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Old 07-14-2017, 10:13 PM   #1
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Goal Zero Yeti DC Circuits Always On

Crosspost from Expo - I've already clogged up the Goal Zero thread over there and am wondering if any of you Sportsmobile folks can solve and issue that has me stumped:

I'm using a Goal Zero Yeti 400 (Lead Acid) as the power plant for my van's electrical system. I have the Yeti hardwired to the starting battery, similar to what is shown in the Expo thread (near the bottom of page 7):
Goal Zero Yeti 400 Experiences? - Page 7 - Expedition Portal

One important difference with my setup and what is shown in the Expo thread: I'm not currently using an isolator - the Yeti doesn't charge itself off the starting battery unless it sees > 13.5 volts or so.

That is the extent of the inputs to the Yeti. It works great and charges when the vehicle is running.

For output, I have the GZ 12V to ring terminal adaptor cord connected to a Blue Sea fuse panel, which powers my accessory circuits.

Now the problem:
When the GZ is connected to the starting battery, the 12V circuits are constantly powered. There is a switch on the Yeti for turning the 12V panel on/off but when I'm connecting to the starting battery, this has no effect - the 12V is always ON. In summary:

Car OFF, Yeti 12V switch OFF, Yeti shows no draw, but I can use any of my 12V circuits. Car OFF, Yeti 12V ON, it shows the draw from the 12V circuits (like normal). This makes me think the 12V circuits are drawing power from the starting battery through the charge port.

- I've tested the setup using a different Yeti 400 and get the same result so the unit is not faulty
- I cannot reproduce the problem when the input is the 120V AC wall charger instead of the starting battery

Any ideas? I believe an isolator would fix my problem of having the 12V loads draining the starting battery when the car is off, but they will still be powered whenever I'm driving, which seems inefficient.

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Old 07-15-2017, 10:29 AM   #2
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So it sounds like the charge port and power port are tied together, and then the switch for power port would be between power port and battery. So I would suspect that you would not be able to charge the Yeti if the power port was off.

If that is not the case you would have to check with goal zero, as to why, I could come up with reasons, but they would be guesses at best. In my mind this looks like a design flaw, you really should not have a switchable power source hot when it is switched off.



Yes, you could work around this with a isolator/separator, or relay driven by run or accessory circuit.

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Old 07-15-2017, 03:51 PM   #3
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Yeah, I might end up cracking the thing open today and taking a look inside to see if I can identify a link between the charge port and the 12V output. It's probably a mess of PCBs but we'll see.
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