- First Name
- Jon
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2023
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 60
- Reaction score
- 53
- Location
- Phoenix AZ
- Vehicle(s)
- 2009 Tahoe, 2000 Yukon XL, 1993 Suburban, all 4WD
- Your Bronco Model
- Undecided
It's been over a year now since I installed the 100 Ah LiFePo4 battery under the hood of the Tahoe. Here's an update.
1) The battery is still plugging along. It's now seen more than a single Phoenix summer, and especially this past month or two where the daily high temp has remained about 100 F.
2) I finally attached a temp sensor to the battery case. The challenge is that it's not really in the battery, so it's not the core temperature at the cells. On the LA deep cycle before, using one of the two battery terminals as the sensor attach point was probably a better way to get closer to the cell temperature in the battery.
3) I have done no reconfigurations since the original build, except improving the telemetry on the battery.
4) The truck has driven about 16000 miles since the battery was installed.
5) No mechanical or electrical issues involving the battery or its charging system. I've had other issues with the loads downstream of the battery (remember, I have a standing load of about 2 to 2.5 A due to computers and radios operating in the truck.) Have not added an electric fridge, but really think that would be neat.
6) The battery using its internal BMS has gone into self-shutdown once due to low voltage. The truck transmission failed last month, I had to replace that, and the service shop kept it stored in a spot where there wasn't much sun on the solar panel, and I forgot to shut down the big loads
before they started. It took about 40 hours before the battery quit. However, within a few seconds of starting the truck after getting it back, the battery recharged and seems fine now. So I count that as 1 full cycle of the battery. LiFePO4 batteries are good for several thousand.7) Except for 6) above, the battery voltage has never dropped below 13.0 Vdc.
8) Now with the sensor attached to the battery body (it's on the headlight side of the battery, with 1/2" foam insulation covering the sensor, so as far away from the rest of the engine as it can get) the max recorded is in the 145 F range. Again, it's not the cell temp - the temp spikes superfast when the engine is started, so it's obvious the thermal mass is small...)
Anyway, that's all I have to report on the install.
Cheers - Jon
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