ouR escaPOD mods

Okay. I have the charger installed. I can't finish the Frontier's wiring until the parts arrive from eTrailer, but I got it together sufficiently to test the operation of the charger. More pictures will have to wait for daylight, but here is the battery and charger setup.

The input wires are 6AWG. Renogy says that 12AWG wiring would be okay for the output wiring, but I used 10AWG. When I tested it, the charger was operating as expected. Now I can be sure to have the battery charged, plus I finally have sufficient power going to the battery to allow running the refrigerator on battery while we are on the road. That will save the propane for use when we are stopped or boondocking.

The input wires are run thus:

Negative wire runs from the negative input terminal through the battery compartment and through a new hole lined with a plastic 3/4" bushing connector inserted into a hole drilled in the bottom between the frame rail and the fresh water tank. The wire is then attached to the frame using one of the existing screws located just aft of the opening which is used to hold the other wires running along the frame. The hole is lined with a 3/4" Insulated Bushing which threads onto the other piece and holds it in place. The Positive wire runs from the charger's positive input terminal to the terminal of a 30A circuit breaker, which is what Renogy recommends to protect the charger (I could have used a fuse also). The other terminal of the circuit breaker continues the run of the positive cable which goes through the same fitting. The positive lead is then attached to the existing wiring run with zip-ties. It is currently runnign to be co-located with the existing trailer umbilical. I think it will be easiest to have the two connectors side-by-side, but that may have to change once the 2-pole connector arrives and I see if it will work where I am thinking of placing it.

The D+ signal wire is attached to the terminal of the 30A breaker. Normally, this would be connected to an ignition circuit, but since I am using a battery isolator to make sure the circuit is live only when the vehicle is running, this also becomes a logical point for attaching the D+ wire. It works just as I expected. When the vehicle is off, the circuit is not energized. When the vehicle starts, the isolator relay closes, sending power through the wire. Most of the wiring diagrams I was able to find for the DC-to-DC charger seem to be written with the assumption that it will be installed in a motor home. I have had to figure out how to make it work with the RPod. I will post pictures of the Frontier's wiring tomorrow.

The parts came in, but too late to get them mounted today. I found that the mounting bracket for the 2-pole connector is not going to work as is, so I am making  a shim to add some space to allow for the lid to open. It would work if I mounted it upside-down, but I don't want to do that. Anyway, since I don't have those pictures yet, I will add one for the fuse box showing how I tapped into the circuit to power the relay. Also, I could never find which fuse would cut the power to the 7-pole connector so the idea hit me to just disconnect the wire on the trailer end from the little junction box. I sealed it in a little shrink tubing so it will be easy to put it back on if and when I decide to revert the RPod back to lead-acid batteries, such as if we upgrade and I want to move the LiFePO4 battery to a newer model. This has the benefit of not impacting the TV's connection in case the Hayes Sway-Master requires that power to be available.

I spoke elsewhere about my no longer noisy water pump. It turns out that there was a washer inside that had likely been pinched in between the housing and the diaphragm that worked loose over the 4+ years we have owned it and started rattling intermittently, especially when the pump started and stopped. However, as part of the routine maintenance of flushing the water heater, I noticed water coming out from under the pod, not just from the opening of the water heater. Some time back, I had mentioned to the dealer that the frame that holds the cover did not appear to be sealed properly and more silicone was added. It turns out that the silicone was likely slapped over a dirty place and did not adhere. I decided to remove the cover and outside frame to see what was up with this. When I did, this is what I found:

In the first picture, it is obvious why just adding some silicone did not stop it from leaking. It was applied over the label, which was not firmly attached. The water just ran behind the label. In the second, there was no label, but it was likely the surface was not cleaned prior to putting silicone there, so it also leaked.

You can also see that the opening has square corners wile the water heater is rounded. There is the gap in the corners that also meant it was easier for the water to run into the opening since that was not sealed while the flange of the frame was. It irritates me that I did not think to pull that frame off before now to check that. It looked like there was plenty of silicone, so I did not think leaks could be happening there. It is good that I only drain the water heater once or twice a year. I'll have to make sure the area is thoroughly dry.

I did not have any non-self-leveling lap sealant to use and I don't want to use silicone to put the frame back on. The sealant that was on there did not look like butyl rubber as was tan and not black. There is an RV place not too far from us now, so I will go there tomorrow to see if they have the sealant I need. In the meantime, I did take some Dow Dynaflex Ultra Advanced Exterior Sealant and sealed the bottom and part way up the sides of the water heater at the opening. I need to fill the top corners where it is a larger gap. Then I will seal that as well. The Dynaflex is somewhat like Dicor in that it stays flexible, but it does not stay sticky. The color I used is black. Since it will not be visible, that is okay. It is just another layer of protection against the leak recurring.

I am working on getting the old silicone off the frame so when I seal it, it will stay sealed. If you have not checked your water heater cover, you might wish to. As I found, it isn't always sealed properly when it is installed.