Just Downsized to a Renegade (build and trips)

[crossed-up]

One project I’ve been meaning to do for a while is to fit an auxiliary battery to run the fridge and other accessories (if/when needed), and provide some piece of mind that the starter battery will always be capable of starting the car.

Space and weight is always consideration in the Renegade so I am going for a couple of small 22Ah AGM batteries to give some flexibility in mounting location, and charge them from a DC-DC charger (needed due to the smart alternator setup). So the aux batteries will only run the fridge when stopped. Since the Jeep often sits idle when using my other car for work I also decided to add a solar panel to keep everything topped up. The waffle boards on the roof now provide a mounting place for this.
When removing the wheel arch liners during the service last year I had already spotted that there was potential storage space between the inner and outer wings. So last weekend I did a bit more investigation and came up with a plan make use of the space as a location for the auxiliary batteries and/or storage compartments for some of the lesser-used tools and spares currently carried in the rear.

I didn't have the time or inclination to remove the wheels and arch liners so started by removing the foam blanking pieces from the inner wings.

This exposed a significant void with a lot of potential for storage.

Before committing to buy the batteries I did a bit of CAD (cardboard aided design) to mock up a space model to check for mounting and clearance issues.

ac

There is definitely space in the void for my chosen Yuasa 22Ah batteries and I could probably squeeze two into one side. But I think I’ll opt to put one each side to distribute the weight better, and there will still be room to create some storage space.

There’s actually slightly less space on the drivers side due to a wiring loom attached to the inner wing. But The battery will still clear it without having to re-route it.

I’m not sure yet whether I’ll just make up some braketry to mount the batteries or fabricate a full storage compartment. I am leaning towards moulding up glass fibre buckets that fitted from below, with another moulding on top to replace the factory foam inserts and create a hinged cover panel. I really need to take the arch liners out again to look at the feasibility of this, in the meantime I’m still experimenting with a bit more CAD. The battery will actually have more clearance than this.

Some of the key parts arrived over the last few days; a 50W solar panel, MPPT controller, wires and connectors.

A quick check on dimensions and there should be room for a second panel if required.

Weather permitting, I’ll be continuing with this tomorrow.

 

[crossed-up]

Well the weather cooperated at the weekend and a spent some time cracking on with the solar install.

No pain, no gain. I had to dismantle a bit more of the car than I hoped, but it was the only way to route the cables properly. It was also an opportunity to clean some of the Welsh mud and sand that had got behind the bumper.

Trimming down the gutter trim to accept the solar panel cables in addition to the CB antenna cable fitted previously.

Cables routed through the trim and back in place in the gutter.

The roof rail mount needed a bit more fettling too to get the solar cabling and connectors through. I didn’t really need to use the ‘standard’ 4mm double insulated cabling, and it definitely would have been easier to to use something thinner and more flexible, but it allows for more power in the future.

Starting to go back together.

Next up is to get the solar controller mounted in the sub woofer compartment. I am also having some thoughts about locating the auxiliary in the spare wheel well to keep all the electrics in the rear and freeing up the from storage bins.

 

[autism family travels]

Great work on the little renegade crossed up. I love little rigs. Our patriot is so much fun too!

 

[crossed-up]

Great work on the little renegade crossed up. I love little rigs. Our patriot is so much fun too!

Thanks AFT, it's definitely fun coming up with ways to package things into a small vehicle. There's not much I've had to compromise on coming down from the GC to the Renegade, it even coped with some towing duties back in November when I needed to quickly retrieve one of my my other projects before the next lockdown hit.

 

[crossed-up]

Back to the solar install...

I didn't get that much done this weekend, but I buttoned up most of the wiring routing, and got the bumper and arch trims back on. I then moved on to making up a bracket to mount the solar controller. There was a convenient M6 stud to hang it from inside the sub woofer compartment. Just waiting for the battery and 4mm ferrules to arrive now so I can connect it all up.

I made up a card template for the brakes first then replicated it in ali.

Bracket folded up and controller temporarily mounted to test fit.

Bracket and controller test fitted.

My cardboard space model battery seems to fit conveniently in the space behind the jack kit. I'll make up an ali battey tray that picks up on the seat mount, and probably allow for two batteries for more capacity if I need it.

 

[crossed-up]

The 4mm ferrules arrived and battery arrived today, so I spent some time this evening terminating the cabling. As usual the things weren’t quite as straight forward as the could have been since the insulation on the solar cabling was slightly too fat for the plastic sleeves on the ferrules. So I ended up having to heat the plastic sleeve ferrules to all them to be pushed over the insulation.

For bit of added security I also sleeved the crimp with heat shrink sleeving.

Everything connected up at the controller end.

Controller in situ, hopefully for the final time.

A quick check on battery location.

I just need to fab up the battery tray now, but that will most likely need to wait until the weekend.

 

[crossed-up]

It was time to get on with the battery tray today.

After making up a card template I set to with some ali I had left over from making the storage crate lids.

To make best use of space and avoid cutting any trim I decided to go for a staggered layout for the batteries.

I made up a combined mount and strengthening rib that picks up on the seat mount.

It took a while to refine the final shape but I ended up with this. The rivets attach the to bad to the mounting rib.

After a coat of textured paint.

I also made up an earthing bracket with that also bolts to the set mount.

Hopefully I will get the install finished tomorrow.

 

[jgaz]

As always, I love the holes and other little details in your brackets.
Nice work

 

[krick3tt]

I am inspired by your posts of your build(s). I also use cardboard mock-ups of items to assure the fit and placement.
You have managed to place a great amount of carefully orchestrated items into your vehicle, great work.

