Dual Battery, Redarc charger, and Aux Fuse Panel Install (1 Viewer)

[mdcoa]

Just finished a dual-battery install and haven't seen a similar setup documented here, and had some requests after posting notes in "What have you done to your 100 this week", so here goes:

Parts I used:

Parts list:
Deep Cycle Battery:
VMAXMB96 AGM Group 22 Deep Cycle Battery Replacement for Interstate DCM0055 12V 60Ah Wheelchair Battery

Slee 1998-07 Land Cruiser / LX470 Second Battery Tray with Compressor Mount: Slee - Battery Related Products

Overland Equipped Auxiliary Fuse Block Bracket/SPOD Mount for 5th Generation Toyota 4Runners (2010-2018)

Redarc dual input 25A in-vehicle DC Battery charger
Dual Input 25A In-vehicle DC Battery Charger

Blue Sea 5025ST Fuse Block--this one is good for up to six circuits. If you antiipate using more, get the 12 ircuit version, which also fits on the OE bracket.

2" wide industrial velcro. It's what I use to mount the breakers, which are super light, and saves me drilling holes all over the place.

3 ea 40A in-line fuses or breakers--I used three of these: Amazon product ASIN B01HJTGH7Y I ended up using 2x 40A (from main battery to Redarc and from Redarc to 2nd battery, and then one 60A (from aux battery to aux fuse panel, even though 40A would've been better given what kind of load I anticipate putting on the fuse block. Even though Redarc advises against thermal breakers because they can trip prematurely, I like 'em because they can be reset sooo easily, and you can instantly render part of the system dead without having to disconnect terminals. Sooo easy to work on stuff.

8 AWG Wire: Amazon product ASIN B07KBDSNTF
Conduit: 50 FT 3/8” Wire Loom Split Tubing Auto Wire Conduit Flexible Cover

Terminals: Amazon.com: Install Bay Copper Ring Terminal 8 Gauge 3/8 Inch 25 Pack - CUR838: Gateway

Crimper: Amzdeal Lug Crimper Crimping Tool Battery Cable Crimper Tool Battery Terminal Crimper for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 AWG - - Amazon.com


Steel shelf bracket (I ended up not using the 90-degree feature of this, so pretty much any stout bar stock would work fine: https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-8-in-Steel-Zinc-Plated-Corner-Brace/1000510825 . If I had to do it again, I'd get pretty stout aluminum bar stock and save myself the trouble of priming/painting.

Shrink tubing, Zip Ties, 14x 1/4 washers (to push the redarc mount out far enough not to foul the radiator mounts) Several M8x1.25 bolts, etc.

OK, now all parts are on hand. First off the aux fuse panel. I was able to use an existing hole on the mount's foot, and drill an additional hole up on the ear to line up with an existing threaded hole in the fender. Only two bolts holding a mount designed to be held by four, but it's really, really solid, and not going anywhere.

1) Cut off the little unnecessary ear on your fuel filter.

2) remove the fuel filter mounting bolt and tuck the OE bracket foot under the fuel filter, then reinsert the bolt.

3) Mark the OE Mount and drill an extra hole to line up with one of the existing but unused (on an LHD truck, anyway) pre-threaded holes on the side of the engine bay. Secure using an M8-1.25 bolt.

4) Mount the aux fuse panel to the bracket using teensy screws and nuts.

Step two coming tomorrow--I'm calling it a night.

 

[Kabanstva]

That's great. I saw you posting this a few days ago on the "what did you do to your 100 this week" thread and was meaning to message you about the details!

 

[mdcoa]

Step two: Install Slee battery mount as per Slee instructions. Pretty stinking straightforward.

I used the wheelchair deep cycle AGM battery listed above, a compact 60 AH battery that won't help you get your truck started, but should provide hours and hours of low-current draw without getting damaged.

 

[mdcoa]

Step three, install Redarc charger. I emailed Redarc, and they didn't know of anyone who made a 100-series specific mount. Emailed Longranger, and they have one on the way, in prototype form, but didn't tell me when it'd hit the market, so I figured I'd just fumble my way forward.

