Let there be power: Dual-battery setup? Other options?

[cr117]

I'm in the same boat, but I jumped in. If you see Dakota Lithium site for their starter batteries DL+... the Bronco is on the picture. I messaged them and they didn't really have a good reply on hurting the battery and the vehicle having a 240a alternator.

I install the Genesis Dual Battery setup and 2x DL+ 135a batteries. I installed the G-Screen and the alternator sensor wire that turns the unit on after 30 seconds versus a few minutes. Because the DL+ batteries seem to be wired backwards from some other batteries, I had to rewire the leads coming off the Genesis system to be a little longer and one coming out of a different area.

I was hoping that it would the sensor wire would reduce the risk by not overloading the primary battery. It's working as expected so far. I'll post some pictures soonish, self conscious able the wiring (1/0 and 2 awg) are stiff to work with.

Yikes. How much did that set you back? Any concerns about running LiFePO4 under the hood with all that heat and in a system that was designed to charge and run on an AGM? I'd be paranoid about the BMS shutting off if temps got too high and losing all power while driving.

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[bionicbigfoot]

The alternator is rated for 240A, that’s not what it’s producing all the time. Get any 12V battery and a DC/DC charger to regulate the current flow and you’ll have zero issues.

Sorry, I am a true novice and I want to make sure I understand. I am considering replacing the stock battery with a Dakota DL+ 135ah, so are you suggesting I need to wire a DC/DC charger in just to regulate the 240A or is your suggestion only for a 2 battery setup?

 

[cr117]

Sorry, I am true novice and I want to make sure I understand. I am considering replacing the stock battery with a Dakota DL+ 135ah, so are you suggesting I need to wire a DC/DC charger in just to regulate the 240A or is your suggestion only for a 2 battery setup?

Sorry, I thought this was for the 2nd battery in a dual battery setup.

Their specs do say they’re rated for 150A alternators. You’d need to run two of these in parallel to be able to handle the max output of the alternator. There may be other factors worth considering as well when switching the starter battery from AGM to LFP (charging profile, durability with engine heat, potential BMS cutoff issues).

 

[bionicbigfoot]

Sorry, I thought this was for the 2nd battery in a dual battery setup.

Their specs do say they’re rated for 150A alternators. You’d need to run two of these in parallel to be able to handle the max output of the alternator. There may be other factors worth considering as well when switching the starter battery from AGM to LFP (charging profile, durability with engine heat, potential BMS cutoff issues).

Thank you. I will keep researching. I was looking for a simple way to have more available power without modifying too much. But maybe adding it as a second battery is a good idea despite the hassle. One good thing is I have Auto Start/Stop off so the starter battery gets used a million times less frequently than stock...

 

[cyrus104]

I am running a dual battery Genesis system with dual DL+ 135ah and have issues.

The stock smart alternator go from 13v to high 14v. Also the alternator jumps up to 15v which forces both batteries bum to shutdown. The Bronco thinks there is no battery and shuts down the a/c and radio. I have had to shut down the Bronco for a handful of minutes for the before it works again.

As a possible solution, have 2 odessey batteries I can change to.

The current plan is I bought a custom alternator that isn’t smart from Apex. They confirmed the amps output is good and they confirm the output voltage will only be 14.1 to 14.7v but the regulator won’t let it hit 15v.

Will let you know.

 

[cr117]

I am running a dual battery Genesis system with dual DL+ 135ah and have issues.

The stock smart alternator go from 13v to high 14v. Also the alternator jumps up to 15v which forces both batteries bum to shutdown. The Bronco thinks there is no battery and shuts down the a/c and radio. I have had to shut down the Bronco for a handful of minutes for the before it works again.

As a possible solution, have 2 odessey batteries I can change to.

The current plan is I bought a custom alternator that isn’t smart from Apex. They confirmed the amps output is good and they confirm the output voltage will only be 14.1 to 14.7v but the regulator won’t let it hit 15v.

Will let you know.

I was hoping to hear back some results from testing out your setup. Sorry to hear it's not going well.

Are you sure it's the voltage and not too high of an amperage that's shutting down the starter battery? The 135Ah DL+'s BMS has a cutoff at 150A, but the Bronco's alternator can go up and over 200A. If you're looking at replacing the alternator, that'd be the number I'd be concerned about.

This is the reason I don't think Lithium batteries are ready to replace starter batteries in vehicles. They're great for long term usage, but are not built to handle the needs and dependability of a starter battery. The only way I see this working is if you hard-wired them both to be in parallel full time. This will divide the amps between the two batteries so they can handle the output from the alternator. Of course, then you'd lose the low voltage isolation the Genesis system provides.

