pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
I alluded to an interesting thing that happened during my trip to cover the Vegas to Reno race. I was hoping to get some additional information from a manufacturer but that's been slow to come. Here is my story, your mileage may vary. I was at my last spot of the day and the sun was going down. I had my door open so the dome light was on. I kept hearing a beep and thought it was coming from a young spectator who was playing a game on her phone. When there were no cars coming I could hear well enough to figure out what the beeping was. It was coming from my CTEK D250S. It was the low battery warning. I started the truck and noticed the alternator gauge was reading low. I let the truck run and disconnected the battery cable; the truck died. Luckily, I was not too far outside Tonopah so I headed into town. I had been camping in the desert for two days and was covered in sweat and dirt from a long day in the silt beds so I got a room. Everything was booked because of the race so I had to stay in a dump. You know the kind of place where you peel back the sheets to look for bugs and take a shower with your sandals on. I had two different strangers asking me a bunch of questions about my solar panel in the parking lot so I was worried it would be missing in the morning.
The next day I walked to the auto parts store. They did not have an alternator and would not have one for 4 days. In another bit of luck, the girl at the parts store saw me shooting the day before so she knew who I was and did everything she could to help me. She sent me to a shop up the hill that had a brick nose bronco that was going to be scrapped. For $35 bucks I got the alternator and the harness. My truck had been converted to a 3G, one wire alternator so I needed the harness to make it work. I got it installed, it was charging, so I headed towards Vegas. It soon started to overcharge at 18 volts. It was not internally regulated. I made it to Beatty before I stopped; not wanting to burn up my Odyssey AGM battery. The wires were so hot, they melted the duct tape I used to shield them. I got another room because it was well over 100 degrees, (that blew my whole low-budget trip). I made several calls and was 50% sure there was an alternator in Pahrump so I decided to drive on the batteries as far as I could and call AAA if I didn't make it.
I left Beatty at 8am heading across some desolate Northern Nevada landscape. I made it to the alien/brothel gas station and stopped for fuel. I pulled out my electrical meter and checked the state of charge. It was at 12.5 volts. I know that my CTEK will take a charge from either the solar panel or the alternator depending on which source is greater. What I didn't know is that it also sends juice from the panel to the starting battery. When I got underway, instead of taking the road to Pahrump, I continued south towards Vegas. I drove straight to Henderson before making another stop to check the battery. It was still at 12.5 volts. I decided to keep going to my destination, Laughlin. I made it the whole way. It was a long, hot day with no ac fan running in 116 degree heat but I was safely at my destination. I spent the next couple days in the hotel getting my stories out and took a few hours to run some errands in town. As long as the sun was out, the truck started and drove without issue.
At the end of the week I drove from Laughlin to Hesperia, again with no issues. I wished that I had saved my $35 in Tonopah and the cost of the room in Beatty. In total, I drove 450 miles on solar and battery. The alternator was disconnected. I talked to CTEK but have not been able to reach anyone who can speak to the technical aspects of what went on. I don't know if it's a fluke or an added bonus but I will find out. I have replaced the alternator and will now carry a spare, but it's nice to know that if all else fails, there is still a way to get home.
The next day I walked to the auto parts store. They did not have an alternator and would not have one for 4 days. In another bit of luck, the girl at the parts store saw me shooting the day before so she knew who I was and did everything she could to help me. She sent me to a shop up the hill that had a brick nose bronco that was going to be scrapped. For $35 bucks I got the alternator and the harness. My truck had been converted to a 3G, one wire alternator so I needed the harness to make it work. I got it installed, it was charging, so I headed towards Vegas. It soon started to overcharge at 18 volts. It was not internally regulated. I made it to Beatty before I stopped; not wanting to burn up my Odyssey AGM battery. The wires were so hot, they melted the duct tape I used to shield them. I got another room because it was well over 100 degrees, (that blew my whole low-budget trip). I made several calls and was 50% sure there was an alternator in Pahrump so I decided to drive on the batteries as far as I could and call AAA if I didn't make it.
I left Beatty at 8am heading across some desolate Northern Nevada landscape. I made it to the alien/brothel gas station and stopped for fuel. I pulled out my electrical meter and checked the state of charge. It was at 12.5 volts. I know that my CTEK will take a charge from either the solar panel or the alternator depending on which source is greater. What I didn't know is that it also sends juice from the panel to the starting battery. When I got underway, instead of taking the road to Pahrump, I continued south towards Vegas. I drove straight to Henderson before making another stop to check the battery. It was still at 12.5 volts. I decided to keep going to my destination, Laughlin. I made it the whole way. It was a long, hot day with no ac fan running in 116 degree heat but I was safely at my destination. I spent the next couple days in the hotel getting my stories out and took a few hours to run some errands in town. As long as the sun was out, the truck started and drove without issue.
At the end of the week I drove from Laughlin to Hesperia, again with no issues. I wished that I had saved my $35 in Tonopah and the cost of the room in Beatty. In total, I drove 450 miles on solar and battery. The alternator was disconnected. I talked to CTEK but have not been able to reach anyone who can speak to the technical aspects of what went on. I don't know if it's a fluke or an added bonus but I will find out. I have replaced the alternator and will now carry a spare, but it's nice to know that if all else fails, there is still a way to get home.
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