Bought a pair of heavy-duty shelf brackets from Lowe's, thinking I'd do some kind of L-shaped bracket thing, with the bracket mounted above the radiator frame and the Redarc hanging down in front of the radiator, but quickly determined that there was no way the hood would close if I pursued that route, so started looking for existing holes I could use. Found two, one of which the horn is mounted in, and the other of which must be for some other market or engine setup, but which is perfect.

Plain old bar stock would work well here, which is essentially what my shelf bracket was once I cut the leg off and drilled it . . .

And here's the mount with the Redarc on it:

And here she is all mounted up:

 

[mdcoa]

Last step: Connect everything. I used 8 AWG wire, which is slightly larger than the Redarc manual specifies for the distances involved in the under-hood setup, but was easy to crimp to the Redarc pigtails.

Starting at the primary battery, here's the setup: Small pigtail from positive terminal to 40A Blue Sea breaker mounted with velcro to the plastic terminal cover:

Then a wire from the 40A breaker, through the grille area, joined to the Redarc red pigtail and shrink-wrapped.

Black Redarc wire got a ring terminal crimped to the end of it and got bolted to the radiator support at the top right mounting bolt.

All other Redarc pigtails (other than brown, coming next) are currently unused. No need for red (activates remote LED) or orange (activates charging profiles other than the one I need for a plain old AGM battery) or blue (used for variable output alternator setups) or yellow (used for solar power sources--perhaps will add one someday, but not today).

Brown Redarc wire is the output to the auxiliary battery--this got crimped to a wire, which got a terminal attached and ran through the right (passenger in the U.S. ) side of the radiator support (visible just under the horn in the below photo) to another 40A breaker, then back along the fender to the + terminal of the auxiliary battery.

 

[mdcoa]

Also from the positive terminal on the auxiliary battery, a short pigtail leads to yet another breaker--this one a 60A for no good reason other than it's what I had. From the negative terminal, one wire goes to chassis ground and one runs along the firewall/bulkhead with the positive wire from the breaker to the auxiliary fuse block.

Ground:

Breaker and positive and negative leads:

Positive and negative wires running across bulkhead:

And both wires terminating at the aux fuse block:

And that's it.

 

[mdcoa]

Just wanted to update this thread--I just found out that there's finally a bracket available for the 100 series. Two, actually.

One is from REDARC: BCDC Mounting Bracket to suit Toyota Landcruiser J100 and J105 Series

I'm contemplating replacing my Rube Goldberg bracket with one of these; just wrote and asked 'em how much to ship, since REDARC U.S. apparently doesn't distribute them (yet).

The other is from Slee: it mounts to the second battery tray, which is super-clean, but I wonder if it's not too hot a location for the charger. From the REDARC manual:

"If mounting in an engine bay, locate the unit away from high temperature areas for maximum performance. Choose locations such as on the inner guard, behind a headlight or behind the grille to one side of the radiator. The unit will operate optimally below 55 deg C/ 130 deg F, with good airflow. At higher temperatures, the unit will derate output current up to 80deg C/ 175 F at which point the unit will turn OFF.

I would think a unit mounted near the exhaust manifold would be above 130 almost all the time, and above 175 a lot, especially at low speeds in the summer. That said, there's only one photo on the Slee page of the unit mounted, and maybe I'm failing to grasp where exactly it sits.

 

[Joe422]

Nice info! I've been planning out a 2nd batt setup as well, and like the SLEE kit, however, their RedArc mount does indeed place it over the exhaust headers ...(heat rises).
Later when I get headers, I'll ceramic coat them, for some heat management, but on stock ones... the engine bay does get hot.

On a side note, I mounted a cheap plastic fuel filter (for dirt bikes, etc) as a dirt filter for my extended front diff breather hose. It was mounted way up high on the middle of the firewall, and after one day trip in 95* weather, the fuel filter housing melted and got all warped... and this was not even right over the headers.

Dont want to mount a charger over the headers, unless I build a heat shield for it.

