Another battery separator question

[UnaccomplishedAngler]

I’ve searched and read what I could find on previous posts but I’m looking for specific input. My van is a 2005 build, V-10. SurePower 1315-200 separator is mounted under the gaucho, passenger side. I have solar (wired at SMB West) and the big 4D AGM house battery mounted underneath.

On a recent 2000 mile trip, after spending 30 miles on a terrible, washboard gravel road, we suddenly detected that panic-inducing hot electrical smell. Confirmed it was the battery separator, which was hot to the touch. I have an in-line electrical disconnect so I pulled that. That seemed to work but we went the rest of the trip without house power (we were able to live out of a cooler so it was a minor inconvenience not having the fridge, lights etc). On the last day, 20 miles from home, I smelled the hot separator again. Stopped and obviously it was again hot to the touch. Not sure why it suddenly flared up again? Moot point, perhaps—it obviously needs to be replaced.

Rather than order another SurePower, it was recommended I go with the Blue Sea 7622. I’ve read up on those and it seems like the way to go but my question is, how direct of a swap-out will this be? There’s so little room to access anything under the gaucho that I’m leery of replacing the SurePower with anything that isn’t a direct swap. The house and chassis battery leads are easy and obvious but I’ve got to small leads from a wire loom connected to the SurePower that I’m not sure of where they’ll connect to a different unit. Will I be opening a can of worms or will the swap to a Blue Sea unit be easy enough that even a caveman can do it?

[Scalf77]

I put together a document on upgrading to the Blue Sea unit a while a go Upgrading to a Blue Sea from Surepower.pdf.

The large terminals will need to be replaced (or drilled out), as the BlueSea unit has larger terminals. As far as the other wires going to the Sure Power, the only one you really need is the ground wire. If the ground wire does not have a fuse in it, now would be a good time to add a inline fuse on the ground path.

The other wire is not really used for the BlueSea unit. I do highly recommend that you also install the switch, which is a little more involved.

-greg

[UnaccomplishedAngler]

Originally Posted by Scalf77

I put together a document on upgrading to the Blue Sea unit a while a go Upgrading to a Blue Sea from Surepower.pdf.

The large terminals will need to be replaced (or drilled out), as the BlueSea unit has larger terminals. As far as the other wires going to the Sure Power, the only one you really need is the ground wire. If the ground wire does not have a fuse in it, now would be a good time to add a inline fuse on the ground path.

The other wire is not really used for the BlueSea unit. I do highly recommend that you also install the switch, which is a little more involved.

-greg

Great, thanks for the reply (and for your pdf)