Genesis Duel Battery, Duel Odyssey Batteries and a NOCO Genius onboard charger.

bjayf

New member
I also just bought a NOCO G26000 and was wondering if it's okay to keep solar, alternator and the NOCO all connected at the same time? I'm assuming the controllers in each would work it out and shut down when a higher voltage source is present but I don't have a full grasp of these things. The NOCO and the alternator would only be connected for a few minutes at most (if I forget to turn off the NOCO before starting the van) but I want to make sure I'm not going to damage anything.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
I also just bought a NOCO G26000 and was wondering if it's okay to keep solar, alternator and the NOCO all connected at the same time?

Yes, no problem.


I'm assuming the controllers in each would work it out and shut down when a higher voltage source is present but I don't have a full grasp of these things.

Pretty much.


The NOCO and the alternator would only be connected for a few minutes at most (if I forget to turn off the NOCO before starting the van) but I want to make sure I'm not going to damage anything.

You won't. Each of the charging systems is able to protect itself from the battery, which is a much larger source of power, so they are also protected from each other.
 

bjayf

New member
Thanks so much. That removes a lot of stress from the situation. I'm going to set up the NOCO today.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
I recently put a 2-bank NOCO in my JK and took some pictures for my build thread. Might give you some ideas on mounting, etc.

It's worked out well. I get home and plug in the Jeep. Don't have to worry about the batteries anymore. Last weekend I ran the tent heater while it was on shore power and had no issues.
 

bjayf

New member
Not quite sure what to make of this response from NOCO:

Thank you for contacting NOCO support. The charger is protected with an inline fuse, and if it senses voltage from the alternator it would go into error and flash LEDs. We recommend removing the charger from the battery prior to ignition to prevent a possible back surge.
 

bjayf

New member
Thanks. Your build looks great. I love the slideout kitchen. Very nice.
I recently put a 2-bank NOCO in my JK and took some pictures for my build thread. Might give you some ideas on mounting, etc.

It's worked out well. I get home and plug in the Jeep. Don't have to worry about the batteries anymore. Last weekend I ran the tent heater while it was on shore power and had no issues.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Not quite sure what to make of this response from NOCO:

Thank you for contacting NOCO support. The charger is protected with an inline fuse, and if it senses voltage from the alternator it would go into error and flash LEDs. We recommend removing the charger from the battery prior to ignition to prevent a possible back surge.

It's a CYA lawyer-speak boilerplate tech support script. Hand-holding nannycrap for the uninitiated.


First of all, that statement implies that the fuse has something to do with sensing voltage and entering an error state. It doesn't. If you try to feed it too much power from the battery end, the fuse blows.

For instance hooking a 12v charger to a 24v battery would normally do it. Except if we're talking about the NOCO 26000 - that's a 12v or 24v charger, so it's going to take a lot more than 24v to blow the fuse.


Second, it can't "sense voltage from the alternator" - it's hooked to the battery. All it can possibly sense is "voltage at battery connection is X".

If the voltage regulator causes the alternator to supply some voltage that is more than the NOCO expects to see at the battery connection then it could "go into error and flash LEDs".

For instance if the voltage regulator is running the alternator at 14.8v, but you have the charger set to "12v NORM" which is capped at 14.5v; when it sees >14.5v on the battery side, it will error out.


As to the "back surge" from starting the engine...the bloody thing has a jump charge mode. If they actually expect that no one will accidently leave it connected when late for work and trying to get a car with a dead battery started, then that's just crappy engineering. But they aren't crappy engineers. They know it's quite likely that charger will still be connected when the engine starts.

And even if it was, the "back surge" from a 12v system won't be enough to blow up a charger that can do 29.6v (in "24v COLD/AGM" mode).

AND! It comes with the bolt-on wiring to permanently hard-wire it to the battery full-time. [Edit: Hrmm...looking at the pics again...maybe not] What? They expect someone is going to unbolt that every time before they start the engine?

And finally, no they do not "recommend removing the charger from the battery prior to ignition to prevent a possible back surge".

In the manual, the instructions for using the jump charge don't say anyrhing about disconnecting it before starting the engine.

So no, that line about disconnecting before starting is complete BS.
 
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jkonbelay

New member
I know this is an old thread, but I did exactly what the OP was trying to do:

1. Dual Odyssey PC1500 Group 34M
2. Genesis dual battery
3. Noco Genius GenM2 onboard charge controller
4. AC inlet on driver-side fender.

I then made a custom bracket, installed a few remote DC circuits (MRBF terminal blocks, Cooper Bussman 15303 RTMR boxes in the engine bay and rear cabin, etc.) and welded a plate to the Genesis battery kit to which I mounted a PAC-500 relay (winch cut-off) with remote switch. I also ran a groundwire switch to the cab that lets me manually disconnect the isolator so that the Noco can charge both batteries independently of each other. A few pics of the install:

Hope this helps anyone who searches for this type of solution! It works really well. I admit that the CTEK system is really slick, but I don't like the lowly IP65 rating and bulkiness of their units.
 

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CrazyMike

New member
Thanks for this thread. This is helping my research.

My scenario is leaving vehicle for days at a time with house loads while riding around on motorcycle(s). Being in the SE US, I see low voltages on house battery after 1.5 days without being driven.
Loads:
- ARB 50
- Charging cell phones
- LED lighting for RTT
 

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