Goal Zero Yeti 400 Experiences?
- Thread starter snowblind
- Start date
I have used the 12 volt cigarette to 6mm adapter to connect my Dometic CFX 35 to my yeti 400. I still have the same issue with the DC randomly turning off. The only way I can run my fridge and not watch it every hour is to plug it in one of the AC plugs using the inverter. Of course I don't like doing this because it costs me an additional 7-8 watts, but it is the only way I have found consistent results. Luckily my 100 watt solar panel can "usually" keep up with this demand at camp.
Any of you electrical experts think it could be the fridge's DC cord? The Dometic DC cord and the GZ cig to 6mm adapter... both look rather flimsy.
Any of you electrical experts think it could be the fridge's DC cord? The Dometic DC cord and the GZ cig to 6mm adapter... both look rather flimsy.
Well the battery in my Tea 1250 finally gave up, the battery was getting hot, as the charging circuit in the Yeti attempted to get it to the higher voltage before cutting off, what i cant work out is why the the temperature probe under the neg terminal didn't tell the charger to disconnect, anyway i noticed the battery said full, but the charger was still pushing in 65 watts. I ran a load test and the battery failed.
So i replaced with it with a LSLC104-12 Lucas Numax AGM Battery 12V 104Ah battery which is a slightly different size, but fits fine with a small amount of foam padding one side.
So i replaced with it with a LSLC104-12 Lucas Numax AGM Battery 12V 104Ah battery which is a slightly different size, but fits fine with a small amount of foam padding one side.
Question for the experts I may cross post this in a Wrangler Specific forum but I figured someone here might have an answer as well.
I recently purchased a CFX 50 to use in my Jeep JKU, I already had a Yeti 400. My plan was to use the Yeti as a quasi dual battery to protect my starter battery. For the foreseeable future my trips will never be longer then a long weekend so I figured with the Yeti and possibly adding solar and/or chaining a battery I should be able to make it work.
When I put everything in the back of the Jeep and plugged it in I ran into a problem. The stock rear 12v outlet wont charge the Yeti, I get the low voltage error. Now having read that stock 12v outlets often wont run a fridge I am not entirely surprised. As it turns out mine wont run the fridge either, at least not with the jeep off. As a temporary solution I used an inverter to charge they yeti which works fine, but my understanding is this is less efficient. So how should I proceed?
Would using something like the ARB wiring kit, wired directly to the battery solve my problem? I know that should run the fridge but will it also charge the yeti over 12v? I liked the idea of the Yeti being hooked up to a keyed 12v that would automatically shut off when the jeep was off, is there a way to wire up the new outlet to function that way. OR would it be better to wire it so that I can manually switch the outlet off when I want to?
Let me know what you all think. Thanks in advance!
I recently purchased a CFX 50 to use in my Jeep JKU, I already had a Yeti 400. My plan was to use the Yeti as a quasi dual battery to protect my starter battery. For the foreseeable future my trips will never be longer then a long weekend so I figured with the Yeti and possibly adding solar and/or chaining a battery I should be able to make it work.
When I put everything in the back of the Jeep and plugged it in I ran into a problem. The stock rear 12v outlet wont charge the Yeti, I get the low voltage error. Now having read that stock 12v outlets often wont run a fridge I am not entirely surprised. As it turns out mine wont run the fridge either, at least not with the jeep off. As a temporary solution I used an inverter to charge they yeti which works fine, but my understanding is this is less efficient. So how should I proceed?
Would using something like the ARB wiring kit, wired directly to the battery solve my problem? I know that should run the fridge but will it also charge the yeti over 12v? I liked the idea of the Yeti being hooked up to a keyed 12v that would automatically shut off when the jeep was off, is there a way to wire up the new outlet to function that way. OR would it be better to wire it so that I can manually switch the outlet off when I want to?
Let me know what you all think. Thanks in advance!
If you are charging your yeti from the car via the 12v input then i have a feeling that the engine must be running as the low voltage cut off on the yeti is likely set at around 13.6 volts to prevent the yeti from draining our starter battery. Try it with the engine running
Regards
Alright I feel like I might have tried at and had the same issue but I will try it again and report back if that does in fact work that would solve my problem
Went and tried it and that worked. The Yeti was reading 60ish watts of input with the engine running. I must have only tried turning the key to the position between on and off. My next question would be is the Yeti drawing anything from the battery if it is reading low voltage? I would love to be able to leave it all plugged in but don't want to damage the starting battery.
Thanks for the quick response JP!
Thanks for the quick response JP!
@Varano14 Did you find the answer to your question as to whether the Yeti was drawing power from the battery if reading low voltage? Also, is your Dometic the newer CFX50W? I’m curious as I’m considering buying a Yeti for my setup (same as yours really). I recently picked up a Dometic CX50W for my Wrangler JL.
I’ve read that plenty of folks have used their Dometic 50, or ARB 50 for 24 to 72 hours - with no second battery - just plugged into the 12v cig lighter in the back of the Jeep. They claim fridge works fine, and Jeep starts fine after 1 to 3 days. I can’t get my Dometic to run for even 2 hours without shutting off due to low voltage.
I purchased/installed the ARB wiring kit. I think it’s 10ga wire. I still have the same exact problem. Fridge will only run for a couple hours after engine is off due to low voltage. Keep in mind, this is a 2018 Jeep - only owned for a couple months, so the Jeep battery should be fine.
