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Java's F450 RV

Java230 said:
That is definitely an option. But it keeps my beer cold down there too :lmao:

I jut ordered 4 silicone pads and a controller..... Need to fins some alu plate!


And maybe think about a grill and fan...... it is also packed full of stuff down there, so airflow would still suck. Also, generally the truck is ~65 ish at most, so I bet it wouldn't get more than 60 down there, and the batteries would be less than ambient I would think.
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you could always baffle the batteries off and run a duct. insulate just the space around them.

a battery at 60 degrees is a lot better than a battery at 0 degrees.
 
87manche said:
you could always baffle the batteries off and run a duct. insulate just the space around them.

a battery at 60 degrees is a lot better than a battery at 0 degrees.
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That's the thing is they are not that cold.... my IR temp gun says the case's are ~50 degrees. I am sure the ones by the wall are a little less, but definitely not zero. Accroding to the VRM logs they were 53.6 when I was trying to start....
 
Java230 said:
That's the thing is they are not that cold.... my IR temp gun says the case's are ~50 degrees. I am sure the ones by the wall are a little less, but definitely not zero. According to the VRM logs they were 53.6 when I was trying to start....
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That bank even at 12.1 volts should have started the diesel unless you have some really long cable runs of too small of wire or poor grounds.
I wonder if you have a bad cell in one of the batteries?

How long did it take to get to 12.1volts? How many amps discharged at that time on the BMV?
 
Java230 said:
That is definitely an option. But it keeps my beer cold down there too :lmao:

I jut ordered 4 silicone pads and a controller..... Need to fins some alu plate!


And maybe think about a grill and fan...... it is also packed full of stuff down there, so airflow would still suck. Also, generally the truck is ~65 ish at most, so I bet it wouldn't get more than 60 down there, and the batteries would be less than ambient I would think.
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I don't think we want you to heat the entire area just that if the batteries themselves are not isolated from the compartment the heating pads will not be able to deliver the heat to to the batteries alone, they will give off heat to the surrounding air.
 
CarterKraft said:
That bank even at 12.1 volts should have started the diesel unless you have some really long cable runs of too small of wire or poor grounds.
I wonder if you have a bad cell in one of the batteries?

How long did it take to get to 12.1volts? How many amps discharged at that time on the BMV?
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Its 00 wire, 20' ish run to the front. Grounded to the frame 2' from the batteries.

I reset the BMV to 250AH bank, it was showing 80.5%, so I drew ~50AH out. Which is about what I average for a night.

The only I thought of, is perhaps that after starting the truck and driving back to camp site, the voltage spiked and reset it to "full". But two nights would have been 100-120ah according to my past usage.

No idea on bad cell. Possible?
 
CarterKraft said:
I don't think we want you to heat the entire area just that if the batteries themselves are not isolated from the compartment the heating pads will not be able to deliver the heat to to the batteries alone, they will give off heat to the surrounding air.
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Yes, the batteries are not isolated for the area. I was thinking alu plate with two pads against the exterior wall, and I can do one down the middle or on the inside/compartment side of the batteries. Temp sensor in the middle of all 4.

My main concern is more making the outsides hot but the heat not translating through?
 
Java230 said:
The only I thought of, is perhaps that after starting the truck and driving back to camp site, the voltage spiked and reset it to "full". But two nights would have been 100-120ah according to my past usage.
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That's not how shunts monitor. They monitor how many amps are shuffled into/out of the monitored circuit(s) to guess what your state of charge is. The LiFePO4 array in my cruiser has a shunt state of charge display that will read whatever is in there once set up (verified by my BMS's bluetooth monitoring). You'll see it charge when the truck is running, but if it is started then immediately shut off, the state of charge won't change.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
That's not how shunts monitor. They monitor how many amps are shuffled into/out of the monitored circuit(s) to guess what your state of charge is. The LiFePO4 array in my cruiser has a shunt state of charge display that will read whatever is in there once set up (verified by my BMS's bluetooth monitoring). You'll see it charge when the truck is running, but if it is started then immediately shut off, the state of charge won't change.
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Yes but this one does funky stuff like that.

See? 80% to 100% in 2 min?? Fishy.... I set the full voltage at 13.6 IIRC....

Capture.JPG
 
Java230 said:
Yes but this one does funky stuff like that.

See? 80% to 100% in 2 min?? Fishy.... I set the full voltage at 13.6 IIRC....

Click to expand...

That's the reading from your BMV-700 shunt? That's not supposed to read like that, because obviously you didn't instantly charge your batteries from 80% to 100%, unless you're charging at like 100a and you have a tiny capacity, neither of which you're doing. This event would make your BMV-700 State of Charge readings completely and utterly useless.

I'm assuming it's still wired like this, with the big yellow lead coming from battery array negative (nothing else connected to batteries), little black wire going to whatever loads you have and chassis ground, then the little red wire from the battery array positive going to the BMV shunt. Verify that it is, and if so, should be correct:
https://irate4x4.com/tow-rigs-and-tr...age2#post76180

Reset the settings to default and reconfigure the BMV-700. Your charging voltage is different from full resting voltage, so maybe that's where the mixup is? In their install video, they don't monkey with charging voltage setting, so I would leave that alone. Just configure the AH capacity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlj...=VictronEnergy
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
That's the reading from your BMV-700 shunt? That's not supposed to read like that, because obviously you didn't instantly charge your batteries from 80% to 100%, unless you're charging at like 100a and you have a tiny capacity, neither of which you're doing. This event would make your BMV-700 State of Charge readings completely and utterly useless.

