Wiring for fridge and battery charge

[DID Dash]

Hi Vlad, its the terminals at the base of the piggy back holder that go into the vehicle fuse slots that is loose. The fuses that insert into the piggy back part are tight. Is there more than one type available to suit the small vehicle fuse size ? Maybe I have the wrong one?

[vladguan]

Hi Vlad, its the terminals at the base of the piggy back holder that go into the vehicle fuse slots that is loose. The fuses that insert into the piggy back part are tight. Is there more than one type available to suit the small vehicle fuse size ? Maybe I have the wrong one?

That shouldn't matter. It is one piece on the inside. I will post a photo of one I disassembled to show a FB group that it is very basic setup and not many things can go wrong

[vladguan]

Below are two photos of the larger one that I took apart. The mini one is pretty much the same internally.

[The Commodore]

DID Dash,
have you considered that the PS has a Smart Alternator system and regularly drops the volts back to around 10 volts which means warm beer in your fridge?

To keep the volts up to what is needed to charge your battery in the trailer and keep the fridge operating normally I used a DC/DC charger.

I used a Red Arc about 18 months ago in my PS and have had no problems at all.

I mounted the DC/DC charger in the caravan boot away from the heat of the car.

Don't underdo the quality of the charger or the thickness and quality of the wires.

[DID Dash]

Hi Keith, definitely will consider DC/DC charger in the future. My first weekend away with the car was fine keeping the ARB fridge going with just a heavy wire to the back. Next priority is getting power to the 3way fridge in the camper while driving. Finally, like to trickle some charge into the camper, but low priority as it is fully charged before hooking up, and topped up with solar when away. I heard that the smart alternator might cope with charging the fridge/fridges as it senses the load and keeps the voltage up. Can't help try first. Dash.

[greig]

DID Dash,
have you considered that the PS has a Smart Alternator system and regularly drops the volts back to around 10 volts which means warm beer in your fridge?

.

I'd be surprised if the volts go as low as 10V ??

If you run around with the parkers or headlights on, the alternator should still pump out approx 13.5 or more volts, which although not ideal, will still allow for the battery to be recharged, even if a little slower than with "ideal" voltage levels.

[The Commodore]

Ok my memory may not be serving me well but the volts definitely dropped to the 10 to 11 volt range.

I previously ran Voltage Sensitive Relays in my NT so that when I stopped, supply to the van was cut off and saved flattening the car battery.
When I transferred these to the PS the VSR's continually cut in and out (for quite lengthy periods) whilst driving under all sorts of conditions.

Even if it was 12 volts, considering voltage drop back at the terminals of your fridge and battery system etc. the result is a compromised system.

Maybe mine is a belt and braces system but I run a two door fridge about 20 foot back from the Anderson plugs on the car and freezer holds steady low enough to store meat etc. for weeks.

[greig]

I'd have a guess and say it was more like 12V, which I don't like either, even on a road car. My 2 previous Hyundais always sat on 14.1V regardless, and one of them got 9yrs out of the 1st battery.

I have a scan gauge in my 2013 Outlander and it sits on 12V, but with parkers or headlights on, it will sit on at least 13.5V, sometimes 14V for short periods.

If you have a smart alternator, then yes, a dc/dc is the way to go.

[DID Dash]

I saw 13~14V during driving with the ARB car fridge drawing a load from the battery on my first trip away. Beer was cold. Will monitor the situation during the next trip, especially once the camper (food) fridge is also drawing power. Precious cargo to remain in the car fridge to ensure enjoyable trip.

[greig]

I saw 13~14V during driving with the ARB car fridge drawing a load from the battery on my first trip away. Beer was cold. Will monitor the situation during the next trip, especially once the camper (food) fridge is also drawing power. Precious cargo to remain in the car fridge to ensure enjoyable trip.

With the fridge(s) running, it should be enough of a load for the "smart" alternator to up it's output to 13.5 or more volts, but even at 12V ( unless you have some voltage drop issues ) it should still run the fridge(s) OK.

Charging the aux battery ( or camper batts ) might be another matter.

