Frage Re:Re:Bimobil Huksy 240 (Navara 2013) - upgrade to LiFePO4 battery

Good day to you all.

Apologies if I am writing in English but I am originally from Italy.
Also apologies if I am writing a post in the technical session without providing a formal introduction first, but I don't have a cabin yet!

My wife and I are planning to buy a 2013 Husky 240 with a Navara king cab from the Swiss dealer Tartaruga this month.
I will give an introduction of us and our cabin once the purchase will be finalized!

I have followed your forum with a lot of interest for a long time and I would like to ask for some help now.

The Husky 240 comes with an old EXIDE ES 2400 (210Ah) battery that I would like to replace with a 200Ah lithium.
I think that the Navara will have a smart alternator, so I either need to convert the alternator from smart to normal (green wire modification), or install a DC-DC charger.
I will also replace the current solar controller with a Victron MPPT, which ideally I would wire directly to the battery.

Has anyone done that?
Do you know what's the factory battery charger used by Bimobil in those years (I imagine it doesn't have a lithium option)?

I have installed some solar panels/controllers/electronics on my previous vehicle, and everything has worked fine for several years,
But I am definitely not an expert, so any help or guidance you can provide is highly appreciated!

Have a great day!!
Andrea

 

Hello BiMobil,

Thank you so much for your quick reply and also for sharing the link, I'll check these LiFePO4 out!

I really hope that the Navara doesn't have an intelligent LiMa. If that's the case, I will probably NOT install a DC-DC converter, even if the factory charger input is limited. Maybe from the attached picture of the starter battery you are able to recognize if the alternator is smart?
By the way, any chance you know what the standard charger is?
This is the point that confuses me the most.
If I wire the Orion straight from starter battery/alternator to service battery, how will it deal with the standard charger?
Not sure if my question is clear.

I think the Vehicle comes from Tartaruga with 2x80W of solar that Bimobil was selling as optional back in 2013.

For reference, over the last 3 yrs I had a Ducato Van with 280W solar and a 100Ah lithium (self installed) and I was absolutely fine.
So I imagine that the 200Ah will be more than enough for my consumption, which on average has been around 900Wh in a full day at most.

I do plan to upgrade solar in the future (max 300W), but for now the biggest priority is to change the battery, also because it weights 67kgs!!


(Trying to upload picture)

 

Hi,

my 2014 Navara has the intelligent Charging, so maybe the 2013 also? I dont know. But the function is easy to kill, you just need to cut a wire controlling this function
But anyways, I would mount a B2B-Charger for a controlled charging of the LI-Battery.

Hello holger4x4, thank you for your input as well!

Yes, if I understand correctly the smart/non-smart logic is controlled by a green wire in the engine bay.
Easy to address.

I do agree that having a proper charger would be a better option.
Before considering one I would need to understand how the Orion charger would interact (work in parallel/replace/conflict) with the existing charger.

Once I understand how to upload pictures here maybe it will be easier to explain you!

But thank you so much for the feedback you have provided so far!

 

After 5 posts you can add pictures. This is an anti-spam function.

Oh ok, understood!
It was driving me crazy!!

By the way, the picture of the engine bay is now visible.
Maybe some of you in the forum can recognize a smart alternator at first sight just looking at the starter battery connections.

No, you can't see that. But you have still the original Battery. Mine was weak after 4 years du to the "intelligent" charging
Then I cut the wire and put a cheap starter battery in, which is working fine since then!
So if the car has still the old battery, maybe it has the normal standard charging with fixed voltage. You can check that out with measuring voltage during driving.

Good to know!
I still have to pay for the vehicle and will pick it up later this month... So will definitely verify then!

In terms of factory battery charger, any info you can share?
Do you know where it is located, the model or how many Amps it provides during when driving?

If the factory charger has a Gel-charging mode I will probably leave it as-is.
I know that a dedicated Lithium charger is obviously the better option but for now I want to limit the modifications.

Thanks in advance.

Ps: below the only picture I took of the technical compartment during the visit.

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Any chance someone can share some information on the stock battery charger of these older units?

I'll pick up the vehicle on November 30th and I'm preparing for a battery replacement.

Thanks in advance!

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I don't know what ist built in there, but if it has a AGM setting with 14,4...14,6V charging voltage, this will work also for LiFePo batteries.

First of all, thank you so much for your replies -I really appreciate.

I would also preferably use a booster, and one of the reasons I opened this thread is that I'm unsure of where I'd need to install it:
- as replacement of current charger?
- in parallel to current charger?
- on same line as current charger and before/after it relative to battery?

As a side note, on my 2019 Challenger Vany (Fiat Ducato conversion) I had a non-smart 150A alternator with Nordelettronica NE187 charger (set on AGM) rated for 17A.

When I replaced the (awful) stock agm battery with a 100Ah LiFePO4, based on the Victron Bluetooth shunt information the charger only provided 17A, regardless of the state of charge of the battery.
This was complemented by the solar charger, when sun was available.





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andrea_m schrieb: First of all, thank you so much for your replies -I really appreciate.

I would also preferably use a booster, and one of the reasons I opened this thread is that I'm unsure of where I'd need to install it:
- as replacement of current charger?
- in parallel to current charger?
- on same line as current charger and before/after it relative to battery?

As a side note, on my 2019 Challenger Vany (Fiat Ducato conversion) I had a non-smart 150A alternator with Nordelettronica NE187 charger (set on AGM) rated for 17A.

When I replaced the (awful) stock agm battery with a 100Ah LiFePO4, based on the Victron Bluetooth shunt information the charger only provided 17A, regardless of the state of charge of the battery.
This was complemented by the solar charger, when sun was available.

PS: I have asked Tartaruga but so far no info from them



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Just received confirmation from Tartaruga that the Navara comes with a smart alternator.

Still no news of the charger.

After some research I found the charger I have onboard:

Model:  Calira EVS 17/16-DS/IU
Link to manual:  www.cabotron-elektronik.de/app/download/7765239/ b50_060147.pdf

Seems to be a charger for AGM/GEL. Below some pictures of charging profiles.

How would you proceed in this case for an upgrade to LiFePO4?

Thanks in advance!!!  

(issue loading pictures)

 

Na ja dann ist es so! 

What do you mean?