What gauge wire did FWC run to the battery and how long a run is that? I plan to install my own electrical and was wondering if the run was hard to do. Jim, I'm a technician not a car mechanic! lolcdbrow1 said:I think I have the bugs all licked (knocking on wood). I replaced the wiring today from the battery to just short of the Atwood plug. I used the 2 gauge wire I had on hand (I thought it was 4 gauge earlier). Charging rates shot way up - high of 29 amps (sustained) at idle.
Driving with fridge on full cool the battery stays between 98-100 percent full.
Used microwave and dropped battery to 94. Recharged to full in under 30 miles of driving.
New isolator is functioning as advertised.
In short the only mods I have made (that worked) has been replacing the FWC wiring and replacing the isolator. I have no idea if my isolator was a dud or if it just can't handle the LiFiPo battery. The Xantrex is not required, but it sure is useful.
I am planning some longer trips this month. I will post again when I have more test nights under my belt.
Have you noticed any drop in fuel mileage per gallon due to the alternator loading?cdbrow1 said:I think I have the bugs all licked (knocking on wood). I replaced the wiring today from the battery to just short of the Atwood plug. I used the 2 gauge wire I had on hand (I thought it was 4 gauge earlier). Charging rates shot way up - high of 29 amps (sustained) at idle.
Driving with fridge on full cool the battery stays between 98-100 percent full.
Used microwave and dropped battery to 94. Recharged to full in under 30 miles of driving.
New isolator is functioning as advertised.
In short the only mods I have made (that worked) has been replacing the FWC wiring and replacing the isolator. I have no idea if my isolator was a dud or if it just can't handle the LiFiPo battery. The Xantrex is not required, but it sure is useful.
I am planning some longer trips this month. I will post again when I have more test nights under my belt.
FWC uses 10 gauge wire. It seems high quality wire, but it just cannot move that many amps. Running the wire was easy, but that was on a GMC 2500 - there is a lot of free room to work with.Happyjax said:What gauge wire did FWC run to the battery and how long a run is that? I plan to install my own electrical and was wondering if the run was hard to do. Jim, I'm a technician not a car mechanic! lol
Also how long did you run the microwave to get to 94%? I want a microwave and small coffee maker..... If I gotta fit my life into the bed of my truck (okay when I get it) then I need a few amenities
No, but the truck is nearly new. Mileage without the camper was ~18 MPG. With the camper it's down to ~14. With a total weight of 9,500 lbs I am happy with that.enelson said:Have you noticed any drop in fuel mileage per gallon due to the alternator loading?
The current price for the battery is $959 ( http://store.starkpower.com/12V-100AhStarkPower-UltraEnergy-Lithium-Ion-Battery-LiFePO-Energy-Storage-Battery_p_24.html ). I made other changes too, but those are not strictly required. I added a remote contolled (wired) battery isolator so I could manually isolate the battery ($200) and a Xantrax LinkPro battery monitor to track charging and use. ($220). Plus upgrading the battery wires to 2 gauge (mostly) ($250). Each one of those mods could be done with a regular battery or not done at all. Altogether they work very well.chnlisle said:I dont know if you mentioned it in a previous post but what's the the total cost of the mod? Thanks