[DID Dash]

Initial tinkering is encouraging. Before I waste time running a heavy wire from the engine bay to the towbar, I thought I would have a play. I connected the (heavy) positive wire to the battery, the (heavy) negative wire to an earth bolt in the engine bay, other end is an Anderson plug to the camper to power the 3 way fridge. Result: 12v load from the camper fridge, 1500rpm and the voltage gauge was showing 14.3v at the car battery, 14.2v in the cargo area at my car fridge wire (car fridge not fitted for this test) and 13.3v at the camper fridge. This is a run of around 9 metres from engine bay to camper fridge, so not so bad. When I turned off the camper fridge, voltage at the fridge was 14.1v for around 5 mins without load. Based on that rough test, I will run the wire along the chassis securely and try my luck. I figure the load of 1 or 2 fridges might keep the alternator delivering the voltage I want. It might even trickle the camper battery while driving. If I doesn't work I will look at a more sophisticated way to run everything.

[greig]

Initial tinkering is encouraging. Before I waste time running a heavy wire from the engine bay to the towbar, I thought I would have a play. I connected the (heavy) positive wire to the battery, the (heavy) negative wire to an earth bolt in the engine bay, other end is an Anderson plug to the camper to power the 3 way fridge. Result: 12v load from the camper fridge, 1500rpm and the voltage gauge was showing 14.3v at the car battery, 14.2v in the cargo area at my car fridge wire (car fridge not fitted for this test) and 13.3v at the camper fridge. This is a run of around 9 metres from engine bay to camper fridge, so not so bad. When I turned off the camper fridge, voltage at the fridge was 14.1v for around 5 mins without load. Based on that rough test, I will run the wire along the chassis securely and try my luck. I figure the load of 1 or 2 fridges might keep the alternator delivering the voltage I want. It might even trickle the camper battery while driving. If I doesn't work I will look at a more sophisticated way to run everything.

Try it and see.. as long as those beers are cold, nothing else matters !!
When you stop the car, just make sure you disconnect the feed to the 3 way fridge, because at 10 plus amps, it will drain any battery pretty quick. Plenty of others do the same...when you get to a campsite, pull the anderson, setup and fire up the fridge on gas !!

[Harry230]

How to remove kick panel trims

Hi, just new to the forum as just purchased a 2018 PS GLS. Great car so far, which I decided on after a lot of research finally coming down to Everest or PS. Value for money PS is great.

I am about to wire in a caravan fridge Anderson plug and was considering chassis with conduit or internal wiring.

How easy are the trims to take off. Is it simply a flat bladed screwdriver to lever off kick panels for instance, any chance of breaking clips etc?

Also is a VSR not practical for auxiliary power to caravan, or can the effect of smart alternator be overcome by connecting negative to earth?

Great forum, lots of good advice.


Harry.

[DID Dash]

Welcome Harry230. I have done both in my Pajero Sport. Internal wire run under the kick trims and scuff plates for the car fridge, and on top of the chassis rails for the camper fridge with anderson plug on towbar. For the internal run, the scuff plates simply unclip with a firm pull, and I tucked the wires under the 'B' and 'C' pillar trims and cargo bay trims without removing them. If you are running to the towbar it makes more sense to run on top of the chassis rails as there is no need to enter the cabin. I ran 3 heavy wires from engine bay to towbar, wrapped in corrugated tube and cable tied about every 8". 2 wires are positive and negative to the anderson plug, and a spare which I will wire to the 7 pin plug to charge the camper battery (maybe). Good luck which ever way you go.

[DID Dash]

Been experimenting with the smart alternator voltage output on the Pajero Sport in preparation for an upcoming trip this weekend where I hope to keep the beers cold in the car fridge and food cold in camper fridge. I have wired a digital volt gauge located on the centre console so I can watch voltage under various drive conditions and watched for the last week.
Following readings without any load from either fridge.
At start up and for up to a few minutes general driving until things settle down. 14.4V
After a few minutes during general driving while on the throttle 12.2V
After a few minutes during general driving off the throttle and coast down 14.4V
After a few minutes during general driving on/off throttle with headlamps on low beam 13.5V
Untried for now - car fridge on to draw a load, but did work acceptably on a previous trip prior to the current observations.(beers cold all weekend)
Quick 5 minute trial in driveway - 3 way camper fridge set to 12V, 14.4V at centre console gauge / 13.3V at the camper fridge.
Based on the observations over the last week, I hope the alternator can deliver the power required to keep everyone happy. Either the fridge draw will keep the power up near 14.4V or perhaps driving with lights on should keep it at 13.5V. If not, a BC/DC charger seems necessary to go on the wish list. Should know the answer this time next week. Dash.