Solar battery charge through the 12v socket?

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rjdelp7

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I run my mirror cam, with a Viatek Mighty Jump. It was $15 on Ebay. It basically a 12v power supply. It can be charged while driving or with home charger. 8hrs uses about 1/3 of the charge.
 

stamp11127

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Muddy the electrical system has at least two current sensors to monitor the electrical load so that the pcm/bcm can control the charging rate from the alternator. Add in an isolator and the branch for the second battery may not be monitored depending on the location the isolator is installed in the circuit. Unfortunately the sensors are not near the alternator (going off memory on that).
The days of simple basic wiring are over, its multiplex & modules now.
 

MuddySpokes

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Again, do not need to monitor the DVR's battery for SOC, just need it to absorb current like a capacitor and not pull-down the main battery. Something is telling me that the OE system is good with this and will just see it as another load :)

For the actual camera system, focusing on 12v units might prove beneficial rather than the constant loss of going back and forth to 5v (presuming the USB units use 5v).
 

MuddySpokes

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It looks like I am missing something here...

They why is it not common for the vehicle to overcharge a trailer's battery? Seems that we are talking the same setup here and I am just not finding complaints about this. So, what I am missing...
 

stamp11127

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His 2016 has a trailer tow option that includes a trailer tow module. That would change the charging compared to the earlier gens. The first gen charged up to 10a once the vehicle was in start or run. According to the wiring diagram for the first gen there is no control over the charge duration - its on when the truck is on. If there is control I haven't found it yet.

He hasn't stated if he has the tow option. If he doesn't then you have to take a different approach to charging batteries or you over charge on battery.

Semi trucks have this issue of uneven charging in their battery banks. Usually the battery farthest away from the alternator is undercharged while the battery closest is overcharged.
 
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Munkiebunz3

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Well, I do have the tow option. The test was successfully done. I knew the front 12v socket didn't have any shut-off but I wasn't sure if the rear was the same. I plugged in my controller and panel, left it for a few hours, came back to it and checked the battery voltage. My little V monitor in the front said 12.8v while the charge controller was saying it was charging at 14.7v. To me, this does not seem correct. But my battery WAS being charged so I'm happy. Now I just need to build a new floor and drawer system for the rear 40 split. 20190822_162449.jpg
 
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Munkiebunz3

Munkiebunz3

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So I did a thing again. I pulled the rear side panels and even the subwoofer looking for a nice spot for my solar charge controller. I ended up putting the controller on the floor next to the blower motor for the rear a/c. Mounted the mc4 connector, drilled a little 3/8 hole, blasted that with some spray paint, put a grommet, routed the wires, put sealer under the connector housing, pressed the housing onto the roof, gave some sealer along the edges, let it sit, then popped a little spray paint over the sealer.
Pretty decent area under the floor for me to do some work with a sliding floor. I bought a nutsert tool. I'll be having fun with it soon.

20190824_200949.jpg 20190824_185052.jpg
 

MuddySpokes

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Semi trucks have this issue of uneven charging in their battery banks. Usually the battery farthest away from the alternator is undercharged while the battery closest is overcharged.

Gotcha. I wondered if that was what you meant.

Am mot so sure that is overcharging versus a single battery out of phase with the charge profile. For overcharging, I'd expect a failure in the alternator's ability to limit voltage to 14.8 and apply higher voltages. Although, would not surprise me if some OTR drivers defeated the voltage regulation to get a faster charge which both overcharges and cooks; especially if it is a company truck where the driver does not directly pay for the repair.

Given the description, it matches an imbalanced setup which allows out of phase situations where the battery closest to the alternator is cooking off its fluid as it wants a lower charge rate, but a battery further down the line still wants a higher charge rate. Also, the comparison is not equal as in the OTR setup, we are looking at much larger capacity batteries of equal size. In the DVR setup, we are looking at a setup of the OE battery plus one a small fraction that size. Basically, it is all in the engineering.


For the DVR setup, chances of cooking are there, but inherently low. Distance from the alternator (not placing it in the engine bay, but close to wherever the DVR and battery will fit), use of an isolator, and use of nearby wiring (or a dedicated 14 - 16 gauge line) will all reduce the amount of current going into that circuit. Having a permanent load on the DVR battery will also help limit the ability to cook it as well seeing as the SOC will likely lag the alternator's output (specifically, want bulk when the alternator is in absorption, or want absorption when the alternator is in float); actually, this should help the battery life.


Do agree that a poorly engineered setup could lead to cooking the dedicated battery, although in this setup am not seeing the potential as the alternator will not see much more than the the load of the DVR system.
 
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