Traxide D3 Dual Battery Kit

[meloyelo78]

I installed a Traxide Dual Battery Kit on my D3 about 12 months ago with great success (read: didn't fuse anything out or melt down any computer units). The kit has been doing a good job in powering my onboard 65 litre fridge/freezer and various small accessories.

We're now planning to embark on the great adventure and are having an off-road caravan built so we can travel around Australia. The van comes with 540 watts of solar panels and 480 amps lithium batteries. The manufacturer requires that I have a minimum of 14V going from the vehicle to the caravan to maintain the lithium batteries at their best state.

I haven't got access to a multimeter nor the knowledge to read one. Would I be right in assuming that I would be getting at least 14V from the rear Anderson plug on my Traxide D3 Kit DS dual battery kit?

Cheers

Peter

[Fluids]

Hi pete. I'll let those more knowledgable on the D3 answer the 14v question BUT get a multimeter. A cheap $15-25 unit is all you need. Set the meter to volts dc. Place the black lead on the chassis or one pin of the Anderson (negative) and the red on the other Anderson pin. Presto! Volts dc. (If you get the leads wrong way round it will just read negative volts dc - swap them around - no harm will come) It's easy, cheap, and everyone running aux power systems should carry a multimeter. Handy to check your batteries state of charge!

Cheers
Kev..

Sent from my iPhone using two tin cans and a length of twine

[BobD]

Peter,

It sounds like you are getting a Kimberley product with the Lithium batteries and large solar capacity. I thought they used a DC - DC charger, in which case you don't need 14V from the car.

+1 for the multimeter. I always carry one with me on any trip I do.

Bob

[bbyer]

I am not so certain that you will have 14.0 VDC at your batteries. It is not the fault of the Traxide or really a fault at all. It is just that these new style electrical systems of which the 3 is an example muck about with the system voltage for emission reasons - well that is the best excuse I have.

Also generally the hotter the weather, the lower the nominal vehicle system voltage, or the colder the weather the higher, which applies to me here in the Great White North.

I also can understand that the lithium batteries requires 14.0 volts or better for charging. I am not certain that there is an easy solution either.

We will see what others have to say.

And yes, purchase a voltmeter; by the sound of your setup, solar panels and all, you are going to be a very experienced low voltage electrician within the next few months.

The forum will be looking to you for advice by the time you return.

[rufusking]

What they are asking for is the charging voltage of the host vehicle. A cheap cig lighter plug in volt meter will give you some idea of what is happening on that front. The D3/4 have quite complex charging system. When first started the charging circuit is basically off while the system works out what is needed and starts the charging sequence based on other demands on the engine. I've seen 15V with a low battery (inc aux battery) and down to 13.4 idling at the lights.

[drivesafe]

Hi Peter and I have set up quite a few Lithium systems and there is only one SAFE and sure way to charge lithium batteries in RV use.

I supply Sterling inverters, pre fitted with an RVD, to make these the safest inverters available and safest to use while driving.

The inverter then powers a Promariner 240vac battery charger to charge the lithium batteries.

I use the ProMariner ProNautic battery chargers because they are the only battery chargers that are specifically designed to charge lithium batteries.

NOTE, the Sterling chargers are the same as the ProNautic but the ProNautic have a 5 year warranty, while the Sterling only have a 2 year warranty.

These setups can be based around 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 50, or 60 amp battery chargers.

The best part about this setup is that it not only chargers your Lithiums while you are on the road, but when you have mains power available, you already have a Lithium battery charger.

When camping, your will also have a decent inverter and battery power supply to power any size inverter you want.

This all makes for a genuine multi purpose setup and if you are starting from scratch, it then does not work out all that dear.

[unseenone]

Seeing as it was mentioned, what is the best way or ways to add a solar charging system to keep the batteries topped up?

What systems have you seen that you recommend, for just keeping up the vehicle batteries with a Traxide installed?

I think 500watts is overkill for just the vehicle batteries, but great for the carovan.

Can you feed solar to charge from an Anderson plug in the rear vehicle?

Can / should you feed solar to the 2nd battery or the primary battery?

How should you address the different charging requirements between Lead Acid and AGM Batteries?

[drivesafe]

Hi unseenone, with one of my kits with the Anderson plug at the rear, while connected to a caravan with solar or a battery charger connected to the house batteries in the caravan, you will also charge the batteries in the tow vehicle.

You can use up to 20 watts of unregulated solar or unlimited regulated solar, connected to the rear Anderson and you will charge all the batteries in the tow vehicle.

You can also plug a battery charger into the rear anderson plug and charge and/or maintain all the batteries in the tow vehicle.

When using either solar or a battery charger, set the solar regulator or battery charger is set on the AGM setting and you will have no problems charging any battery in the vehicle.

BTW, the rear Anderson plug can be used to power high current devices like inverters or air compressors or even a small boat winch.

[BobD]

Tim,

Do you mean 20 amps or 200W for the solar charger? You said 20W, which is very low.

Bob

[drivesafe]

Hi Bob and I should have put more details in my last reply.

If you just want to maintain the batteries in a vehicle that is only used periodically, the you can plug a UNREGULATED solar panel, up to 20 watt, and it will S-L-O-W-L-Y charge and then maintain your two batteries in the vehicle.

If you want to charge the batteries using solar panels instead of a battery charger, then you can use any size solar panel array, but it must have a solar regulator between the panels and the Anderson plug at the rear of the tow vehicle.

Hope this is a little clearer.