NX Build

[m_and_m]

Stopping the annoying seat belt alarm

My NP didn't have a seat belt warning chime.
Just seems that the way I use the NX I find it is always going off. I usually start the car and the last step I do is put on the belt.
Had enough of it, so disabled it. Ahhhhh

Easy as. Under the driver's seat, unplug the far right one. Photo shows it disconnected.

[m_and_m]

Modifying the rear wheel carrier for larger tyres

Since I posted this to another thread I thought I'd add it to my thread too.

With the larger 265/65 R18 tyres, I needed to cut away from of the spare wheel trim so they'll fit.
I also have the spare wheel lift kit installed.

I tried all sorts of ways, and found that a stanley knife and a small round file worked best. Be very careful though to not cut yourself.

The red line in the photo is about where the original was.
You need to remove a surprising large amount of plastic.

Not for the faint hearted doing this to your brand new car - definitely irreversible!




I needed to remove more from the right hand side and the left. Slow process of trim, test, trim some more, test...again and again.

[/QUOTE]

[m_and_m]

LED Interior Lights

Time for an update on the NX buildup.

I've replaced my interior lights with LEDs.
I originally bought 4x 31mm festoon 5630 LED blubs for $10 like these:

I wasn't happy with them. Poor quality and brightness - Three had a purple tinge to the light and only one was a nice clean white light. I also wanted a little more brightness.

I replaced them with a single 5W SMD LED and I'm now really happy with the result. Great intensity and clean white light, but $6.75 each compared to $2.50. You get what you play for I guess.
They fade nicely and don't flicker.

eBay seller was smartdigi - link

Results

[m_and_m]

Auxiliary Battery

The auxiliary battery is now pretty much sorted out.
In my NP I had a 100Ahr AGM located an ARB dual battery tray, and a Narva VSR.
I had a couple of problems with this setup. The battery ended up failing (but was luck enough to get it replaced under warranty). I also had the Narva VSR fail - also covered under warranty.
Without knowing the root cause, I suspect the heat in the engine bay was it.

For the NX I wanted a battery in the cargo area. I wanted to avoid the problems above, and I wanted more space in the engine bay for fuel 2nd filter / air compressor etc.
I've put this off for a while as I expected there wasn't a simple solution. I was wrong.
Here's an innovative product from an Australian company.
The Baintech Powertop.
It's basically a device mounted onto a 100Ahr GEL lead acid battery.


It is a little more expensive than an under-bonnet dual battery setup, but not by much.
Underbonnet, setup would be approx. $250 battery (Gel lead acid), $200 dual battery tray (ARB) and $150 VSR (Redarc). This comes to $600.
The Baintech power top is around $630 mark (and includes the 100Ahr battery).

The reasons I chose it and like it are:
1. it's portable. Can be removed from the vehicle, and has a handle to carry it. (Any 100AHr battery is really heavy!) All aluminium design.
2. can also be charged from a 240V socket or solar, so you're not locked to just the vehicle alternator.
3. 12V input has a VSR in-built, so can be continuously connected to the starter battery but won't drain it.
4. the built-in output sockets - 50A Anderson output, 2.1Amp USB, 2x Cig, 3., 1xEngel, and their own designed Lock-on connector (which is supplied, as are the 3 Anderson plugs - grey, blue, red)
5. Australian company, so spare parts/repair/warranty advantages.
6. contains circuit breakers internally. 20A for the solar regulator, 50A for the Anderson output.
7. When the Gel lead-acid battery eventually fails, it can be replaced.
8. it's compact - just adds a little height to a normal 100Ahr battery.
9. can be used with DC-DC chargers.


There could be a couple of improvements though.
The voltage meter is LCD, and cannot be read unless looked at from the horizontal. I used an alternative LED voltmeter,
The LED's are so bright you can't read the writing next to them at night.
The 240AC charger is 6.6A, and the manual says you need to disconnect the load before charging using it. It would be nice if it could charge and power devices concurrently (assuming avg. of <6A load of course). The 'disconnect load' rule may be them being conservative. Still - it's a pain.
In the Pajero, it won't fit in the rear seat-well (too tall by ~15mm), and being Gel lead-acid it must stay upright.

Overall I like the flexibility it offers, especially the ability to be portable, the built-in 240V charger and variety of outputs.
At the moment it is just sitting behind my 2nd row seats - Will be tied down soon.

[caroma]

Does it absolutely HAVE to use the battery they supply?

[m_and_m]

Does it absolutely HAVE to use the battery they supply?

They only provide one type of battery, but I expect there's nothing stopping you from removing the top bit and putting it onto another - but this will void warranty.

[Dicko1]

The auxiliary battery is now pretty much sorted out.
In my NP I had a 100Ahr AGM located an ARB dual battery tray, and a Narva VSR.
I had a couple of problems with this setup. The battery ended up failing (but was luck enough to get it replaced under warranty). I also had the Narva VSR fail - also covered under warranty.
Without knowing the root cause, I suspect the heat in the engine bay was it.

For the NX I wanted a battery in the cargo area. I wanted to avoid the problems above, and I wanted more space in the engine bay for fuel 2nd filter / air compressor etc.
I've put this off for a while as I expected there wasn't a simple solution. I was wrong.
Here's an innovative product from an Australian company.
The Baintech Powertop.
It's basically a device mounted onto a 100Ahr GEL lead acid battery.


