Hi guys, ive been quietly sitting back and keeping any eye on this forum for a while now with the expectation that it would be very useful when the time comes and i begin working on my wifes Prado.
My wife and i have just had our first child, a little baby girl and thus my old Landcruiser Ute will be stepping down from the primary use vehicle on camping trips etc. but before it can be retired to boys trips only we need to get Michelles car up to scratch.
We purchased the Prado new late last year but up until now it has remained completely stock.
This was Michelles first trip out with the Prado along with our little baby girl. Bubs was 3 weeks old. Labor day long weekend.
Notice, i had my old Landcruiser along for the trip also, as the Prado isnt setup to go out solo just yet.
The first item on the list for us is setting up a dual battery system and running some power down to the back for a few sockets for the fridge etc.
After researching here on Prado point i decided i would try and fit a 12" (std. N70Z) 4x4 battery in the Auxiliary battery location of the engine bay. However upon receiving the battery tray i discovered a number of issues with the tray and added together with the amount of bending required of the hard A/C lines i decided to return the faulty tray for a refund and purchased the ARB tray and a new, smaller battery. The AC Delco DCM24SMF.
Ive also purchased the Redarc SBI12 Isolator to install on the ARB tray and also thanks to the information on this forum ive purchased the Voltage Booster replacement fuse from LeighW. As a matter of fact i just installed the replacement fuse today and its performed exactly as designed. Prior to fitting i measured 14.01V at the battery terminals with the engine started and running for a few minutes. Fuse replaced and the voltage now measures 14.50V. I was rather shocked by the state of my wifes factory (less then 12months old) cranking battery as i found its rested voltage (rested overnight) to be 12.10V this morning before i ran the engine...
I will continue to monitor this now that im aware something could be up, but i think this is just further evidence that these modern 'smart' alternators are not looking after the vehicles battery(s) at all, and with the installation of LeighW's voltage booster hopefully the battery(s) will be maintained a little better.
Thanks again for the information shared here, its been a big help to me so far and i hope that i can share my own experiences here and help out other members as well.
Travis.
My wife and i have just had our first child, a little baby girl and thus my old Landcruiser Ute will be stepping down from the primary use vehicle on camping trips etc. but before it can be retired to boys trips only we need to get Michelles car up to scratch.
We purchased the Prado new late last year but up until now it has remained completely stock.
This was Michelles first trip out with the Prado along with our little baby girl. Bubs was 3 weeks old. Labor day long weekend.
Notice, i had my old Landcruiser along for the trip also, as the Prado isnt setup to go out solo just yet.
The first item on the list for us is setting up a dual battery system and running some power down to the back for a few sockets for the fridge etc.
After researching here on Prado point i decided i would try and fit a 12" (std. N70Z) 4x4 battery in the Auxiliary battery location of the engine bay. However upon receiving the battery tray i discovered a number of issues with the tray and added together with the amount of bending required of the hard A/C lines i decided to return the faulty tray for a refund and purchased the ARB tray and a new, smaller battery. The AC Delco DCM24SMF.
Ive also purchased the Redarc SBI12 Isolator to install on the ARB tray and also thanks to the information on this forum ive purchased the Voltage Booster replacement fuse from LeighW. As a matter of fact i just installed the replacement fuse today and its performed exactly as designed. Prior to fitting i measured 14.01V at the battery terminals with the engine started and running for a few minutes. Fuse replaced and the voltage now measures 14.50V. I was rather shocked by the state of my wifes factory (less then 12months old) cranking battery as i found its rested voltage (rested overnight) to be 12.10V this morning before i ran the engine...
I will continue to monitor this now that im aware something could be up, but i think this is just further evidence that these modern 'smart' alternators are not looking after the vehicles battery(s) at all, and with the installation of LeighW's voltage booster hopefully the battery(s) will be maintained a little better.
Thanks again for the information shared here, its been a big help to me so far and i hope that i can share my own experiences here and help out other members as well.
Travis.
Comment