Auxillary power in later model Subies

Subychik

Forum Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
16
Location
Ipswich, Qld
Car Year
2015
Car Model
Impreza
Transmission
CVT
I am about to go on my first camping trip in my 2015 Subaru Impreza :ebiggrin: and have been thinking about auxillary power options for this exact purpose. I do have a 40 Engel fridge which I won't be taking with me this weekend, but will be using my LED light strip, when needed, at night straight off the power socket below the a/c controls which only operates with the accessories on. With such a small amount of power being drawn from the battery I realize this won't effect the battery much at all but it really is very impractical unfortunately.

Normally I would simply add a single or double power socket in the cargo area run off the battery and have it "live" all the time but not sure if this is a wise option with a fairly new car. A second battery is an option also but there isn't much space in the back of an Impreza for such a bulky item.

So I am wondering what everyone else does? Pics would be great too please :):)
 
I am running a 60 amphr battery in the rear cargo area to power my fridge, lighting etc. This is connected to an Ark acdc 7 battery charger which only operates when my ignition is on and this recharges the battery. I also connect the charger to my mains at home to cycle the battery. I also have 80 watt solar panels for standing camps.
I have everything tied down to an MDF board which I cut to fit the cargo area.
seems to work well for me.
 
I Have a pair of 24AH Aux Batteries in the back which are charged via a custom connection on the rear of the ACC socket in the boot.
This connection has a big bad Diode (about a $1 part from Jaycar) in it to prevent the Aux batteries from powering the ACC circuit when the keys are off.

Due to the design of the ACC circuit, which turns off when the engine is being started, there is no power drained from the AUX batteries while starting.

For a temporary and portable setup I suggest you grab a Small 7AH Battery that is suited to a Security Alarm Panel and you can clip your LED lights onto that.

than look at better charging setup, etc for your fridge aswell.
you'll get a good 5-6 hours of running out of that 7AH battery for an Engel 40 aswell.
(assuming it pulls about 1.2A on average)
 
I simply use a Repco 900amp jumpstarter battery pack . Very handy , portable, all in 1 unit charge via mains or 12v. No messing around with wiring. Bring it inside the tent to easily run lighting and charge phones etc. Add a cheap multi adapter for charging extra gadgets and best of all it can jumpstart your car!

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Same here, Lefty. Mine's a 21 AH unit from Jaycar. Same thing though. Sits behind my passenger seat on the floor
 
lefty said:
I simply use a Repco 900maH jumpstarter battery pack . Very handy , portable, all in 1 unit charge via mains or 12v. No messing around with wiring. Bring it inside the tent to easily run lighting and charge phones etc. Add a cheap multi adapter for charging extra gadgets and best of all it can jumpstart your car!

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Click to expand...

Now that's an interesting idea I hadn't even thought of. Thanks I will definitely look into that one :idea:
 
I have one of those jump start battery packs too. You are limited by the size of the battery in them and the ability to recharge them if you are discharging them. Mine came with both a dc wall power adapter and an accessory plug lead.
Very slow recharging time. Mine only recharges at 500 mamps. You need to work out your energy consumption requirements as you don't wont to completely flatten the battery as you will kill it.
That is why I ended up going down the path I did once I got the Waeco fridge.
 
havachat said:
I have one of those jump start battery packs too. You are limited by the size of the battery in them and the ability to recharge them if you are discharging them. Mine came with both a dc wall power adapter and an accessory plug lead.
Very slow recharging time. Mine only recharges at 500 mamps. You need to work out your energy consumption requirements as you don't wont to completely flatten the battery as you will kill it.
That is why I ended up going down the path I did once I got the Waeco fridge.
Click to expand...

Good point, Havachat. My main concern is how much space it will consume and ease of recharging. I did a bit of research on the jump packs and I don't think they work to well with my Engel fridge and recharging sounds like a nightmare.

I think I will have to seriously look at a battery in the back and some solar panels for recharging.Have you got any pics of the battery in the back of your Suby?
 
I'll be doing something similar, my plan of attack is

~22AH gel battery in with the spare tyre
dc/dc charger (probably a ctek D250s for ability to use solar as well)
couple of ports/plugs in the rear

Those jumper packs can be charged with an optional 6 amp charger (the supercheap ones anyway) and can run fridges, duration/weather/voltage sag sensitivity permitting (rules out waecos)
 
My Foz has a "battery-in-a-bag" which is strapped down on the rear passenger floor when needed. It's a 100 AMP hour in a heavy canvas tool bag (Bunnings). The battery bottom is velcro'ed to a piece of tightly fitting marine ply for added stability. Two Anderson plugs provide in/out power. Charging is via a Voltage Sensitive Relay (VSR) and cable run through the firewall and inside the centre console area to surface under the passenger seat. When not needed just unplug and take it out.
 
Here's how mine is setup so far.

LH and RH
Each battery is protected with it's own 5A fuse,
Double sheath 4mm Wiring runs down under the trim panels to keep it safe
I'm designing some little cover flaps with straps that attach to the body under the floor as proper tie-downs to keep the from turning into missiles in the case of a rollover

2016-04-27%2013.01.27.jpg

2016-04-27%2013.01.12.jpg


ACC Charging supply from rear of ACC socket via diode to prevent back-powering of the ACC circuit,
Using ACC prevents AUX batteries having current pulled when cranking.

2016-04-27%2013.02.24.jpg


IEC plugs used for all connections, even the Fridge as I have an abundance of them, and they don't bounce out like Cig-lighter plugs do.
And and extra socket that I can direct connect to a solar panel or the other dual 24AH battery and solar setup in my camper-trailer to keep everything maintained.

2016-04-27%2013.02.03.jpg


Camper Batt's and solar reg.
2014-12-22%2011.24.24.jpg
 
Nobody using LiFePO4 batteries ( eg shorai)? Only slightly dearer nowdays, MUCH lighter, smaller , non orientational and can take a reasonable deep discharge. I have a couple of 9AHr spares from ex motorcycles I am going to use. They also will take a REALLY fast charge.
Anybody got any reason they are not suitable?
 
https://ev-power.com.au/webstore/12...fepo4-batteries/12v-20ah-lifepo4-battery.html

I wouldn't say 0.5C is a fast charge, even if it is 10amp, most DC-DC chargers will do 20amp, seen a few that do 40amp

Also they don't handle discharge as well as the basic lead acids and aren't as forgiving either.

Need a proper charger too if it's anything like lipo rc batteries

Pretty pricey too, you only have to look online and see people are balking at a dc-dc charger for their setup, let alone doing an lithium battery setup properly haha, I'd run one though if I was serious into using it every weekend but my uses a small lead acid battery and dc-dc charger will be fine
 
All my motorcycles have Shorai LiFePO4 batteries. Charged from the bikes normal charging system. Will deliver good current rates as well. Car charging system will have no trouble with them though they will take a pretty big current draw when charging from low. My 11AHr one weighs 800grams replacing the 3kg standard one.
 
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