Tacoma inverter (truck-bed 120vAC 400w) not accepted by power station solar gen. EDIT-- Now with solution video

[Dave in AZ]

I have a Pecron e1500LFP power station, that I was going to use in the bed of my 2021 Toyota Tacoma as my popup camper power solution.

Tacoma has an inverter that powers a truck bed 120vac 400w plug. It works, have tested with work tools and multimeter. Instead of running a 30A dc to dc charger off my alternator and big cables from engine to tailgate, I thought I had a sweetly elegant solution-- just plug the power station into that 400w 120vac port, and get a free dcdc setup! Already isolated from start battery, already wires run, already set for 400w or 30A 12v, super easy.

Unfortunately, I just walked in from testing the Pecron e1500LFP using the AC 120v power in bed of my truck. NO GO!! I've been assuming I could just plug it in and charge, but NO. Pecron just clicks, doesn't accept any power. Keeps clicking every 5 sec or so as it resets and tries but denies the truck AC. Some guy posted same results at TacomaWorld, I thought I better go test it. The Tacoma inverter must be cheap, maybe not true sine wave, whatever, but it is too malformed apparently for Pecron to accept. I then plugged Pecron into wall, yep 1600w charging instantly.

So... before I end up doing a standard alternator dcdc 30A smart charger and big cables, I am wondering what other options I might have to somehow make use of this crappy 120v back there?

Pecron power station has a 32v-95vdc 700w solar input to its built-in SCC.

I was thinking I need something dumb that will accept the 120v, so maybe getting battery charger that is dumb and accepts 120v malformed wave, and converts it to 48v or something, and feed that into the Pecron solar input maybe? Will a standard 120vac to 48vdc battery charger put out a dc output that would be accepted by the mppt SCC that is in the power station? I assumed any dc signal in 32-95v range would work, but now I'm gun shy! Thanks for your opinions or ideas!

Otherwise I will have to bite the bullet and buy a dcdc charger from my alternator, and run big cables. Such a huge waste though with 400w 120vac already sitting there in truck bed...

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I bet it's a MSW, and that could be your issue.

Or, the unit assumes it's in a 15A 120V socket and pulls 1600W, which would overload your 400W source. Can you force it to charge with less draw than 1600W?

What's the current limit on the SCC? I would respect this, and you need to consider the 400W limit of the MSW - maybe run it at 200W.

200W/48V = 4.2A - this must certainly be under the SCC input current limit (confirmed, it's 15A max).

It would also likely need to be a power supply, not a charger. Chargers need to see a voltage before they do anything. A power supply offers a voltage and a current.

EDIT: Based on the user manual, I see no option to limit AC charge power. The AC charger is likely overloading the MSW.

https://cdn.shopifycdn.net/s/files/1/0509/5263/4556/files/E1500LFP_20231006.pdf?v=1696996069

Apparently, it has a second 12-18V, 7A solar charger as well. A 12V power supply could certainly provide that.

 

[justinm001]

Yes the Tacoma and basically all aren't pure sinewave and are just junk. Even if it did work you need to be able to limit your power station to under 400w. Plus you're losing like 20% in dc to ac to dc.

I'd think a wallwart type above the 32v would provide power for the scc. Higher voltage the better just well under 400w. Like 80v 4a.

Not sure if a battery charger will work as it doesn't provide a constant power and might not work if it doesn't sense the proper draw.

Although I'm curious on where the inverter is for that plug, could be all combined in that area, then there's a thick 12v cable ran that'll handle 30a for the dc/dc charger. Just wire up there and don't use both

 

[Dave in AZ]

I bet it's a MSW, and that could be your issue.

Or, the unit assumes it's in a 15A 120V socket and pulls 1600W, which would overload your 400W source. Can you force it to charge with less draw than 1600W?

What's the current limit on the SCC? I would respect this, and you need to consider the 400W limit of the MSW - maybe run it at 200W.

200W/48V = 4.2A - this must certainly be under the SCC input current limit (confirmed, it's 15A max).

It would also likely need to be a power supply, not a charger. Chargers need to see a voltage before they do anything. A power supply offers a voltage and a current.

EDIT: Based on the user manual, I see no option to limit AC charge power. The AC charger is likely overloading the MSW.

https://cdn.shopifycdn.net/s/files/1/0509/5263/4556/files/E1500LFP_20231006.pdf?v=1696996069

Apparently, it has a second 12-18V, 7A solar charger as well. A 12V power supply could certainly provide that.

You, Sir, are a Scholar and Gentleman!
I think you are right, and I didnt think of either of those things. So, the SCC is 700w limited at 32-95vdc, looks like you already saw that 15A limit too. So it could accept the 400w from the truck inverter.

Problem may still be the same though, the truck inverter doesn't actually limit output to 400w, it just shuts off via a safety and resets, if more than 400w is demanded. The wierd thing is that the clicking sound of a reseting system came from the power station, not the truck, which made me think it was testing then rejecting the truck power.

