-SIDEWINDER Member Find all posts View Profile Close ABR-SIDEWINDER]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Hi William

It could be that the battery is still drawing quite a heavy charge as it was only 12.4V when you started which is actually quite flat. (Is there a date stamp on the battery - It looks like 0J which is Oct 2010 so the battery could be 6 months old and quite flat)

Do a voltage drop test on the redarc. Place the voltmeter on the redarc terminals as if it was a battery and check the voltage. It should be 0.00V but what you are describing it could be about 0.1V which is not good. (You can also bridge the redarc and see if the voltage increases on the aux battery)

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Hi William

It could be that the battery is still drawing quite a heavy charge as it was only 12.4V when you started which is actually quite flat. (Is there a date stamp on the battery - It looks like 0J which is Oct 2010 so the battery could be 6 months old and quite flat)

Do a voltage drop test on the redarc. Place the voltmeter on the redarc terminals as if it was a battery and check the voltage. It should be 0.00V but what you are describing it could be about 0.1V which is not good. (You can also bridge the redarc and see if the voltage increases on the aux battery)

Thanks Derek. The battery is brand new, but as you said, it must have been in storage for a while. I'll report back with my findings tomorrow when I fit the LED.

Cheers

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I'd put the 240V charger on the amp-tech on recon mode to give it a good charge

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I'd put the 240V charger on the amp-tech on recon mode to give it a good charge

I was thinking about that too, I have to do it before the Easter trip anyway. I've never charged a battery in a setup like this before. Would I be able hook the charger directly to the Aux without having to disconnect it?

Edit: Nevermind, I googled it up and it seems the safest way of charging is to disengage the redarc (turning lights on when engine is off) so that the aux is isolated and can be charged accordingly. I read that some people keep the batteries connected so that the ctek can charge them both.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I only worry about charging my aux. I put the high beam on until I hear the solenoid kick out, then I charge the aux on the Ctek without disconnecting.

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I ran another test today. There was a 0.03V difference in the battery voltages with a dead cold engine with the engine on. These were measured at the terminals. While the engine was on, I also tested the two redarc terminals and the value was 0.01V. Is this negligable?. It seems the battery has charged a bit after I drove it last night. I'll hook it up to the battery charger today and we'll see if the difference in voltage nullifies.

D4D, thanks for confirming the charging proceedure mate

Cheers

[ABR-SIDEWINDER Member Find all posts View Profile Close ABR-SIDEWINDER]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I ran another test today. There was a 0.03V difference in the battery voltages with a dead cold engine with the engine on. These were measured at the terminals. While the engine was on, I also tested the two redarc terminals and the value was 0.01V. Is this negligable?. It seems the battery has charged a bit after I drove it last night. I'll hook it up to the battery charger today and we'll see if the difference in voltage nullifies.

D4D, thanks for confirming the charging proceedure mate

Cheers

Yes 0.01V is a very acceptable voltage drop across the isolator. I think the battery was / is down on charge and at a very different temperature. Here is a graph that may help you.

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

That's a very helpful table there Derek, thank you for sharing it. The aux is getting some Ctek lovin' right now, so I'll take some more readings tomorrow morning.

So I installed the LED today. It was a bigger job than I expected. It involved some trim pulling but it was more or less a quick job. Here are the customary pics that follow:

Trim removed


Popped out the cover where the LED will be mounted on


I ran the wiring througn the same grommet as the spotlight switch


Slightly off centre, but still a flush finish. Job done.



On the topic of build ups, I drove past our old friend Zerosecta today and his build is looking awesome. It's a shame he isn't with us anymore

Cheers

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

I took some more readings with the aux charged up...
Main: 13.98V
Aux: 13.95V
I also measured the terminals on the redarc: 0.01V

So I suppose all is right and well or should I be concerned about the 0.03V difference?

Cheers

[ABR-SIDEWINDER Member Find all posts View Profile Close ABR-SIDEWINDER]

I took some more readings with the aux charged up...
Main: 13.98V
Aux: 13.95V
I also measured the terminals on the redarc: 0.01V

So I suppose all is right and well or should I be concerned about the 0.03V difference?

Cheers

Hi William

You can be very happy with the result, I would not worry about the 0.03V

Regards

Derek

[William Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close William]

Thanks for the confirmation mate.

Cheers