I just purchased new 2000 7.3, never get old saying this.....

I have a distribution block with fuses, pwr,grnd, etc.... I would like to do the following and get opinions.

1) I would like to add a trickle charger so that when I plug it in, it will not only keep the GP warm, but also charge the batteries. I am not familiar with having dual batts in parallel - any advice?

2) I would like to add an 800 watt inverter, which I traditionally just connect to a 12v battery and then connect it to the trickle charger. This way it doesn't draw on the alternator when having laptop connected (only one alt,stock). I was thinking of inserting this in the center column and put battery behind rear seat - is there a way to connect to charger so that we use one charger for all batteries?

3) where should I mount this distribution block - this will be used to power a CB (which am thinking of installing in center console - not used much) but I am nervous of where to go thru the firewall on a diesel - its so loud already I would hate to make it worse, any ideas?

4) Is it easy to run wires under the carpet to the center console up to the back of the radio - am thinking of keeping iPod in console while it is connected to radio.

Thanks for all the time and effort to review - thanks FTE for all the great service and contributors.

 

There are rubber plugs under the carpet that you can run wires and CB cables up through. It's not hard to do.

There are also some pass thru wires from the factory that already go through your firewall and just have heat shrink on the ends for "customer supplied" goodies like you're talking about. Put the distribution block under the hood and either use the pass thru wires or the floor plugs.

Having two batteries works the same way as having one battery on a car. We just need more amps to crank and for glow plugs. Also, the plug in doesn't affect the glow plugs, it warms the engine coolant and oil.

If it were me, I wouldn't put a battery behind the seat. Look into fabricating or buying a battery box you can mount on the frame below the cab or in the bed.

 

As long as both batteries are identical the current from the charger will divide between them and charge both equally. The problems with parallel connected dual batteries usually start when one battery is weaker than the other. This causes the good battery to discharge into the weaker one. It will also cause a trickle charger to supply excessive current to the weak battery.

If you put the inverter in the console make sure it has enough ventilation. I agree with Chris' post, don't put the battery in the passenger compartment unless it has a separate vent hose that can be routed outside. Batteries can give off explosive hydrogen gas while charging. You will need a trickle charger with a separate output for your auxilliary battery, or use a second charger.

There are plenty of factory penetrations in the firewall that you can add wres to. Just be careful of the existing wiring.

Yes, it's not hard. I like to follow the factory wiring harness whenever possible. That way you are usually free of sharp objects and excessive temperatures.

 

Boy, I am going to have to donate more for you guys to put up with my questions .

I appreciate the information about where to put the battery and it wasn't something I thought would be a big deal, but now that you brought it up, I certainly will put it outside.

I also thought the plugin was for the GP, good to know its only coolant and oil.

Regarding the extra power wires....
Do you know of where I might find the wires that are for customer supplied goodies? I looked and didn't find any - is it safe to assume these could be used for CB, radar detector (that I got when I was 18...... lol) a few more LED lights for in the bed, etc...

Have I mentioned how much I love this truck - hopefully we can get a mod or two to help with mileage (yes I know its a truck) but.... Just thinking of exhaust and maybe some sort of tuner - will wait for the tech day to see other diesel owners.

There was mention of a CVM or CCM or something like that as a MOD, do you know what this is?

 

Look down where the parking brake foot pedal in the cab. There should be the customer access wires located there. They are just a passthrough the firewall to the engine compartment where they poke out by the master cylinder.

 

There was mention of a CVM or CCM or something like that as a MOD, do you know what this is?[/quote]


I think you are talking about a CCV mod aka Crank Case ventilation mod. It is basically venting the crank case to the atmosphere instead of routing it back into the engine to be recirculated. Hopefully others will add this with more knowledge on the subject. I have one that I have not installed yet was waiting to get new boots and a good clean up before putting it on there.

I assume you are in McMinnville Oregon right? Going to the Tech day at Marks in Scio? I went for the first time last year and was amazed at the knowledge and cool trucks that were there. I will be going again this year look me up there or we will find a way to meet. All great people there.

 

Customer access wires at the master cylinder and under the dash by the PCM




Here is where I mounted my aux panel.

 

An 800-watt inverter is overkill for every laptop I've ever seen. I have an i7 laptop that can use as much as 150 watts when charging a battery while gaming, but my current netbook that interfaces with the truck and has GPS is powered by my 50-watt inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Is there anything else you need that much juice for?

There is a 110-volt cord that should be coming out the front grille, this is your engine heater that just needs to be plugged in when it's really cold - like under 20 degrees F.

The glow plugs are heated for just a few seconds before starting and that's all they need.

Adding a third battery is just one more battery to charge, the two batteries under the hood are 850 CCA each. We're back to the question of how much juice you need.

The most common reason for wanting an Ipod interface for the stereo is the fact that Ipods store a ton of music digitally. I have that capability without the Ipod... I have a double-DIN multimedia center with a backup camera, touch screen, Bluetooth phone interface, HD radio, CD and DVD (it will never see a disk in its life), a bunch of other stuff - and most importantly - SD! I have 8 gig on an SD card, eliminating the need for an Ipod and all the wires hanging everywhere. Just a thought.