Bronco Off Grid Power Setup with Bluetti Charger 2 (w/ Bidirectional Charging)

[dejones64]

Couple questions please:
1) For those with 7mt, how did you run the cables from the battery through the firewall? The 7mt doesn't have that extra grommet like the auto's. Or do I dare drill a hole through the firewall?

2) Has anyone needed an extension for that battery cable to the Charger 2?

I have the Charger 2 and an AC180. NOCO jump starter also.
Thanks.

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[Q1svt]

Couple questions please:
1) For those with 7mt, how did you run the cables from the battery through the firewall? The 7mt doesn't have that extra grommet like the auto's.

… I have a Jackery and their dc-dc charger… and mt88

I am looking to follow the driver side frame rail to the rear. There is a wiring bundle already. Just follow that.

Then up under the plastic cover. If needed a marine through hull.
Here is picture of a round one but there are rectangular one too.

 

[redone17]

Couple questions please:
1) For those with 7mt, how did you run the cables from the battery through the firewall? The 7mt doesn't have that extra grommet like the auto's. Or do I dare drill a hole through the firewall?

2) Has anyone needed an extension for that battery cable to the Charger 2?

I have the Charger 2 and an AC180. NOCO jump starter also.
Thanks.

I’ll try and find the official ford document - but there are two larger grommets on either side of the firewall that are designed to have aftermarket wiring sent through them. They are large, round and have a nipple in the top portion designated for this exact purpose. Just be very careful when puncturing holes. I barely nicked a wire on the driver side that caused all sorts of issues. Finally after a few days they narrowed it down to the fuel gauge sensor wire in the main loom. What a headache. I was wiring an amp and GMRS.

As for this, I’d suggest using the passenger side (you need to detach the coolant tank from the fender wall to access it). Then you can easily snake the wire along the wire loom that’s in the door trim to the rear cargo. I popped it out behind the rear seats and didn’t even have to touch the cargo panels.

I did all of this for the ARB 12v socket in my 2021. I plan on doing it this way for my Charger 2.

 

[dejones64]

I’ll try and find the official ford document - but there are two larger grommets on either side of the firewall that are designed to have aftermarket wiring sent through them. They are large, round and have a nipple in the top portion designated for this exact purpose. Just be very careful when puncturing holes. I barely nicked a wire on the driver side that caused all sorts of issues. Finally after a few days they narrowed it down to the fuel gauge sensor wire in the main loom. What a headache. I was wiring an amp and GMRS.

As for this, I’d suggest using the passenger side (you need to detach the coolant tank from the fender wall to access it). Then you can easily snake the wire along the wire loom that’s in the door trim to the rear cargo. I popped it out behind the rear seats and didn’t even have to touch the cargo panels.

I did all of this for the ARB 12v socket in my 2021. I plan on doing it this way for my Charger 2.

Thanks so much. I did find those two large grommets on either side. That is my biggest fear, nicking the wire bundle.

I see you have a 4dr. The charger 2 battery cables reached to your rear cargo area? I do some rough measuring and seems the 16' cable barely reaches in my 2dr.

 

[dejones64]

Has anyone needed to add extensions onto the Charger 2 battery cables? At 16' it's about 1-2 feet shorter than I'd like. Would there be any issues if I added on about 2 feet of extension (6AWG)? Would hate to start a fire or melt something.

 

[Bird Dog Off Road]

I have Charger 1 mounted under dash on Mountains 2 Metal clutch mount plate and flip the provided breaker between trips as recommended by Bluetti.
Clutch mount:
https://mountains2metal.com/under-dash-clutch-mount-for-amp-radio-bronco-6g-2021/

I thought there was low voltage protection built into them. Do they not work? Does it have anything to do with where the negative is grounded? About to install the Charger 1 as I thought the charger 2 would be overkill for my setup.

