Our 2018 Lexor came with a battery separator for charging the house batteries (LiFePO4) from the alternator while driving. Newer Lexors incorporate a DC to DC charger instead. We decided it was time to upgrade our system.
Why upgrade?
1) A more controlled charge should extend the life of the house batteries
2) The battery separator can be eliminated. It is located in a place prone to water infiltration on a ProMaster and we had already replaced ours once. The new DC to DC charger and circuit breakers are installed under the couch.
Results
The new system works well and gives us real-time information as the alternator is charging the house batteries. We eliminated some weight, a few potential failure points and are happy with the performance so far.
If you are interested in how we did the installation, read on for more info.
The Project
Note: I’ll add more to this soon. There was a request for the info, so I’m posting a partial article.
*Disclaimer*
I’m not an electrical engineer, so please don’t follow our procedures without checking with a professional.
Old System
Alternator -> Fuse box positive bus -> Battery Separator -> “Red Key” On/Off Switch -> House Battery
New System
Alternator -> Fuse box positive bus -> Circuit Breaker -> DC to DC Charger -> Circuit Breaker -> Blue Sea On/Off Switch –> House Battery
Alternator -> Fuse box positive bus -> Circuit Breaker -> DC to DC Charger -> Circuit Breaker -> Blue Sea On/Off Switch –> House Battery
We based our upgrade plan on this illustration from the latest Lexor product manual.
The full manual is available on-line here from Pleasure-Way’s Site.
Parts
• Blue-Sea 80 amp circuit breaker (qty 2)
• Blue-Sea 6006 Single Circuit On/Off Switch
• Victron Energy Orion XS 12 | 12 – 50A DC to DC battery charger
Choosing a Charger
Pleasure-Way uses a Mastervolt 12 Volt 50 Amp DC to DC charger and we ordered one from West Marine. Upon receiving it we looked at the size vs the space available and decided to see if there were other options. Victron recently released a model with similar specifications that was less expensive and smaller. It also sends real-time charging information to a cellphone app, a capability that the Mastervolt does not have. After reading a few reviews, we returned the Mastervolt and bought a Victron Orion XS 12 | 12 – 50A DC to DC battery charger.
Out with the Old
Much of the wiring under the hood is no longer needed. We removed the two wires feeding the battery separator and the battery separator itself.
While we were messing about with the wiring under the couch, we decided to go ahead and replace the Charge Line Disconnect switch as well.
References
Having learned to be relatively self sufficient as cruising sailors, our go to reference is Nigel Calder’s “Boat Owners Mechanical and Electrical Manual.” Lots of the information is transferable to recreational vehicles. Data from the manual is also available on the BoatHowTo website.