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One option might be to use a smart device such as a window / door open sensor that connects to a smart home system. Eg HomeKit or smart things or home assistant. You could then use a relay from your alarm circuit to trigger the sensor and thus trigger the push. Or. Look for a relay that...

Does anyone know of a small, ideally silent / fanless inverter that is pure sign wave? I’m looking to power a max of 300w / 10amps for an electric blanket as part of the installation. But blankets don’t play well with modified wave. I want to avoid having to run my 3000w inverter and a new...

Aha, I was missing the word 'adjustable' in my searches. Thank you so much! I've also had another thought to explore, which is the car has certain systems that won't shut down until 16 minutes after it is locked, so I may be able to take a signal from there and save having to add new devices...

Hey all. Another relay question :) I have a small box that takes 12v power to run a few additional systems in my vehicle. What I am looking for, is a relay or auto switch that I can put in-line of the + that will switch on/activate when I turn on the car, and then once the car is turned off...

Do you have a fuel pump fuse? That’s what I use.

My thoughts too. I think I’ll just go ahead and add the ground wire.

I have been reading up further on if I should 'ground' my inverter. I have found so many mixed messages, though the overarching one seemed to be do NOT add a ground wire to the chassis of the car from an inverter. Partially because it could fry the rest of the cars electrics if an issue occurs...

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I just needed a hobby. Bonus is now I have some resilience when the power goes out.

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Thank you, all good info. I have a number of fuses, switches and breakers in my system as well, including a class T for the lifepo... am doing my best to over spec on safety as best I can. No desire to fry myself or my car for the sake of some lights and power :) I also fully disconnect my...

This is a really good point and I will look at running a direct cable at my earliest. There is already a dedicated positive coming from the battery to the back of the car, so I would hope I can follow the same route back for the negative. But this is how the car comes from the factory so I...

Thank you for that knowledge, I really appreciate it. I just did a test whereby I disconnected the house battery and the solar inputs entirely, and only had the starter battery connected. It appears that it does light up the MPPT charge controller and sees a draw of 1amp from the starter...

I'm curious about if I have completed my install correctly. So here is the simplified version (I also have solar but am excluding from this for now for simplicity) Car battery + goes to Renogy MPPT/DC charger on the Alternator+ Input MPPT/DC charger is connected to + Positive Bus Bar and -...

So 2 things 1- you can try editing the target voltages and the boost duration in the DCHome app. I think you tap into the DC charging device and then the little icon at the top right of the screen. 2- in the DC Home mobile app, have you tried asking in the “community” tab / area of the app?

I hope it turns out to be something simple. I hadn't had any issues with mine all year until a few weeks ago as the UK temps / wet started dropping. Then the protection triggered and I had to get it quite warmed up to turn off the low temp protection. Until that is done, it will stay on, even...

This is why right now I am in the middle of installing my battery into a toolbox and figuring out some insulation / warming options. Sounds like its time for some winter warming for your battery and see if it comes back to life. I seem to recall I warmed up the car for about 15 minutes or so...

(for reference, my error was triggering at about 8 degrees C according to the battery temp sensor and I had to warm it up a bit from there before it cleared and allowed charging again.)

Also, that temp does still seem low - it may be worth putting the heater on full and leaving the car to warm up for a while (warm up the battery), as I was finding my Renogy 200ah wouldn't charge when it was that cold, even though it was within range. I was getting a 'low temp protection' error...

When you have the car/alternator running, does the red 'alternator' light come on, on the DC charger? It should illuminate even if not taking any draw for the battery. (Just want to sense check this one).

Look forward to the report. Any voltage on that terminal and it will half the allowed input from the alternator. So fingers crossed this solves your issue :) Though as per Mike above, a cold battery will also resist taking any charge if the BMS is correctly protecting it.

If there is even a tiny amount on the PV cable, the DC charger will only allow half the draw from the alternator. This exact issue for me a few weeks ago meant my battery never charged to 100% from the alternator. As soon as I removed the PV+ cable, it took all it needed from the alternator...

Disconnect the PV+ cable and try again.

Also, I know you said you have no solar connected, but can you confirm you literally have nothing - not even a 'dead' cable - connected to the PV+ on the DC charger?

Also in the DC home app, you can change the settings on the DCMPPT charger to set what the target voltages should be. These are set by default by the profile you pick, e.g. Lithium, but can be overridden. However, proceed with caution / research before changing any of those values. I use my...

How many amps are you getting from the starter/alternator? And are you using the switch cable to tell the DC charger that the alternator is on / have you tried to test with that cable connected and running 12v through it?

Just as a thought - you don’t have to drive/move to run an alternator for charging. I sometime just turn mine on for an hour or so and let it idle. I can fully charge a 200ah inside of about 1.5 hours. It’s effectively like having a generator to charge from. That said. Some vehicles don’t like...

all the commentary and suggestions etc happened here :) https://diysolarforum.com/threads/what-type-of-relay-turns-things-off-when-the-ignition-12v-comes-on-solved.64157/#post-926263

Combined 40a one from renogy for me.

Thank you. Super useful insight and data. And relevant to my own adventure. Appreciate you taking the time to share.

Do you put your warming pads outside or inside of the insulation? My general thought was - warming pads on the bottom of the box - insulate the box bottom, lid and walls (attach to the box rather than the battery) - Then place the battery inside - That way the pads would be less likely to...

Thank you. I will investigate. I'd imagine that thinner versions (e.g. 30mm) would still be better than nothing at all. That said, I do have room around all the sides even though it doesn't look it in the photo. So perhaps I go thicker all sides, then thinner on bottom and top (but as much as...

I think someone suggested Rock Wool?

Thank you so much for the reply. As it happens I have just managed to FINALLY find a toolbox that will fit the massive battery while still also fitting in the vehicle :) The question that remains now is, what insulation (if any) to add inside and or what heating pads. I would love any...

But as for your specific question. I’m not aware of any other issues but I imagine it depends on your specific car battery and alternator to some extent. Different smart alternators do different things. I think the main thing is to ensure your alternator actually provides enough amps / power...