Alternator

[BBLux]

Is it better to mount the redarc unit closer to the alternator or to the auxillary battery?

Hi Fitchy, not sure on your other questions but as far as the placement of the DC-DC charger goes, as far as I am aware you are best to put it closer to the auxilary battery if its at the back. Having the battery in the tub or in a trailer, the charger is designed to make up for the voltage drop over the wire run from the engine bay to the back. How much loss will depend on wire size.

In saying that, I have my CTEK in the engine bay and have a distribution box behind the rear seat (Dual Cab) using 4Ga wire for the run. A few meters of cable and the distribution box reads the same voltage as a multimeter over the battery... so to the tub, probably doesnt make to much difference. If going through anderson plugs into a trailer it may make more of a difference...

[gregrobo]

question boys is the charge output on the alternator ecm controlled if so if the output is low 12.2 volts can the ecm be re calibrated ?

[VMN]

question boys is the charge output on the alternator ecm controlled if so if the output is low 12.2 volts can the ecm be re calibrated ?

I am not sure if the ECU is wired to the regulator so it can control it or not, but it certainly monitors the system voltage so I guess it does that for a reason so it probably does control the voltage.

[bansheebuzz]

The charge rate is not ecu controlled. It does have a monitor to the the ecu. If you wish to phone me about your problem the it would be easier. Number in signature

[stevehastings]

Hi, can this be fitted under the bonnet ??
The Redarc Smart Start® BCDC1220 DC/DC 12V 20A
or do they have to be inside the cab, was thinking of buying one looks like it would do the trick.

[bansheebuzz]

Fine to install under the bonnet mine is on top of the fuse box

[tasibrett]

I see Derik at ABR is selling a fuse replacement that is meant to give a 0.3 to 0.5 volt increase alternator output.
Any one tried one ?

http://www.sidewinder.com.au/page226.html

[Putsy]

I see Derik at ABR is selling a fuse replacement that is meant to give a 0.3 to 0.5 volt increase alternator output.
Any one tried one ?

http://www.sidewinder.com.au/page226.html

It looks very intrestring...... has anyone tried one or should I vote myself in as a gunnie pig?

[stevehastings]

Hey olcoolone,

I purchased a redarc BCDC 1220 after the advice on this thread. Where have you been installing these units in the Hilux? Would prefer under the hood where i can get easy access to see charge state ect, but just a bit concerned about the heat under the bonet. Just don't want the output to derate.

From your experiance how does it cope with the heat and does anybody know what temperture we could see under the hodd of a D4D under normal conditions?

Cheers

I too was worried about it derated the output if it was installed under the hood. Ended up installing mine inside the cabin on the firewall up behind the glovebox . Can see where in this pic (glovebox removed in pic).



Did a week at fraser island with the fridge and stereo running most of the time, and had no dramas at all, am really happy with the Redarc.

Hi, I have pulled out the ash-tray (hilux) and the top part of the ash-tray bhind the dash, and the redarc BCDC 1220 fits in there great, was worried about the heat thing aswell, but now you can see what its up to with-out getting out of the cab. Thanks Steve

[stevehastings]

All done, man took a while to pull out everything oout and put in the 2end battery tray, I will say that ARB does the best dual battery tray, they thought of everything with that.

[arboristireland]

Would like to know what type of battery isolator to use in a 2008 hilux. I have bought a 'sure power' isolator but it says i need an excitation terminal(or something like that!) and that it is an internally regulated denso alternator. Does anyone know if this is the case or can I use the regular isolator with three poles,
Any thoughts?
Regards
Eoin

[goldilux]

gday, depends if your lux is a petrol or diesel. the alternator in the diesel moderates the charge according to temperature. at least that's what i was told today at the 4b4 shop. on hot days or long runs, the alternator drops the charge and therefore charges the aux battery to around 85%. I was all set to spend my hard saved pennies on the redarc isolator (~$140 online) then got the word that the battery life may be affected due to the way the D4D alternator charges. may be no big deal but the bcdc2220 allows me to run two different battery types and gain full charge on the main and aux. it's not geared up for linking but it can be done through add-ons. at the price u would think it would. will keep saving the pennies as the bcdc is ~$480 delivered, online. the 4b4 shop wants $575. what's the deal? age old lament - want to buy local but it doesn't pay. anyone for a group buy???