I'm assuming it's still wired like this, with the big yellow lead coming from battery array negative (nothing else connected to batteries), little black wire going to whatever loads you have and chassis ground, then the little red wire from the battery array positive going to the BMV shunt. Verify that it is, and if so, should be correct:
https://irate4x4.com/tow-rigs-and-tr...age2#post76180

Reset the settings to default and reconfigure the BMV-700. Your charging voltage is different from full resting voltage, so maybe that's where the mixup is? In their install video, they don't monkey with charging voltage setting, so I would leave that alone. Just configure the AH capacity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlj...=VictronEnergy
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That is the log of SOC from the shunt.

I will reset to factory.....

And connections are like this. I am 99% sure that is the BMV + at the top.

51047225901_eff8f226de_b.jpg
 
That SOC is bogus as you know. Until you get that figured out just ignore the SOC reading and run off of resting 1X.XX battery voltage and amp loads.

I have read some tails of the victron equipment being hungry in idle draw and with zero solar you might have more parasitic draw than you realize.

Do you have the smart solar connected to the bank even with full snow coverage?
 
CarterKraft said:
That SOC is bogus as you know. Until you get that figured out just ignore the SOC reading and run off of resting 1X.XX battery voltage and amp loads.

I have read some tails of the victron equipment being hungry in idle draw and with zero solar you might have more parasitic draw than you realize.

Do you have the smart solar connected to the bank even with full snow coverage?
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Yes solar always connected.

Whith everything off, shunt shows 0 amps?
 
The multi-plus and the smart solar show a combined draw around 1 amp of idle, do you see that?
 
Ok that's good,
Did you adjust the temp compensation settings so you are starting with the correct "fully charged" battery.
I can't remember the exact voltages we came up with, that might have been on the other site.

edit: And another thought if you are starting at your house with a different temp then driving somewhere much colder and the battery bank temp drops will you then be "undercharged" based on starting voltage?


Lifeline-charging-voltage.png
 
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I set my shunt's max charge by having the batteries at ~75-80* nominal, and charging them with an external charger for about a day, to make sure they are topped up. Measure resting voltage (not connected to anything) and verify that they are at the expected voltage for 100% SOC per your battery chemistry and/or MFG's numbers. Then, hook up the shunt, and calibrate the shunt to 100% with your specific AH capacity.

As long as the solar controller is wired through the load side of the shunt's ground, that shouldn't be a factor. Is the shunt connected to chassis ground so that it can monitor alternator current?
 
CarterKraft said:
Ok that's good,
Did you adjust the temp compensation settings so you are starting with the correct "fully charged" battery.
I can't remember the exact voltages we came up with, that might have been on the other site.

edit: And another thought if you are starting at your house with a different temp then driving somewhere much colder and the battery bank temp drops will you then be "undercharged" based on starting voltage?


Lifeline-charging-voltage.png
Click to expand...

That's possible. But the floor gets reasonably warm when driving. But it could be.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
I set my shunt's max charge by having the batteries at ~75-80* nominal, and charging them with an external charger for about a day, to make sure they are topped up. Measure resting voltage (not connected to anything) and verify that they are at the expected voltage for 100% SOC per your battery chemistry and/or MFG's numbers. Then, hook up the shunt, and calibrate the shunt to 100% with your specific AH capacity.

As long as the solar controller is wired through the load side of the shunt's ground, that shouldn't be a factor. Is the shunt connected to chassis ground so that it can monitor alternator current?
Click to expand...

Yes shunt sees incoming current from alt.

I have had it on the charger for days, reset shunt to 100% then.

Talking to tech from Full river, they want me to disconnect them all, and take voltage reading, then again after resting for 4+ hours.... That's gonna suck.
 
Java230 said:
Yes shunt sees incoming current from alt.

I have had it on the charger for days, reset shunt to 100% then.

Talking to tech from Full river, they want me to disconnect them all, and take voltage reading, then again after resting for 4+ hours.... That's gonna suck.
Click to expand...

Full river sold you the batteries? Yeah, they need to do that to isolate all other problems, like parasitic draw.

Don't just reset the shunt to 100%, factory reset it, then set your AH, and 100% after you've had it on charger, and measured disconnected (from ground at least) resting voltage to confirm you are *actually* at 100% SOC.

While it might suck, this is really the only way to figure out the problem you're saying "has to be fixed"!! Gotta have good data before we can figure out what's broken.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Full river sold you the batteries? Yeah, they need to do that to isolate all other problems, like parasitic draw.

Don't just reset the shunt to 100%, factory reset it, then set your AH, and 100% after you've had it on charger, and measured disconnected (from ground at least) resting voltage to confirm you are *actually* at 100% SOC.

While it might suck, this is really the only way to figure out the problem you're saying "has to be fixed"!! Gotta have good data before we can figure out what's broken.
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Yeah for sure, I just stuffed them tightly in a corner :mad3: even hooking them up is a little sketch, I wrap the wrench and my ring in elec tape
 
If it makes you feel better, my batteries are buried in my truck too, lol. I dread the day I have to get to them, half the truck interior will have to come apart.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
If it makes you feel better, my batteries are buried in my truck too, lol. I dread the day I have to get to them, half the truck interior will have to come apart.
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More or less a fact of life on these things..... But I am leaning more and more to a bad cell.... I just cant imagine them dropping so fast. Even the 10 year old ones were a bit better IIRC
 
Another data point.... 41 degrees outside. Didn't use the truck much, lights etc, 8 am draw and it drops below 12v. Resting its sitting at 12.5.
 
Well I got under there to pull them apart and get voltages of the cells.

And I think I'm an idiot :rolleyes:

20210321_184445.jpg
 
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