Adding HD Springs/200hr Battery Bank to '97F150 '78 Bethany Pickupper

[bruue1]

Don't use the auxillary circuit to wire your solenoid, its always on

I showed in here how I used an add a circuit to wire the battery isolator solenoid, and I had wired it to my auxiliary power circuit in the fuse box underneath my hood. This was a mistake, all of the small fuses in the fuse box under the hood of an F150 half ton are hot whether or not the ignition is switched on. Luckily I figured this out before I went and stranded myself (its always good to check your stuff with real application). Like I said, I'm definitely no pro and pieced all this together from reading forum posts and watching you-tube videos.

I rewired the add a circuit to the ignition fuse under the dash of my truck, now the solenoid only closes when the ignition is turned on and it breaks the circuit when I turn the truck off and remove the key. This way my camper battery bank is truly isolated from the truck starting battery when the truck is off, guaranteeing I will not kill my truck battery with camper accessories. Only took a few minutes, I just wanted to clarify on here so I don't lead anybody else in the wrong direction. My apologies for any confusion.

 

[shanz3n5]

well how did everything work out?

 

[bruue1]

Its all working pretty good. Had a few fun trips with the truck now. Added a water tank and 12v pump today. Springs are still working perfectly and the battery bank is still charging working as it should. The two batteries were never treated right and were old, I just had them sitting out in the barn for years before installing them in this camper. I'd like better performance from my battery bank, someday I'll get new batteries. Thanks for asking.