AUX battery as house battery

kingnever · 10-24-2017, 01:55 PM

I have a factory AUX battery setup in my 2011 E250 EB cargo. This is the factory AUX battery setup, not the dual starter battery setup.

The battery is currently not healthy, but I was thinking about replacing it and attempting to use it as my house battery to start so I can gauge my electrical needs.

I could simple run wires from the battery terminals into the back of the van via some holes in the ground (van had a factory cargo separator and shelves so the holes are present) but I've heard there is wiring in the driver side B pillar but I'm unable to locate it and would be interested in using that wiring if possible Is it a harness with a molex connector?

Otherwise, anyone who is using their AUX battery as their house battery and can offer suggestions, configurations or advice would be greatly appreciated. I understand the battery is a group 65 and so I'll be limited to somewhere around 75Ah of deep cycle battery, but compatible battery brands / models would be helpful as well.

Looking forward to the day where I can contribute and not just ask a million questions.

mikracer · 10-24-2017, 03:16 PM

I'm using the factory aux battery as a house battery of sorts. I ran 8ga wire from the battery up through a rubber drain plug grommet. If you look under the van towards the passenger rear (near where the aux battery is), you'll see the grommet. I just cut a slit in it and ran the wire up through there. I then added fuse block in the cubby where the jack is held. From there you can run wires and switches to wherever you need.

kingnever · 10-25-2017, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikracer

I'm using the factory aux battery as a house battery of sorts. I ran 8ga wire from the battery up through a rubber drain plug grommet. If you look under the van towards the passenger rear (near where the aux battery is), you'll see the grommet. I just cut a slit in it and ran the wire up through there. I then added fuse block in the cubby where the jack is held. From there you can run wires and switches to wherever you need.

Thanks for this advice, I'll be following basically the design except I'll be temporarily housing the fuse box, a simple battery meter and some 12V sockets in a tackle box that I'm going to cut up. The van is essentially bare for now.

Once you mentioned the grommets I rooted around under the van and under the Ford factory floor and sure enough, the thing is lousy with them. Thank you very much! Cutting up one to make room for the cabling seems like a no-brainer.