I know there are plenty of D4D's running the SmartStart. any drama's with battery charge or life? I'm looking to run a few accessories in the cabin, power in the back for the fridge and lights and an inverter for charging gadgets.

stevehastings - just picked up the battery tray from arb. got charged the price for the kit with wiring and find there's no kit....bad day, can't go to the shed and play, Did you bother with the wiring kit as the bcdc2220 will do the job won't it?

ado

[Craigie]

Hi all, I have a 2008 SR and fitted a Redarc BCDC 1220 on the weekend. Well I'm rapt, I tested the current going in to the auxiliary last week and was if your lucky 0.5 amps. The multimeter I hooked in to the circuit after installation maxed out at greater than 10 amps after less than a second. Now I believe I'm charging the auxiliary battery properly.

Well worth the cash spent.

Craig

[VMN]

Hi all, I have a 2008 SR and fitted a Redarc BCDC 1220 on the weekend. Well I'm rapt, I tested the current going in to the auxiliary last week and was if your lucky 0.5 amps. The multimeter I hooked in to the circuit after installation maxed out at greater than 10 amps after less than a second. Now I believe I'm charging the auxiliary battery properly.

Well worth the cash spent.

Craig

Interesting. I've still been putting off fitting a DC-DC charger but guess I should now I have 3 Aux batteries with the Caravan hooked up.

[darc]

Hi all just been following this thread and need some info if anyone can help I am running 6 100 watt spotties on my 2010 v6 and am now wondering if I will have problems with my alternator ? The rest of my car is stock at this stage/ single battery. How many amps does it take to run my car without additional lights?

[VMN]

All you got to do is divide watts by 12 (volts) to get amps
eg. 6 x 100=600 watts
600 / 12 = 50 amps

So add your headlights at say 55 watts each is another 9.2 amps so you are up around 60 amps with the lights on.

I think the factory alternator outputs 100 amps so you should be OK but if it is only 70 amps, you are probably overdoing it as you'd want to allow about 20 amps to just run the car. Any shortfall will be delivered by the battery.... It might be handy to fit an ammeter. If it goes negative, you are flattening the battery.

[darc]

Thanks for the help much appreciated

[bansheebuzz]

You will be overdoing it. I did some testing when I had 6 spotlights on. 1 pair had 100w globes and the top 4 had 55w globes. With the vehicle running ac on and high beam on the alternator was producing 80 amps to run everything. If I had of turned on the wipers and rear window demistor it would be at approx 100 amps.

[goldilux]

gday, looking for an ignition source close to the battery. anyone help with wire colour and location?

cheers adrian

[2007Lux]

A word on the Redarc BCDC1220 install I recently did

I removed main battery and fixed it to the side of engine bay with screws and then put the battery back in. Yep you've gotta drill holes in your beloved to do this.

I also installed a continuous duty solenoid in order to join the two batteries with a momentary rock switch if the main dies. Redarc have a wiring diagram for the install and can also be contacted over the phone for advice. It is a fair bit of work and you have to get some thick cables made up unless you can do that yourself. For the effort you could instead just buy good jumper leads but I was looking for a challenge

The link below shows you how to do this.
http://redarc.com.au/handy-hints/wiring ... tery-setup

I did a bit of research for my needs (ARB 47ltr fridge for 3 day camping trips) and I came up with the following set up:

-ARB tray. It has bolt holes exactly where you need them, including for the extra solenoid
-Redarc BCDC1220
-Bosch 95A deep cycle maintenance free Ca battery
-40A resettable breaker distributed by ABR for the aux power going to the tray

I choose Redarc over Ctek dual because:
-The battery I chose requires a 14.7v to gain a 100% SOC but the cteck only goes to 14.4V
-The Cteck reduces its output above 26 degrees (I think this is the correct temp) but the redarc keeps going up to much higher temps
-The Ctek is splash proof but the Redarc is sealed
-The Redarc is Australian made and has good over the phone service
-I don't require solar input and if I do in the future it will be when the car is stationary so I will just hook it directly to the battery.

Also Redarc recommend the BDCDC1220 instead of the SBI12 for the D4D engine because of the alternator it runs.