 

[crossed-up]

Thanks both, I'm hoping the lockdown will be eased soon so I can actually go somewhere.

I carried on with finishing the install today, although there are still some the things to tidy and complete.....

Marking the holes for the two M5 clinch nuts that secure the side of the battery tray.

Setting the clinch nuts.

Clinch nuts in place and I added a strip of foam to fill the small gap created by the heads of the clinch nuts sitting slightly proud.

I decided to locate a single earth for the whole battery/solar system close to the aux battery. To make use of the seat mount bolt I made made up a bracket (last but one pic in the previous update) with a captive nut so I could use a standard M6 bolt and ring terminals, as the M8 bolt on the seat bracket is too big for a standard terminal, and it separates the seat fixing clamping function form the electrical connection. I removed the paint from the brackets to ensure a good connection.

Earth bracket and wiring in place.

Tray finally bolted in pace.

After connecting up the solar panel and the aux battery to the controller it was reassuring to see the charging status LED come on. Handily it was just after midday and the sun was shining!

After about an hour the ‘house’ battery registered as fully charged.

The controller then switched to trickle charging the starter battery. This varied between 0.3A to 0.5A

Aux battery in place with the kitchen drawer back in place. The red positive connection and the lashing strap is just a temporary measure to test the system. I now need to add the feed to the fridge via a local fuse. I’ve also decided to order the second battery and fit that. The final bit of fabrication will be to make up a plastic battery cover to and proper battery securing strap,

I also need to tidy up the solar wiring and panel mounting up on the roof.

 

[crossed-up]

Whilst all the kit was out of the car for the battery install I took the opportunity to start re-evaluating and repackaging the kit I’ve been carrying around. One thing I had been meaning to do was try and repackage my compressor/tyre repair kit to fit better in the spare wheel.
The compressor is mounted to a baseplate with rubber bushes and angled brackets, and the baseplate itself has rubber feet. Presumably this arrangement is to provide a wider footprint for stability and reduce noise. Looking at the feet on the baseplate it appeared that they could potentially mount directly to the angle brackets, eliminating the baseplate, reducing the footprint and saving a bit of weight. This turned out to be the case and the hole sizes in the brackets were even the correct size for the feet, so I suspect the compressor may even be sold in this configuration in some markets.

The standard unit on its baseplate.

The removed baseplate and angle brackets.

I removed the rubber feet from the baseplate and refitted them to the angled mounting bracket.

The result was a much more compact unit. It could be further simplified by removing the handle and end plate, and connecting the hose directly to the cylinder head, but I decided the convenience of the handle was worth keeping.

 

[crossed-up]

Back to the solar project...

I left the fridge running for most of the last week directly from the aux battery and its been running fine, maintaining 2 to 3 dogs., and despite a completely overcast and rainy day yesterday the aux battery was sitting nicely at 13.6 degrees with the controller registering fully charged and charge switched to the starter battery. So I'm happy that the basic system is working in term of charge-in vs drain, and will only get better when in sunnier locations. I am also not going to bother with the second batter for now. To add some further resilience I have ordered a small DC-DC converter that I will configure as a constant voltage charger to keep the aux battery topped up from the car's 12V system - less than 10GBP compared with over 110GBP for a 'proper' DC-DC charger.

Some pics...

Panel temporarily zip tied to the waffle boards. I will make up some proper fasteners for this at some point. I’m also thinking of a bending up a simple polycarb fairing to mount on the leading edge of the waffle boards so spill the airflow over them better, and cover the leading edge of the solar panel.

Fidge sitting nicely at 3 degs.

Aux battery still at 13.6V

I need to finish things off with a cover and proper clamp for the battery, and some tidying and rearrangement of the wiring and connectors up on the roof.

 

[crossed-up]

Today I made a small bracket to provide a proper anchor point for the battery retaining strap now that I am only fitting the single battery.
I then made up a cover to give some protection to the wiring and terminals out of some 4mm polycarbonate sheet I had left over from another project. I started with quite a complex card template that fully enclosed the battery, but I eventually simplified it to a ‘J’ section.

Putting the bends in.

Trimmed to shape and protective file removed.

I decided to sand the outer surface for an opaque finish. I might give it a coat of textured black paint at some point, but it will do for now in terms of protecting the battery terminals and wiring.

The cover just slots over the top of the battery and is retained with some velcro.

 

[crossed-up]

A couple of things turned up yesterday.

Firstly, the obligatory Jeep adornments …

Secondly, the DC-DC converter module. It was much better than I expected for the 10GBP it cost. Its basically a DC-DC converter that will deliver 0.5V to 31V from a 7V to 32V supply, with settable constant current and constant voltage modes. There is also an onboard timer mode that will switch the unit off after a preset time.

Quickly hooked up to my 13.8V bench supply to have play with the various modes.

There’s even a graphing display showing current and voltage.

Before testing the power output I needed to fit the small fan behind the rear plate that is supplied as part of the higher power rated version.

Using some resistors on the output to check the constant voltage mode (I’ll be using this mode for charging the aux battery.)

Testing the max current capability with the output shorted. It can actually be set beyond the 4.0A max quoted.

I’ll probably need to wait until the weekend to get it installed in the car, after I’ve devised a relay arrangement to switch between the DC-DC and the solar.

 

[mccolganm4]

Love this wee build. How do you go about getting the stickers in the UK?

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