Builds Moonshine - A Build Thread (13 Viewers)

[GLTHFJ60]

First switch panel in 3D:

What do y'all think of this water tank and battery setup? Thinking I'll weld this tray to the floor, then build up from it with wood.

 

[J Mack]

What do y'all think of this water tank and battery setup? Thinking I'll weld this tray to the floor, then build up from it with wood.

I would insulate between the floor and the LiFePO ₄ batteries or at the very least give them an air gap if it gets below freezing where you live or camp, the BMS will let you discharge below freezing so you can start your vehicle and get the cab temperatures up above freezing quick enough to not effect normal charging cycle but if they are mounted solid to an exterior surface it could cause you some grief later on.

 

[cruisermatt]

How did you engrave that panel?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

How did you engrave that panel?

Easyscriber on the plasma table.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Have been working to knock out the switch panels and battery/water tank tray so that I have defined locations for finishing my wiring. Like everything else, it's taking forever, but it's going to be sweet when done.

Modified HVAC bezel with 12v outlets, battery monitor, and carling switches. If you're wondering where the factory switches will go, they don't go anywhere, because I eliminated all of those circuits.

This battery tray setup is waaaaaay better than what I came up with before. Losing minimal height/storage space by moving it up a bit to make the platform flat from the rear seat belt bolts forward. I'm a fan.

Once I get this tray finished with batteries held down and a bit of wood added, I can move to finishing up and test the wiring. Following that, I think I'm going to finish up the interior by cleaning/painting/insulating the floor, then roof. Following that, I'll probably paint the interior, door jambs and door insides white, so that they can be installed, in prep for building sliders.

 

[cruisermatt]

That tray looks awesome. You could probably take a ton of weight out of it and add ridigity with some big flanged holes

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Dimple dies, yes. It's not heavy, it's only 42"x20.5" with a few flanges, 1/8" steel.

 

[White Stripe]

In my vehicles I don't like having fairly permanently needed components in the middle of the interior like that. For example the water tank, instead of having 1 water tank in the 2nd row area maybe look at installing it under the rig somewhere, like 2 saddle tanks above the sliders, or on the swingout of a rear bumper. My concern too with the tank in the interior is that if it leaks then it soaks all your gear inside. But maybe that's being too worried. Also having the batteries inside worries me too. I believe the amg batteries will outgas quite a bit if they start to go bad. I noticed that with a well used Optima I had. Maybe that battery is different enough it's not a big deal.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Nothing is ever really permanent

From what I've read, AGMs like these are safe inside. They'll be closed in a box, so even if they do explode, they'll be somewhat contained.

Regarding the tank location, there's not much room above the sliders, and there's not a ton of room underneath the truck. I could come up with a mount DS behind the skidplate, but it'd be tight, and getting water out (without a pump) would be more difficult. I've got a plan for potential leaks, and a direction to drain it in.

I'll run this setup for a few years and see how I like it, then either improve on it, or rip it out and rebuild it all again.

 

[White Stripe]

Understood. I like the switch panels a lot. The body work is turning out nice. Having on board water will come in handy.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Got the tray to a point where I could bolt it in. Braced between the feet with a 1/4" bar cut on the table, because that's what I felt like using.

Designed and cut out a header panel that will protect the batteries from junk i throw behind the rear seats, and provide mounting points for the future sleeping platform. Used tread plate because it's what I had. I think I like it.

This is the final arrangement of the batteries. LiFePO4 in the center, held in place with tabs with enough room to get them in and out through the top. They'll be insulated when they go in for the last time. The AGMs will be mounted in the same trays I built for the front a few years ago, with the brackets cut off. I think I'll juts weld them to the base plate. Water tank is at an angle because the back bolt heads are too tall, but I've got a fix for that.

Once I get the AGMs mounted, I can move back to wiring the rest of this up.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Still slowly plugging away. Pretty happy with this arrangement so far:

Ran bulkhead fittings to get powah from the batteries to the starter and alternator. Thanks again to @J Mack for helping me get to this point!!!

Hoping to get some more done tonight, then do a full systems test.

 

[Tapage]

This it's pretty neat .. love it .. where did you got it ?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

This it's pretty neat .. love it .. where did you got it ?

View attachment 2387231

Cole Hersee Feeder Studs - 6-36V DC

Optimize power distribution in your vehicle with Cole Hersee Feeder Studs, featuring impact-resistant insulators and easy installation for versatile battery connections across bulkheads or firewalls. Suitable for 6-36V DC systems.

www.delcity.net

Agree, very neat. Makes it easy to connect to the winch from this point as well. @J Mack turned me onto them.

 

[J Mack]

Ran bulkhead fittings to get powah from the batteries to the starter and alternator.

John, have you thought about running some wire for future solar power?

Either foldable temporary or thin film permanent mounted might not be in the cards today but could make sense later on and would be nice to have a circuit in the general area to tie into.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I have not, but I have thought about where a future solar controller would go.

I'm not going to run a full headliner anymore, meaning I'll have access to the pillar and roof perimeter cavities should I need to run cables for that in the future.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Very close to finished with the wiring project. Couple more days and it'll be wrapped up. I'll do a write-up of what I've done when I'm finished.