 

[dejones64]

Has anyone used the D+ signal cable with the charger 2? Which fuse did you tap into under the dash fuse box? Thanks

 

[Demon4x4]

Interested to know about booking up the D+ cable as well.

I just swapped out my EcoFlow Alternator Charger and Bluetti Charger 1 for the Charger 2. Also running 200 watts of solar on the roof, and various batteries (Bluetti Elite 300 v2, Bluetti AC 70, two Evoflow Delta 2s). Main thing I had been keeping the EcoFlow charger in for was a Wave 2 battery, but I figure I’ll just recharge it through the Elite 300. I also keep a NOCO jump starter pack for n the cargo cubby.

 

[Demon4x4]

Thanks so much. I did find those two large grommets on either side. That is my biggest fear, nicking the wire bundle.

I see you have a 4dr. The charger 2 battery cables reached to your rear cargo area? I do some rough measuring and seems the 16' cable barely reaches in my 2dr.

I have the charger 2 mounted on a molle panel on the driver’s side in my 4 door. The cable is plenty long enough.

 

[dejones64]

I have the charger 2 mounted on a Mille panel on the driver’s side in my 4 door. The cable is plenty long enough.

I decided to go to my passenger side because that's where I have my fridge and battery mounted. I want to do a passenger side molle in the window for the charger 2 but the cable is about a foot short. Thanks.

 

[dejones64]

Interested to know about booking up the D+ cable as well.

I just swapped out my EcoFlow Alternator Charger and Bluetti Charger 1 for the Charger 2. Also running 200 watts of solar on the roof, and various batteries (Bluetti Elite 300 v2, Bluetti AC 70, two Evoflow Delta 2s). Main thing I had been keeping the EcoFlow charger in for was a Wave 2 battery, but I figure I’ll just recharge it through the Elite 300. I also keep a NOCO jump starter pack for n the cargo cubby.

What I understand, the D+ cable should be hooked up to a switched (ignition on) fuse under the driver dash (using a multimeter to find a fuse). I'll be using a fuse-tap, a single 18awg wire run to the top pin on the charger 2 connector. The negative pin is not needed since the charger 2 D+ port is already grounded internally, according to Bluetti support.

I'll be installing a 200 watt panel on my RTT with an AC180. I also have a NOCO.

 

[TiredOldMedic]

I’m glad I found this thread as I’ve been planning an upgrade. It’s funny how quick after you buy the latest gadget a better one comes out. At the time I bought my Bluetti EB70S it was highly recommended. So last fall I went to the overland expo in Arrington Virginia and camped off grid for the first time. Before the trip I purchased the Dometic PLB40 (40 amp hour lithium battery) to power my Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. The EB70S was to use inside my tent to charge cell phone and power my travel cpap machine. At home during testing I could get 3 nights but with the cool fall Virginia nights it was dead after one night. I have no solar yet. Thank god for backup I brought an ALP propane generator and a 20 pound tank and I used that to charge the Bluetti. Another issue is I left the tailgate open several hours while hanging out with friends and it drained my Bronco battery and I had to jump it. So I was considering getting the cascadia 4x4 hood solar panel to keep my starter battery charged and then go with the Elite 100v2 with the charger 1 or skip the solar on the hood and get the charger 2. Should I get the 200v2. I’ll attach a pic of my current setup. Also Bluetti makes a power bank specifically designed for a CPAP machine for $300 and it supposed to get you 5-7 nights so the idea would be to use that inside the tent as it’s small and lightweight and just leave the 100/200 mounted permanently on the shelf. Please chime in and give me some feedback.