It is a little more expensive than an under-bonnet dual battery setup, but not by much.
Underbonnet, setup would be approx. $250 battery (Gel lead acid), $200 dual battery tray (ARB) and $150 VSR (Redarc). This comes to $600.
The Baintech power top is around $630 mark (and includes the 100Ahr battery).

The reasons I chose it and like it are:
1. it's portable. Can be removed from the vehicle, and has a handle to carry it. (Any 100AHr battery is really heavy!) All aluminium design.
2. can also be charged from a 240V socket or solar, so you're not locked to just the vehicle alternator.
3. 12V input has a VSR in-built, so can be continuously connected to the starter battery but won't drain it.
4. the built-in output sockets - 50A Anderson output, 2.1Amp USB, 2x Cig, 3., 1xEngel, and their own designed Lock-on connector (which is supplied, as are the 3 Anderson plugs - grey, blue, red)
5. Australian company, so spare parts/repair/warranty advantages.
6. contains circuit breakers internally. 20A for the solar regulator, 50A for the Anderson output.
7. When the Gel lead-acid battery eventually fails, it can be replaced.
8. it's compact - just adds a little height to a normal 100Ahr battery.
9. can be used with DC-DC chargers.


There could be a couple of improvements though.
The voltage meter is LCD, and cannot be read unless looked at from the horizontal. I used an alternative LED voltmeter,
The LED's are so bright you can't read the writing next to them at night.
The 240AC charger is 6.6A, and the manual says you need to disconnect the load before charging using it. It would be nice if it could charge and power devices concurrently (assuming avg. of <6A load of course). The 'disconnect load' rule may be them being conservative. Still - it's a pain.
In the Pajero, it won't fit in the rear seat-well (too tall by ~15mm), and being Gel lead-acid it must stay upright.

Overall I like the flexibility it offers, especially the ability to be portable, the built-in 240V charger and variety of outputs.
At the moment it is just sitting behind my 2nd row seats - Will be tied down soon.

MY PROJECTA 25 AMP BATTERY CHARGER (240VOLT) ALSO STATES THAT IT IS PREFERRED TO NOT CHARGE WHILE A LOAD IS BEING DRAWN FROM BATTERY. RECOMMENDS PUTTING CHARGER ONTO SUPPLY (STEADY 13.8 VOLTS)..IF YOU WANT TO SAY RUN A FRIDGE AT THE SAME TIME. I have found that the battery does charge up whilst running your fridge and using power supply only.

[m_and_m]

Oil Catch Can

Oil Catch can installed this arvo.
Simple job. All parts provided including a custom bracket.
I chose the HPD catch can as it is beautifully made and all Aluminium. Top quality product.

Having a snorkle it installs in a different position to the stock car.
Nothing mentioned on the web site about there being a kit if you have a snorkle. Fortunately I dropped into their workshop to work out mounting location and found out.

[Lando]

Ah thats crap lol...i had to mod my bracket to fit in the same spot but up against the firewall

Would have grabbed this if i knew they had it hahaha

Awesome can though

[nj swb]

MY PROJECTA 25 AMP BATTERY CHARGER (240VOLT) ALSO STATES THAT IT IS PREFERRED TO NOT CHARGE WHILE A LOAD IS BEING DRAWN FROM BATTERY. RECOMMENDS PUTTING CHARGER ONTO SUPPLY (STEADY 13.8 VOLTS)..IF YOU WANT TO SAY RUN A FRIDGE AT THE SAME TIME. I have found that the battery does charge up whilst running your fridge and using power supply only.

This advice would be to prevent over-charging the battery.

The "Absorption" stage of multi-stage chargers will charge at a higher fixed voltage (around 14.4V) until charge current drops to a pre-determined level, then voltage will be dropped back to a "float" voltage of around 13,6 - 13.8V (depending on manufacturer). Charging at 14.4V for an extended period will "boil" the electrolyte, and kill the battery.

If you run a load on the battery during the charge cycle the extra current will prevent the charger from recognising the correct end point for the absorption stage, and potentially damage the battery.

For a cyclic load such as a fridge, the charger may end the absorption stage when the fridge stops, so the excessive charging may not last long. As long as the charger doesn't revert to absorption when the compressor kicks back in.

The "Supply" mode, using a fixed "float" voltage, would be safer, as it will apply the same (safe) voltage regardless of load.

[nj swb]

Awesome can though

I saw it "in the flesh" last night. It's an awesome piece of equipment - a beautiful work of art.

I want one.

[Lando]

You wont regret it!! Along with their front mount kit i was one happy customer...pricey....but perfectly made!!!

Car is coming along great mate!! Looks tidy! And the LED interior lights were on of my fave mods...its so bright inside when i unlock the car at night lol

Youve made me contemplate a tyre cover for my spare now aswell to help protect it from the sun a bit

[caroma]

They only provide one type of battery, but I expect there's nothing stopping you from removing the top bit and putting it onto another - but this will void warranty.

Roger

[eebiwan]

Hi m_and_m,
Would you mind measuring the gap between the firewall and the catch can for me? I have fuel lines running across the firewall as my secondary fuel filter is mounted on the drivers side inner guard next to the abs relay. I am a little concerned about how hot the catch can would get being right next to these fuel lines.
Thanks.

[ticky]

Ive also been looking at the HPD Can for a while now. I want one, but then I have a list of wants that I cant afford, so I just have to work though the list.

Good to know about that Bracket Marshall, I wasnt aware of that one. I dont have a Snorkel, but it's on my list of wants, so I may as well take that into consideration.

steve