So, does an SCC "demand" a load, thus asking for 700w and overloading the 400w truck inverter reset thing, again?

I think your answer of a power supply that can be set to a voltage AND an amperage, would be the only way for me to ensure I didn't demand more power from truck than 400w, causing a reset. If that is in fact what is happening.

The 12v cigarette lighter level 5521 port on the power station is limited to 100w, 12-18v as you said, I was just hoping to get a 400w solution to replace a 30A dcdc alternator setup, instead of a 100w cigarette lighter level solution.

What would be a simple, cheap power supply ensuring < 400w that I could plug into 120v? Do any standard wall transformers provide that amp limiting, that I could just repurpose? Or do I need something specific and expensive? Thx!

 

[Dave in AZ]

Yes the Tacoma and basically all aren't pure sinewave and are just junk. Even if it did work you need to be able to limit your power station to under 400w. Plus you're losing like 20% in dc to ac to dc.

I'd think a wallwart type above the 32v would provide power for the scc. Higher voltage the better just well under 400w. Like 80v 4a.

Not sure if a battery charger will work as it doesn't provide a constant power and might not work if it doesn't sense the proper draw.

Although I'm curious on where the inverter is for that plug, could be all combined in that area, then there's a thick 12v cable ran that'll handle 30a for the dc/dc charger. Just wire up there and don't use both

Thx Justin, that 80v 4a power supply is what I need I think.
Unfortunately, the inverter lives in the center console in the truck cab, so no wires already running.

 

[justinm001]

Thx Justin, that 80v 4a power supply is what I need I think.
Unfortunately, the inverter lives in the center console in the truck cab, so no wires already running.

I'd think something like this but just more powerful would be the best bet. Like all power adapters they're limited to voltage and amperage. Check around Amazon and such for a larger one, if it doesn't work you can just return it

Idk if any of the 80v scooter battery charger types would work or not.

Hiseeu DC 52V 2.5A Power Adapter, AC 100-240V to DC 52V 2.5A Power Cord, Plug 5.5mmx2.1mm, 5.5mm*2.5mm, Power Supply for PoE NVR, PoE Switch, PoE Injector with Power Cord https://a.co/d/f98Vqiz

 

[sunshine_eggo]

You, Sir, are a Scholar and Gentleman!

Many would argue the contrary on both counts.

So, does an SCC "demand" a load, thus asking for 700w and overloading the 400w truck inverter reset thing, again?

The SCC sees a voltage and starts pulling power. It pulls more and more power until senses a power drop.
A fixed output supply will show a voltage drop if more than the set amps is drawn. Since the power supply is both voltage and current limited, it is also power limited, so the SCC will simply be frustrated by its efforts and land on whatever the power supply settings are.

What would be a simple, cheap power supply ensuring < 400w that I could plug into 120v? Do any standard wall transformers provide that amp limiting, that I could just repurpose? Or do I need something specific and expensive? Thx!

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-110V-220V-Converter-Adjustable-Transformer/dp/B09NQ4G48H

0-48V, 0-10A adjustable.

 

[Dave in AZ]

@sunshine_eggo thx!

 

[Dave in AZ]

Update. Turns out it was the Modified Sine Wave inverter that was issue. No one on Tacomaworld.com has been able to get any power station to accept that dirty power.

Here is a video I made, showing the issues involved, and a quick solution and success.

Suggestions above on various power supplies are good, and I will buy one. But here is a video showing it all works, using a 16v 4A supply.

Truckbed Inverter use to supply a Power Station, and video. Applicable to Tune M1, OVRLND, and other canopy or wedge campers for an easy power recharge option.

Was msging with someone today about 3rd gen Tacoma, power stations, and how to use the truckbed inverter to supply one. I know several other trucks have an inverter this would apply to, such as F150s.

If you have an existing truckbed inverter in your model, you can make use of your alternator supply, and completely remove the need to get an alternator dc to dc converter, to isolate your start and house batteries, to limit current draw to avoid alternator damage, and to run thick 8AWG or 10 AWG cables from alternator to truckbed. You end up with a nice prebuilt alternator power supply, isolated from starter battery, ready to go.


Video shows using the 3rd generation Tacoma truckbed 120v outlet, to charge a Pecron e1500LFP power station. The problem with Tacoma power is that it is a Modified Sine Wave (terrible), not a Pure Sine Wave inverter. No power station tested so far will accept the poor malformed ac power, including Pecron e1500LFP, Bluetti AC200Max, Ecoflow Delta2 Max, and Jackery. So you can't just plug your power station into the AC and charge it, you have to somehow convert that nasty power to something your power station will take, which means some dc voltage and feed it into a Solar Charge Controller port.

 

[Dave in AZ]

I edited the thread title to show I have a solution and vid showing that now.