 

[Demon4x4]

I’m glad I found this thread as I’ve been planning an upgrade. It’s funny how quick after you buy the latest gadget a better one comes out. At the time I bought my Bluetti EB70S it was highly recommended. So last fall I went to the overland expo in Arrington Virginia and camped off grid for the first time. Before the trip I purchased the Dometic PLB40 (40 amp hour lithium battery) to power my Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. The EB70S was to use inside my tent to charge cell phone and power my travel cpap machine. At home during testing I could get 3 nights but with the cool fall Virginia nights it was dead after one night. I have no solar yet. Thank god for backup I brought an ALP propane generator and a 20 pound tank and I used that to charge the Bluetti. Another issue is I left the tailgate open several hours while hanging out with friends and it drained my Bronco battery and I had to jump it. So I was considering getting the cascadia 4x4 hood solar panel to keep my starter battery charged and then go with the Elite 100v2 with the charger 1 or skip the solar on the hood and get the charger 2. Should I get the 200v2. I’ll attach a pic of my current setup. Also Bluetti makes a power bank specifically designed for a CPAP machine for $300 and it supposed to get you 5-7 nights so the idea would be to use that inside the tent as it’s small and lightweight and just leave the 100/200 mounted permanently on the shelf. Please chime in and give me some feedback.

I've got a Bluetti AC70, as well as an Elite 300. The AC70 has been fine for most trips, but I bring the Elite 300 instead if I think I'll need to be powering my AC (Ecoflow Wave 2).
The AC70 has been fine for multiiday trips (7 days at the Big Bends) charging only through 200W of solar panels on top of my RTT. Never even had to plug it into the Bluetti AC Charger 1 that whole trip - but that's partly because it was cool enough not to have to power up the AC unit that whole trip.
I recently switched to the Bluetti AC charger, which allows you to run solar into it as well, so no more switching cables. You could run your cascadia hood solar directly to the Bluetti Ac Charger 2, if you desired. I currently just use the Cascadia panels as a vehicle battery 'maintainer' and use 200W of rigid solar panels for the Bluetti charging system.

 

[RustysBronco]

I’m glad I found this thread as I’ve been planning an upgrade. It’s funny how quick after you buy the latest gadget a better one comes out. At the time I bought my Bluetti EB70S it was highly recommended. So last fall I went to the overland expo in Arrington Virginia and camped off grid for the first time. Before the trip I purchased the Dometic PLB40 (40 amp hour lithium battery) to power my Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. The EB70S was to use inside my tent to charge cell phone and power my travel cpap machine. At home during testing I could get 3 nights but with the cool fall Virginia nights it was dead after one night. I have no solar yet. Thank god for backup I brought an ALP propane generator and a 20 pound tank and I used that to charge the Bluetti. Another issue is I left the tailgate open several hours while hanging out with friends and it drained my Bronco battery and I had to jump it. So I was considering getting the cascadia 4x4 hood solar panel to keep my starter battery charged and then go with the Elite 100v2 with the charger 1 or skip the solar on the hood and get the charger 2. Should I get the 200v2. I’ll attach a pic of my current setup. Also Bluetti makes a power bank specifically designed for a CPAP machine for $300 and it supposed to get you 5-7 nights so the idea would be to use that inside the tent as it’s small and lightweight and just leave the 100/200 mounted permanently on the shelf. Please chime in and give me some feedback.

So I had this in full use at SCE camping Cades Cove. Only difference is I upgraded to a Bluetti Elite 100. Between that and the AC200L (plugge in with the aircraft style charger), the setup didn't skip a beat. When I parked at the show field where it was sunny during the day, I plugged my 200 watt solar panel to the Charger 2. That kept everything at 100% while the fridge was running. Other than the size of the AC200L, I don’t think I'd change anything about the setup.

 

[dejones64]

Following-up with my solar battery storage/set-up. 2-dr Black Diamond with rear seat delete, plywood platform with fridge slide on the passenger side.

Installed the side window Rough Country molle panels.
Modified (cut-up) the Turn Offroad front overhead molle panel, and made a shelf for my Bluetti AC180.

Mounted Bluetti Charger 2, AC180 on the shelf, Setpower fridge. Nothing strapped down yet, dry fit and for pics.

No pics but I mounted a Callsun 200w bifacial solar panel on top of my Aspen Lite RTT. Still need to get it all wired up.

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