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Old 04-03-2017, 03:32 PM   #1
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Replacing house 4D battery

After 6 years the house battery developed a short in one cell. I decided to upgrade to a Lifeline AGM GPL-4DL. My build has a rear storage box so this setup might differ slightly from your build. Some pics and instructions if you want to attempt this yourself.

I recommend eye protection and heavy duty gloves in the event something goes wrong and you accidently ground the positive terminal. You won't get electrocuted but you could get severe burns. I would also recommend turning off the main and fused breakers..

The battery weighs about 125lbs so supporting it is essential. I bolted down a piece of plywood to a floor jack.


After supporting the battery remove the four bolts that hold the bracket. I lowered it about 1 inch and then secured the bracket to the floor jack using some super long zip ties.


Remove the battery cover (not shown). Disconnect the terminals and clean them up with a wire brush and some dissolved baking soda. I recommend taping up the ends of your wrenches to prevent them from grounding out on exposed metal. My build has a temperature sensor for the Blue Sky 2000e solar controller which should be attached to the negative terminal. Coat the terminals with some anti-corrosive gel or protectant. If the bracket is showing signs of rust clean it up and put a fresh coat of paint on it.


Sportsmobile had some vinyl shims between the battery and the bracket. I reused them. You will also need to tie the battery down to the eyelets, I used two zip ties. Some of you are frowning right now but that's what SMB used and they lasted 6 years.

Ideal charging voltage for the Lifeline AGM batteries is from 14.2-14.4 volts. The solar controller was set to 14.0 volts. I readjusted it to charge at 14.3 volts. The dip switches were also wrong, switch 3 needs to be on and switch 4 should be off for AGM applications.

Blue Sky 2000e Solar Boost Manual
http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/uplo..._BSE_SB2KE.pdf

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Old 04-03-2017, 03:57 PM   #2
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Excellent. I am just about to install my Lifeline 4D and bought one of these at harbor freight. Kind of a waste but I will have to drop my tank too to install some seating so it will come in handy:

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Old 04-03-2017, 09:47 PM   #3
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That harbor freight jack and an air wrench worked great for me!
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...ess-17003.html

Not a fun job no matter how you approach it though.
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Old 04-03-2017, 10:00 PM   #4
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I'm gonna have to humpty mine along with the 1/2" drive ratchet, but yeah, this jack should help a ton.......or 450lbs...
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Old 04-03-2017, 11:28 PM   #5
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You will also need to tie the battery down to the eyelets, I used two zip ties. Some of you are frowning right now but that's what SMB used and they lasted 6 years.
OK, I'll bite You've seen my photo of when that zip tie failed? Started an engine fire when the tilted battery rubbed against metal.



I've also had my fun jacking batteries out/in.
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Old 04-04-2017, 08:04 AM   #6
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OK, I'll bite You've seen my photo of when that zip tie failed? Started an engine fire when the tilted battery rubbed against metal.



I've also had my fun jacking batteries out/in.
Looking at the picture it doesn't appear that the zip tie failed. It looks like the battery handle came loose on one end and slipped out. Plus I used two zip ties.
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Old 04-04-2017, 08:51 AM   #7
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Wait................I designed in (4) 3/8" Bolts to hold my battery down and I could have just used zip ties??

Stupid me.

Maybe use two zipties per side???
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Old 04-04-2017, 09:52 AM   #8
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Looking at the picture it doesn't appear that the zip tie failed. It looks like the battery handle came loose on one end and slipped out. Plus I used two zip ties.
You may be correct. I didn't even notice the zip tie when I was fixing this mess - only afterwards looking back at my photos, but yes the handle rope was broken and you would think the zip tie would have bounced out if it was broken. I can't remember.
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Old 04-04-2017, 10:00 AM   #9
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Heck, I don't even have a zip tie.. but the battery is pretty well wedged in there.
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Old 04-04-2017, 10:01 AM   #10
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I too had a zip tie failure quite some time ago. Lost a zip tie on one side of the battery, which caused the battery cable to rub on the frame. I replaced the zip tie with larger versions, also double up. I continually checked every month for quite a while, and now usually do it every quarter. I would say the new ones have held up very well, I will add checking the rope handles to my list.



In any event, this was a post from John K. who used to work at SMB, and his description of what holds the battery down.


"The zip ties are basically just there to secure the battery during installation. The battery mounts inside of an angle iron frame, with a sheet of 1/8" thick ABS plastic underneath it. The battery is secured two ways. There is an ABS cover that was designed to act as a spacer between the top of the battery and the bottom of the van floor to keep the battery from rising out of the angle iron frame once installed. There is also a small gap (about 1/4") between the angle iron frame and battery case sidewalls. This gap is filled with Sikaflex sealant which secures the battery to the frame. The Sikaflex sealant also prevents small pebbles from becoming lodged between the angle iron frame and battery case, which will wear a hole in the battery case.

If you don't have the ABS cover or Sikaflex sealant, you'll need something more than the zip ties to secure the battery (and to prevent small pebbles from causing major problems).

While I haven't seen a battery ever come out of the angle iron frame, I have seen the damage a couple little pebbles can cause!

John K."

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...tion-1185.html

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