Lastly, I’m using the medium voltage sensitivity setting. Maybe I need to try the low sensitivity setting (at home where a jump start would be easy), and see if that’s the issue. I’ll also throw a voltmeter on it, and see what kind of voltage I’m getting at vehicle battery, at 12v plug in back, and after 2 hours. Will report back...
I’ve read that plenty of folks have used their Dometic 50, or ARB 50 for 24 to 72 hours - with no second battery - just plugged into the 12v cig lighter in the back of the Jeep. They claim fridge works fine, and Jeep starts fine after 1 to 3 days. I can’t get my Dometic to run for even 2 hours without shutting off due to low voltage.
I purchased/installed the ARB wiring kit. I think it’s 10ga wire. I still have the same exact problem. Fridge will only run for a couple hours after engine is off due to low voltage. Keep in mind, this is a 2018 Jeep - only owned for a couple months, so the Jeep battery should be fine.
Lastly, I’m using the medium voltage sensitivity setting. Maybe I need to try the low sensitivity setting (at home where a jump start would be easy), and see if that’s the issue. I’ll also throw a voltmeter on it, and see what kind of voltage I’m getting at vehicle battery, at 12v plug in back, and after 2 hours. Will report back...
Not re-read the thread for this, but what AH draw per hour is the fridge?
You must start off with the fridge and all contents already at target temperature on mains power in order for the compressor to turn off / down part if the time.
Can be the difference between the supposed 400 wH lasting 12 hours and only 4-5 hours.
Ambient temp will also make a big difference, when it's very hot out I think 8-10 hours is optimistic.
And such capacity issues are independent of current amps surge / startup issues, that will drop voltage a lot, also the need for robust wiring connections.
These factors will combine with the basic capacity problem.
You must start off with the fridge and all contents already at target temperature on mains power in order for the compressor to turn off / down part if the time.
Can be the difference between the supposed 400 wH lasting 12 hours and only 4-5 hours.
Ambient temp will also make a big difference, when it's very hot out I think 8-10 hours is optimistic.
And such capacity issues are independent of current amps surge / startup issues, that will drop voltage a lot, also the need for robust wiring connections.
These factors will combine with the basic capacity problem.
Dunno what BCI size fits, but for example if G-31,
an Odyssey PC-2150 at 100AH will serve as an **excellent** true deep cycling batt, as well as delivering plenty of cranking amps.
Firefly Oasis as well, but harder to source.
Most 12V "dual use" batts are cr^p, these are the exceptions that prove the rule.
A good SoC meter will help avoid running it down too low (IMO keep above 50% for longevity) and / or carry one of the little lithium jumpstarters as backup.
an Odyssey PC-2150 at 100AH will serve as an **excellent** true deep cycling batt, as well as delivering plenty of cranking amps.
Firefly Oasis as well, but harder to source.
Most 12V "dual use" batts are cr^p, these are the exceptions that prove the rule.
A good SoC meter will help avoid running it down too low (IMO keep above 50% for longevity) and / or carry one of the little lithium jumpstarters as backup.
Two questions about the Yeti 400.
I installed a Renogy 100 watt panel on my shop roof to charge my Yeti 24/7. Overnight with nothing attached except the panel, the bar gauge showed the first bar (80%) flashing and a "Low Voltage" warning on the input wattage. Once the sun came up it went back to a full charge. All ports were turned off.
Am I hurting my battery by keeping it attached to Solar and not into a wall socket?
Second question. To chain an additional battery all I need is a equal sized (34 AH/12 VDC) and the appropriate cable to plug into the Anderson PP connectors/battery terminals?
I installed a Renogy 100 watt panel on my shop roof to charge my Yeti 24/7. Overnight with nothing attached except the panel, the bar gauge showed the first bar (80%) flashing and a "Low Voltage" warning on the input wattage. Once the sun came up it went back to a full charge. All ports were turned off.
Am I hurting my battery by keeping it attached to Solar and not into a wall socket?
Second question. To chain an additional battery all I need is a equal sized (34 AH/12 VDC) and the appropriate cable to plug into the Anderson PP connectors/battery terminals?
Wallygator
Adventurer
My guess would be this is happening because you still have the factory battery and it's running out of enough juice in a couple hours to trigger the low voltage setting on the fridge. I believe you would need to put a deep cell battery in place of your factory battery but I may be wrong.
I did not find a definite answer if the yeti draws power when you get the low voltage massage. I don’t think it is but to be safe if the fridge is off I unplug the yeti. My testing in a hot garage the yeti powered my CFX for about 30 hours. I picked up a 50w solar panel to extend my time some. I realize 50 Watts likely won’t keep up with the fridge but my hope is it extends the time enough because I generally won’t be out more the 3 days.
If the weather holds out I should be taking it on a real world test this weekend.
I’ve never tried to run the fridge directly of my Jeep battery because I use the yeti as an in between.
snowblind
Adventurer
Hey Swift.
Sorry for the late reply. Perfectly fine to keep connected to solar even at low voltage. That is all good.
Second battery chaining is exactly as you describe. Would be ideal to use an identical replacement Yeti 400 battery but anything that is roughly the same capacity will work. The Yeti controller will see this as ONE BIG BATTERY and charge accordingly.
Matt
Sorry for the late reply. Perfectly fine to keep connected to solar even at low voltage. That is all good.
Second battery chaining is exactly as you describe. Would be ideal to use an identical replacement Yeti 400 battery but anything that is roughly the same capacity will work. The Yeti controller will see this as ONE BIG BATTERY and charge accordingly.
Matt