Thread: lithium dual battery ideas

Originally Posted by Tombie

A co-worker has been putting the same unit through some decent testing (in his 4wd) for quite a while now.

DCS was on the cards also as both claim to be under bonnet suitable.

In the end, went the Itech route as a single unit. DCS I would have run 2 in parallel and the Itech gives me one space back for fitting other components I want in the vehicle.

All about space packaging in my application.

We will see how it goes longer term, hopefully I have a win.

Hi Tombie and you are one person who WILL gives us an Honest report on them.

Originally Posted by drivesafe

And because of the way their BMS works, their batteries are usually only good for around 75% of the marked capacity.

Again, not a brand I would buy, but each unto his own!

Hi Tim, what brand do you recommend for underbonnet? Maybe none?

Watching what is going on with under bonnet lithiums on the Jap Forums,where there are many fitted,and some a good few years old,i have yet to work out which has the least problems.
Often it is the installer that causes the problems.

Originally Posted by scarry

Hi Tim, what brand do you recommend for underbonnet? Maybe none?

Watching what is going on with under bonnet lithiums on the Jap Forums,where there are many fitted,and some a good few years old,i have yet to work out which has the least problems.
Often it is the installer that causes the problems.

As you suggested, I personally would not run a Lithium under the bonnet of any vehicle.

BUT you would think if any vehicle was suited to having lithium batteries under the bonnet a D3 or D4 would be at the forefront.

Not so as I have some inside knowledge of a D4 with both cranking and auxiliary lithium batteries and it has been a big problem.

I ran a 100Ah STANDARD ( not drop-in ) Lithium battery in the boot of my Tiguan with great success and carried out quite a few different types of tests.

I have had heaps of feedback from customers and learnt heaps from my own testing.

I will be taking the experimenting much further as I develop a Lithium friendly isolator.

But even if I come up with an isolator suitable for lithium batteries, I am pretty sure I will still be recommending the lithium batteries be fitted anywhere but in the engine bay.

NOTE this is not just a problem for lithium batteries. I have quite a few customers who use AGM cranking batteries as auxiliary/house batteries, mounted in the rear of their vehicles and in caravans and camper trailers and they all seem to get much longer lifespans than those who fit their auxiliary batteries under the bonnet.

Go figure?

Thanks Tim,i thought that would be the answer

AGM batteries also have a heat spec rating,similar to Lithium,so heat no doubt probably reduces the life of the battery,as per your comment.

Originally Posted by Tombie

A co-worker has been putting the same unit through some decent testing (in his 4wd) for quite a while now.

DCS was on the cards also as both claim to be under bonnet suitable.

In the end, went the Itech route as a single unit. DCS I would have run 2 in parallel and the Itech gives me one space back for fitting other components I want in the vehicle.

All about space packaging in my application.

We will see how it goes longer term, hopefully I have a win.

Looking forward to your review on how it goes.

If I was running an accessory like a dash-cam 24/7, then a lithium battery makes a lot sense. I also like the idea of the slim versions they have for mounting in the cab.

I personally prefer not to run any extra accessories off the cranking battery (when the engine is not running). But yet to land on what would be the best set up - so watching with interest how the ITECH120X goes.

My dash cam is off the cranking AGM.
It has a LVC on it, so will film 24hours if driven daily.

I’ve made up the mounts for my second solar panel to go “in” the roof rack (front of a Prospeed rack) and that panel will focus on the primary battery.

Currently the bonnet mounted panel just supports cold drinks!

Maybe it’s just a case of me being overly careful but I’m not keen on running a lithium battery in my D4 or under the bonnet of any ICE vehicle given the number of fires that happen and more to the point if a Lithium battery fire occurs then the vehicle burns to the ground.

I know there are thousands of vehicles out there, both on two and four wheels with aftermarket lithium battery’s fitted that have had no issue, but it does happen. Don’t get me wrong I’d much more prefer to have a lightweight battery that has more than double the usable capacity but at this stage I’m not prepared to risk it.

cheers,
Terry

Originally Posted by TerryO

Maybe it’s just a case of me being overly careful but I’m not keen on running a lithium battery in my D4 or under the bonnet of any ICE vehicle given the number of fires that happen and more to the point if a Lithium battery fire occurs then the vehicle burns to the ground.

I know there are thousands of vehicles out there, both on two and four wheels with aftermarket lithium battery’s fitted that have had no issue, but it does happen. Don’t get me wrong I’d much more prefer to have a lightweight battery that has more than double the usable capacity but at this stage I’m not prepared to risk it.

cheers,
Terry

That’s why my vehicle is covered for replacement value not market

Take that as you will… either way I’ll be happy!