Tried to charge up my LiFePO4 battery bank with a regular battery tender I had around the house. When charging up my AGMs, it would bring voltage up to ~14.2, which is about what my alt will put out, so I figured it would serve as a test. Unfortunately it seems these types of battery tenders are amperage controlled, not voltage controlled, so it was only charging the LiFePO4 bank at ~13.5 volts, but a full 5a, which was the tender's rating.

Data below. It looked like it was working despite the low voltage, as lithium banks should be charged at about 14.6v. Amperage was going into the battery bank (as registered by my battery monitor, and BMS), but after disconnecting the tender, the cells would balance themselves and the amp hours would drop.

Anyway, this proves you can't use a regular battery tender charge a LiFePO4 battery bank, at least not like the ones @J Mack and I have.

Lifepo4 battery bank
13.2 at rest
13.4 charging at 58ah at 5a at 12:50pm
13.4 charging at 61ah at 5a at 1:26pm
13.4 charging at 66.5ah at 4.8a at 2:30pm
13.4 charging at 74ah at 4.9a at 4:00pm
**Hour break to cool off the tender**
**within this hour, the BMS registered amp hour charge level had dropped ~12ah despite there being no loads**
**I attribute this to cell balancing that occurs naturally when the cells are in series**
13.5 charging at 62.3ah at 5a at 5:10pm
**as a test, I joined the lithium and agm banks with the power-gate, and hooked the tender to the agms**
13.5 charging through AGMs at 66.6ah at 3.5a at 6:03pm
**that kinda failed, as the tender detected the voltage of the AGMs as being full, and cut off, which stopped the lithium bank from charging**
13.4 charging at 66ah at 5a at 7:11
13.5 charging at 75.10ah at 5ah at 9pm
~3.3v cell voltage
*Disconnected for the night*
**Left connected to truck**
Settled at 64ah in the morning but cells are more balanced (voltage even across them)

 

[MrK]

Very close to finished with the wiring project. Couple more days and it'll be wrapped up. I'll do a write-up of what I've done when I'm finished.

Tried to charge up my LiFePO4 battery bank with a regular battery tender I had around the house. When charging up my AGMs, it would bring voltage up to ~14.2, which is about what my alt will put out, so I figured it would serve as a test. Unfortunately it seems these types of battery tenders are amperage controlled, not voltage controlled, so it was only charging the LiFePO4 bank at ~13.5 volts, but a full 5a, which was the tender's rating.

Data below. It looked like it was working despite the low voltage, as lithium banks should be charged at about 14.6v. Amperage was going into the battery bank (as registered by my battery monitor, and BMS), but after disconnecting the tender, the cells would balance themselves and the amp hours would drop.

Anyway, this proves you can't use a regular battery tender charge a LiFePO4 battery bank, at least not like the ones @J Mack and I have.

Lifepo4 battery bank
13.2 at rest
13.4 charging at 58ah at 5a at 12:50pm
13.4 charging at 61ah at 5a at 1:26pm
13.4 charging at 66.5ah at 4.8a at 2:30pm
13.4 charging at 74ah at 4.9a at 4:00pm
**Hour break to cool off the tender**
**within this hour, the BMS registered amp hour charge level had dropped ~12ah despite there being no loads**
**I attribute this to cell balancing that occurs naturally when the cells are in series**
13.5 charging at 62.3ah at 5a at 5:10pm
13.5 charging through agms at 66.6ah at 3.5a at 6:03pm
13.4 charging at 66ah at 5a at 7:11
13.5 charging at 75.10ah at 5ah at 9pm
~3.3v cell voltage
*Disconnected for the night*
**Left connected to truck**
Settled at 64ah in the morning but cells are more balanced (voltage even across them)

Moonshine is catching up to Space X. We should be seeing this rig crawling on mars in no time.

 

[J Mack]

Anyway, this proves you can't use a regular battery tender charge a LiFePO4 battery bank, at least not like the ones @J Mack and I have

I've seen some videos of guys using these cheap power supplies to charge LiFePO4 batteries. I haven't tried myself but it would be handy to have around for your testing if it works.
Amazon product ASIN B07512KQDW

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I ended up buying a 10a Noco Genius battery tender with "lithium" mode for $90. I was looking for something a little more automatic than a DC power supply, although I did strongly consider one. If I develop my workspace to the point where I can have a dedicated electronics workstation, I'll be sure to get one.

HUGE milestone yesterday. Did a full running functional test of the truck, and was able to confirm that *nearly* everything works as expected. The power-gate comes on with an ignition signal (instead of starter signal @J Mack , hoping to avoid the problem you described) I'm particularly proud of that, considering I've entirely rewired two or three circuits in the factory harness, eliminated about 10 others, and integrated all of my accessory wiring that's been added over the past thirteen years. Here's my remaining electrical list, which is so awesome.

- diagnose inoperable reverse light circuit
- confirm voltage at ac clutch signal
- confirm wiper motor operation
- confirm washer motor operation
- mount and wire stereo amp
- loom harness

I will do a write-up once totally finished, but this feels GREAT!! 5 weeks of wiring so far