[HarryN]

Thanks for the link to this 70 amp tap in point. Really useful info.

 

[HarryN]

Battery/Alternator Attachment and Aux Power Connectors
I'm starting to look at how to wire a "house" battery system into the alternator for charging while driving, and I was hoping to add a fuse to the high-current fuse block, but like some others in the thread with 2017 vans, all my connections are full.

I went and traced cables, and I'm almost certain that the 250A MEGAVAL fuse is connected to the additional fuse box in the passenger B-pillar. There are two additional fuses where other vans have empty slots:

- 70A fuse wired to the Upfitter Power Connector and documented in the body builder guide
- 250A fuse wired to a second 50A fuse, with a narrower-gauge wire than the one for the Upfitter Power Connector

See photos below - I didn't pull my seats off or run a continuity test to be certain, but the wiring is pretty conclusive that the 250A fuse is used for both the Auxiliary Switches and the Auxiliary Battery Prep. The aux switches provide 2 20A fused connections in the passenger B panel, with relays controlled by the dash switches. See Promaster Accessory Connector for details.

I have the switches but not the battery prep. This would explain why the 250A fuse is so large, and has the secondary 50A fuse for the wiring I do have.

Since I do have the Auxiliary Switches option (LHL), as does beewill, and the switches provide 20A as above, the 50A fuse would make sense. From my wire tracing it looks like the narrower-gauge wire feeds into the fuse and relay block adjacent to the upfitter connector, with several 20A fuses. Someone else reported they had a 2017 without the 250A fuse, and they did not have Aux switches or battery prep.

Based on this, I'm thinking I'll tap off the 250A fuse with a second lug and wire (sized for 250A, or add a secondary fuse) for house battery charging.

Fuse Block:

50A fuse attached to block cover:

Upfitter and second wires - driver's side

Upfitter and second wires - passenger side

Hi, I am helping with a promaster auxiliary electrical system project.

It has the 220 amp alternator, but based on info from the van owner, he doesn't think that it has the upfitter version of the electrical in the B pillar like yours.

I am hoping to tap into a source that can support 70 amps continuous for a sterling unit.

Did you end up staying with this tap in point or go to the battery? (edit - sorry, was reading the manuals for both a Metris and Promaster this morning and confused the battery locations)

I guess I am wondering if I need to go all the way to the alternator or not.

Thanks

Harry N

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Look under the bottom cover of the B pillar or his Monrony but you can tell if he has the upfitter power block if the fuse and wire are there. Many here have connected to the battery terminal with another fuse similiar to those you show and routed the wire along the channel proved at the side left side of the driver’s seat to get to batteries or controllers behind the driver seat. If you have no plan to use the upfitter connector it isn’t there perhaps removing the wire from it’s fuse or connecting to that empty lug and connecting to the existing fuse or adding a fuse would be a good choice. Do not try to connect to the alternator. Route the power to the passenger seat fro the Stearling.

 

[HarryN]

Look under the bottom cover of the B pillar or his Monrony but you can tell if he has the upfitter power block if the fuse and wire are there. Many here have connected to the battery terminal with another fuse similiar to those you show and routed the wire along the channel proved at the side left side of the driver’s seat to get to batteries or controllers behind the driver seat. If you have no plan to use the upfitter connector it isn’t there perhaps removing the wire from it’s fuse or connecting to that empty lug and connecting to the existing fuse or adding a fuse would be a good choice. Do not try to connect to the alternator. Route the power to the passenger seat fro the Stearling.

Thanks. I have not yet found an "official promaster van statement" on what the max current is that can be pulled from various locations but I am guessing from your statement that 70 amps continuous is viable / routine.

 

[phil]

Thanks. I have not yet found an "official promaster van statement" on what the max current is that can be pulled from various locations but I am guessing from your statement that 70 amps continuous is viable / routine.

This is for the B pillar accessory connection if you have it.
https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/bbg/pdf/2016/van/docs/vf/eupfconn.pdf

 

[dttocs]

Thanks. I have not yet found an "official promaster van statement" on what the max current is that can be pulled from various locations but I am guessing from your statement that 70 amps continuous is viable / routine.

I think it somewhat depends how continuous “continuous” is, but connecting to the battery at the points I used will get you a peak of 200+ A. I’ve used it quite successfully at ~90A for up to 8 hours (mostly) continuous while driving to charge my lithium bank.

The upfitter connector is fused at 70A (for 2016+ iirc, 50A before that), but that might be a bit tight for 70A continuous load.

The question of whether the alternator can stand up to the load on a continuous basis is a different one. I’ve seen a few reports of what appears to be early clutch failure on alternators which may have been subjected to continuous loads (the most detailed one I recall is from InterBlog on her Sprinter with a Bosch alternator.)

I also posted the alternator performance curves somewhere here a number of months ago... found it

 

[dttocs]

Kitchen Progress

Still catching up on documenting my build... this is from early last year still.

I've made some progress prototyping our kitchen cabinet and layout. It's all 80-20 10-series. I looked at using 15-series, but it seems like overkill for the weight I'll be putting in it. It's in three bays, with the sink in the middle, at least for now, although I'm pondering a swap of sink and drawers.

Originally I was going to build all the drawers from 1/2" baltic birch plywood and pocket screws, but then I saw what asimba2 had done with 80-20 and Blum drawer hardware.

Doing a bit more research, it turns out Ikea Maximera drawers also use Blum hardware, and are quite a bit cheaper, although they come in limited sizes. My cabinets are 22" deep, and the 24"x24" drawers fit brilliantly in the space remaining after fitting the Engel MT45 fridge in one bay and two 7 gallon jerry cans under the sink bay. (Note that 24x24 is the cabinet outside frame size - the drawers are 22 1/2" x 21 3/8"). A quick trip to Ikea and I had drawers!

They turned out to be a bit finicky to install - they seem to have 1/32" to 1/16" flexibility - the repeated adjustability of the 80-20 made things much easier. Once I finish this prototype, I'll it all take apart, replace the home made corner brackets with anchor fasteners for increased strength and put it back together.

I will still be making the large bottom drawer out of plywood, since I'll be using it as a step to ease access to the bed. There's no way the Ikea drawers would stand up to that sort of weight.

The Engel will live on the plywood slider at the bottom of the right-hand bay. I'm not sure yet what I'll do at the top of the right-hand bay. The width needs to be 16.5" for the Engel, and there isn't a standard Ikea drawer in that width. I've ordered some Blum rear fixed brackets to see if they're compatible with the Ikea version - if so, I should be able to cut down Maximera drawers to fit.

(UPDATE: The Blum rear fixed brackets are not compatible with the Ikea drawer sides. Another option would be to cut down the solid Maximera back, but I haven't tried that yet)


Notes:

- If you're thinking of using 80-20, the 360+ posts in the Sprinter Forum 80-20 megathread is very worthwhile reading.
- making your own corner brackets dramatically reduces cost for 80-20. Thanks David Orton for the idea.

 

[WanderingWakes]

To my knowledge that isn’t a default option, but I didn’t ask. I’m figuring I’ll be tinting all windows at some point, so I’ll do this one then. Since these are dual pane acrylic windows, I suspect supply chain would make offering various tints challenging, but I suppose they could add a film at the factory.

Did you ever tint the Tern windows? That's my main hesitation with them at this point....

 

[dttocs]

No, I haven’t tinted them. They have a very light tint from the factory, and that has been enough for us so far.