 

[cyrus104]

I have the Genesis g screen so I can see the instantaneous voltage plus the DL+ batteries have built in Bluetooth that gives all the stats. Including overage alerts.

I’ve been in close contact with DL and Genesis. The Genesis has an extra cable to enable the linking within 30 seconds.

The lithium battery voltage never drops so it actually stays linked.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

This is my current setup. I could swap the Delta2 to the Delta2 MAX for a much larger bucket of power reserve, but that would take up considerably more space/weight. Previously I was using the 200W AC adapter that came with the Glacier to pump 200w into the solar charge port on an Anker 757, that actually was getting the job done very well, but god was that battery heavy and the ports being on the long side made them hard to reach when mounted.

800 watts of charging from the Ecoflow Smart Alternator is not yet implemented, but its on hand and its going to be pretty awesome. Literally I can bring all batteries back from zero to full capacity in about 75-90m of driving. The solar panel can be deployed at camp to absorb some load. I don't have a lot of draw on this system though, even at this capacity, its complete overkill.

the only thing I wish I had here though, was a patch panel of sorts with anderson connectors in the cargo area, for plugging other various things in

 

[cr117]

the only thing I wish I had here though, was a patch panel of sorts with anderson connectors in the cargo area, for plugging other various things in

Funny you mention this, I have an idea in my head for this exact thing that I haven't had time to fully mock up.

 

[BNBad]

I installed a second LiFo (36ah) battery in a custom box over the rear axle. I understand the risk of this location, but it works for me. I created a separate isolated power system using a DC/DC converter from Victron. The system is protected with fuses and circuit breaker. The one thing you need to watch out for is the smart alternator. Using the Victron solves that issue. Additional leads allow me me power multiple 12v items including a built in cooler. I do also have a solar panel that ties in with everything to charge the LiFo if I am not starting the Bronco for some time. Very happy with the setup as it has been installed for over a year.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

I installed a second LiFo (36ah) battery in a custom box over the rear axle. I understand the risk of this location, but it works for me. I created a separate isolated power system using a DC/DC converter from Victron. The system is protected with fuses and circuit breaker. The one thing you need to watch out for is the smart alternator. Using the Victron solves that issue. Additional leads allow me me power multiple 12v items including a built in cooler. I do also have a solar panel that ties in with everything to charge the LiFo if I am not starting the Bronco for some time. Very happy with the setup as it has been installed for over a year.

well done! how are you distributing the power? can you post a photo? I was quite enthusiastic about AAL's battery solution under their load floor, but the tolerances looked extremely tight to me and even some folks i know who run it say the wiring is too close to the metal floor and can sometimes shock you

part of my setup above is that my bronco is a daily driver, everything needs to be removable to minimize weight when I'm NOT camping

 

[cyrus104]

I would have done the AAL solution but I installed the DV8 box and an Arb twin compressor in it, wired the power up front and the switch to an uplifter. Might only get 2 lithium’s in the other side but not sure.

 

[vrtical]

This is my current setup. I could swap the Delta2 to the Delta2 MAX for a much larger bucket of power reserve, but that would take up considerably more space/weight. Previously I was using the 200W AC adapter that came with the Glacier to pump 200w into the solar charge port on an Anker 757, that actually was getting the job done very well, but god was that battery heavy and the ports being on the long side made them hard to reach when mounted.

800 watts of charging from the Ecoflow Smart Alternator is not yet implemented, but its on hand and its going to be pretty awesome. Literally I can bring all batteries back from zero to full capacity in about 75-90m of driving. The solar panel can be deployed at camp to absorb some load. I don't have a lot of draw on this system though, even at this capacity, its complete overkill.

the only thing I wish I had here though, was a patch panel of sorts with anderson connectors in the cargo area, for plugging other various things in

I didnt even know about the EcoFlow Smart charger, that simplifies a boat load on the dc/dc issue using a Delta 2. I was just literally building out a panel plan yesterday.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

I didnt even know about the EcoFlow Smart charger, that simplifies a boat load on the dc/dc issue using a Delta 2. I was just literally building out a panel plan yesterday.

Casey 250 did a nice review:

I like that it protects the starter battery and the alternator from draw until the starter battery is above a certain voltage. It takes what available. The ability to reverse the flow or act as a trickle charger is kind of wild to me. Clearly more expensive than a dumber DC to DC setup, but not nearly as expensive as implementing like a RedArc.

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