4XE Specific - Running a cooler off the battery, which is charged by the 17KWa battery

[Andrew4D]

So, I had a look and didn't see this discussed already.
The manual states the rear 12v plug is connected directly to the 12v battery and is always active. The 12v plug upfront only comes on when you turn everything on.

If I plug in a cooler to the rear 12v and leave it running - plugging in the Jeep each night - am I going to cause a problem?

My goal would be to have cold drinks available every time I go out - especially in the summer.

Sponsored

 

[Andrew4D]

...as an update to my own question - I discovered there are two spaces (three slat hole) for the rear 12V aux plug. Plug in the fuse to 1 and 2, for example, and it works off of the ignition. Plug the fuse into 2 and 3, and it runs directly from the battery.

Doesn't answer my original 'will the 4XE have an issue charging the 12-volt system constantly if I keep a cooler plugged in' - but it does seem to be designed for this.

 

[GATORB8]

Per this video, I would say it would use the big battery to start, but still uses the generator on the ICE to charge the 12V.

 

[Andrew4D]

Thanks for posting this - it was a good video but, I think, it still leaves my question unanswered.

Will the hybrid battery top-up my 12V battery if the ignition is off? Continuously draining a normal battery dead isn't good for it. However, if it tops off the battery when it notices a drop (regardless of the ignition being on) then I should be able to run the cooler all the time.

Not sure how I can test this without watching it all day with a meter attached.

 

[GATORB8]

Thanks for posting this - it was a good video but, I think, it still leaves my question unanswered.

Will the hybrid battery top-up my 12V battery if the ignition is off? Continuously draining a normal battery dead isn't good for it. However, if it tops off the battery when it notices a drop (regardless of the ignition being on) then I should be able to run the cooler all the time.

Not sure how I can test this without watching it all day with a meter attached.

In the video he connects a sub 10V battery. If the big battery was setup to recharge it, you would have seen voltage increase at the 12V terminals, which doesn't happen until the ICE starts turning the generator.

 

[Andrew4D]

So to really make this work, I need to make sure I have a cooler that cuts out if the power drops below 11V - won't be cold all the time, but I won't have to remember to keep plugging it in. Once I am running the battery will be restored by the generator when I have everything turned on. For a day's outing, this will buy me about an hour or two even when the Jeep is off.

 

[GATORB8]

I think you'll get more than a couple hours, just looking at a random product, the Dometic TC35 is 50W, which is about 4 amps.

Never used one, but are they capable of maintain a reasonable temperature overnight without power (like a normal cooler)? Could you just run it on ignition and it would cool back down to 38* on your drive?

 

[Naylia]

I mean if you don't open and close it all the time, shouldn't your drinks stay reasonably cold? Your standard fridge doesn't run all the time, it kicks on every now and then to maintain temp. I'd just park it in your driveway on a day of light driving. Put some drinks in it and see how it does over a day or two

 

[roaniecowpony]

I mean if you don't open and close it all the time, shouldn't your drinks stay reasonably cold? Your standard fridge doesn't run all the time, it kicks on every now and then to maintain temp. I'd just park it in your driveway on a day of light driving. Put some drinks in it and see how it does over a day or two

Yeah, I would think a test run checking the voltage of the battery with a meter every day would tell you what you need to know.

 

[SpaceCase]

Thanks for posting this - it was a good video but, I think, it still leaves my question unanswered.

Will the hybrid battery top-up my 12V battery if the ignition is off? Continuously draining a normal battery dead isn't good for it. However, if it tops off the battery when it notices a drop (regardless of the ignition being on) then I should be able to run the cooler all the time.

Not sure how I can test this without watching it all day with a meter attached.

I run a dashcam with voltage cutoff and can confirm the 12V battery does not charge off of the hybrid battery unless the Jeep is on.

 

[hardtop]

I personally would not use the 12V battery when the Jeep is off. You will drain it and using just enough juice but not too much of the reserve capacity is not even close to being worth it.

For my Volt (a similar design), the system needs to be booted before the traction battery can be used to recharge the 12V starter battery.

Buy a small LIFEPO4 battery and use that instead. A 12ah LIFEPO4 battery ($60) runs my Engel MT45 overnight and into the early afternoon.

A new starter battery for your jeep is probably going to be over $150 for a glass matt battery. That and you don't want to be jumpstarting your Jeep or giving people jump starts.

If you have the EV charger plugged in, then your 12V will probably be getting juice and you could run it then but use a volt meter to verify that.

 

[N8213]

Didn’t Brandon hainline do a YouTube video on this- he ran an inverter off the 12v and ran quite a bit of stuff. Seems like at some point when the 12v ran down it started recharging itself off of the larger pack.

 

[Gazelle]

Yes, he unplugged the driver's door harness which apparently allowed the Jeep to stay on. Otherwise, it shuts off automatically after 30minutes. I've not verified Brandon's results, but it would be worth a try.

 

[laueddy]

Didn’t Brandon hairline do a YouTube video on this- he ran an inverter off the 12v and ran quite a bit of stuff. Seems like at some point when the 12v ran down it started recharging itself off of the larger pack.

I am still to figure this out too. I think Brandon in his comment says the charging start to happen around 11.6V. I lookup the State of Charge for 12V battery and I think for battery longevity, we should probably keep the batter above 50% (12.06v)
So, I must be missing something...

Sponsored