 

[mdcoa]

Got the new REDARC mount today and promptly mounted it up. To the best of my knowledge I’m the 2nd person in the US to put one of these in a 100, and it’s a great fit.

old homemade mount is pictured above—here’s the new one—it’s a pretty elegant solution...

 

[Joe422]

Wow.. thats an interesting location. Will get a lot of cooler air for sure.
I wonder how hot the DC/DC chargers get on their own (no heat influence from engine bay or radiators, etc)... do they get very hot?

 

[mdcoa]

Wow.. thats an interesting location. Will get a lot of cooler air for sure.
I wonder how hot the DC/DC chargers get on their own (no heat influence from engine bay or radiators, etc)... do they get very hot?

It’s never felt terribly hot, but it’s got to be at least a bit warmer than ambient temp, so, yeah, the cooler the mounting location the better.

 

[gungriffin]

That is where they recommend mounting it? Interesting.

 

[mdcoa]

That is where they recommend mounting it? Interesting.

They recommend there or inside the vehicle--most of the engine bay is going to be too hot. With optimum function below 130F, even this spot might not be cool enough on a slow trail day somewhere warm. . .

 

[gungriffin]

They recommend there or inside the vehicle--most of the engine bay is going to be too hot. With optimum function below 130F, even this spot might not be cool enough on a slow trail day somewhere warm. . .

I did not realize that less than 130 was a optimal functioning requirement. I could see how that might be the only under hood area that would normally be below that number. Thanks for the response.

 

[mdcoa]

I did not realize that less than 130 was a optimal functioning requirement. I could see how that might be the only under hood area that would normally be below that number. Thanks for the response.

You're very welcome!

For more on the details, quoted from the REDARC manual, refer to post #7

Dual Battery, Redarc charger, and Aux Fuse Panel Install

Just finished a dual-battery install and haven't seen a similar setup documented here, and had some requests after posting notes in "What have you done to your 100 this week", so here goes: Parts I used: Parts list: Deep Cycle Battery: VMAXMB96 AGM Group 22 Deep Cycle Battery Replacement for...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Brucey]

Got the new REDARC mount today and promptly mounted it up. To the best of my knowledge I’m the 2nd person in the US to put one of these in a 100, and it’s a great fit.

old homemade mount is pictured above—here’s the new one—it’s a pretty elegant solution...

View attachment 2360066View attachment 2360067View attachment 2360068

So stoked our new 100 Series Brackets indeed fit the USA variant Cruisers... We hope to have them readily available in the USA market soon... Great Job! ; )
Cheers, Mark Bruce - REDARC Electronics

 

[arkmm]

Hey hows this setup working for you? I need somewhere to mount fuses and relays, I'm tired of the mess of wires already. I cant find anything made for the LC100 thats in stock right now.

 

[mdcoa]

Hey hows this setup working for you? I need somewhere to mount fuses and relays, I'm tired of the mess of wires already. I cant find anything made for the LC100 thats in stock right now.

Working great! Nothing I'd change. Have since added a plug to the REDARC so I can plug in a solar panel I just got (will add that to this thread any day now. . . ) and am about to add a Thornwave PowerMon so I can monitor charge status and power in/out of aux battery. But the setup as described above has been fantastic so far.

 

[arkmm]

Working great! Nothing I'd change. Have since added a plug to the REDARC so I can plug in a solar panel I just got (will add that to this thread any day now. . . ) and am about to add a Thornwave PowerMon so I can monitor charge status and power in/out of aux battery. But the setup as described above has been fantastic so far.

Awesome thanks! I reached out to John at OE to see if they can add something for the LC100 to the lineup or just use the 4runner mount like you did. It doesn't seem like there are many options for us out there.

 

[Frogg420]

Got the new REDARC mount today and promptly mounted it up. To the best of my knowledge I’m the 2nd person in the US to put one of these in a 100, and it’s a great fit.

old homemade mount is pictured above—here’s the new one—it’s a pretty elegant solution...

View attachment 2360066View attachment 2360067View attachment 2360068

What was the cost to get one. I was seriously about to buy the slee kit.