Back Charging my Lightning using pro-power ports

[whatsagrid]

Can I charge the battery of my lighting by charging using the bed outlets or frunk outlet? I don’t want to push a lot of power but I would like to install a single solar panel on top of my tonneau cover (approximately 400 watts) and grow from there.

I want to find a way to charge the battery without plugging into the charge port. I can electrify my home with a double male extension cord and a generator with no adverse effect other than potentially killing myself.

If back charging is impossible due to a diode or other safety measures or if there is some reason it wouldn’t work (theoretically) then I would be happy to hear from KNOWLEDGEABLE people on the matter. Also, if i can splice into the charge port some way so that I can hardwire the solar system I would greatly value a schematic, instructions or link to such a device.

This isn’t facebook or X so please limit your comments to facts. You can send me a personal message to tell me how stupid I am if you feel the need.

Thank you.

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[Grumpy2]

It is a fact that the outlets in your truck are connected to a inverter that includes diodes.

Charging your truck can only be done using the charging port. If your solar cells will produce enough amperage and 120 volts you probably could use a level 1 charger.

 

[Monkey]

It is a fact that the outlets in your truck are connected to a inverter that includes diodes.

Charging your truck can only be done using the charging port. If your solar cells will produce enough amperage and 120 volts you probably could use a level 1 charger.

This is the only way…. Unless you want to start hacking into the charging subsystem and void your warranty, kill any potential resale value and other risks. If you decide to go that route, please video it all because I wanna watch.

 

[Runaway Tractor]

Please tell me this satirical and everything in your post is a joke.

 

[whatsagrid]

Damn Diodes.

What about the charge port? Is it just a plug that can be spliced somewhere between the port and the connection to the charge controller?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

To charge the truck from solar that's on the truck, you'll need a Level 1 or Level 2 charger.

Don't go splicing your $70k truck's charging wires. You cannot DC charge it without a high voltage (~480 volts) source, so you'll be limited to AC charging.

To run a Level 1 charger you'll need to provide it with 1.1 kW of power. To do that, you'll need at least 1200 Watts of solar going through an inverter OR you'll need an auxiliary battery that feeds an inverter and that can charge up via your 400 Watts of solar and then discharge later (overnight, for example). I'm experimenting with a system that will allow this while camping, but I haven't had much time this summer so I probably won't have a design write-up until next spring.

But the math only works if you leave your truck in the sun and you are willing to let the integration over time work in your favor. You're not going to get noticeable extra range every day. You'll be looking for a long-term benefit over a year or longer.

Maths:
Average in the US is 4 hours of good sunlight a day.
Ignoring inefficiency losses (overall, reduce these by about 30-50%):
400 Watts * 4 hours a day = 1.6 kWh = 1.2% of the battery.
400 Watts * 8 hours a day = 3.2 kWh = 2.4% of the battery.

 

[whatsagrid]

The benefit isn’t financial. The benefit is freedom.

The coefficient of drag on this truck is twice that of a tesla which means that the mileage is more sensitive to speed which means that you get a huge bump in total mileage when travelling at say … 25 mph. My Pro has a 98kwh battery and gets 2.3 mi/kwh at highway speed but I can get up to 6 mi/kwh at low speeds. Overland speeds.

Therefore even just 10 kWh per day would potentially provide 60 miles of range over a territory that may only accept 10/mi per day. Therefore….the truck would be entirely off grid and….could use the power to extract water from the air.

My point is….there are many vectors of value and I see opportunity investing in splicing my $70,000 trucks charign port to find out.

 

[whatsagrid]

Electric vehicles are ten thousand Times better suited for a survival scenario. In no zombie movie ever people wished they needed more diesel.

 

[invertedspear]

Considering what your goal is you still need to take in some other factors. You can not go DC to DC, not without being a master electrician, and knowing the existing wiring like you worked on the assembly line. So, what can you realistically do in your garage. Cost is not an object or the purpose. Nor is range extension, which is what most people talk about when they talk about solar tonneau covers. What you're wanting to do is actually pretty feasible with an extra step or two.

Solar to an inverter, used to charge a holding tank battery like an EcoFlow. Then a mobile charger from the EcoFlow to the truck. It kind of sucks because you're inverting power back and forth from DC to AC to DC to AC to DC, and losing some juice each time, but that's going to accomplish your overland/zombie survival scenario.

Now if you want to really get crazy, cut some of that back and forth out, you can probably safely (still going to void warranties, but not die or create a safety issue) go from Solar, to a solar inverter directly to your trucks inverter. This might cause some issues because the truck inverters seem to like a clean and steady power supply, and they aren't going to allow for charging while driving without hacking the trucks computers, but should be more efficient.

IMO option one suits most of your desire with the least complication.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I'm having flashbacks of a former forum member who hacked his traction battery wiring to connect a parallel branch battery which he built into a travel trailer, the intent was to give him more travel range, but that contraption went up in flames, he alleged arson from a malicious actor, but I suspect it was faulty workmanship.

 

[Firn]

The benefit isn’t financial. The benefit is freedom.

The coefficient of drag on this truck is twice that of a tesla which means that the mileage is more sensitive to speed which means that you get a huge bump in total mileage when travelling at say … 25 mph. My Pro has a 98kwh battery and gets 2.3 mi/kwh at highway speed but I can get up to 6 mi/kwh at low speeds. Overland speeds.

Therefore even just 10 kWh per day would potentially provide 60 miles of range over a territory that may only accept 10/mi per day. Therefore….the truck would be entirely off grid and….could use the power to extract water from the air.

My point is….there are many vectors of value and I see opportunity investing in splicing my $70,000 trucks charign port to find out.

10KWH a day is 10 hours of L1 charging. To provide power to L1 charging for 10 hours, in Texas, in the middle of summer, you would need a 4kw array, or TEN 425w panels, each of them being roughly 5' by 4'. Roughly speaking a double row of cells ~8ft wide) that goes from the back of the tailgate to five feet in front of the truck. Well, more than that actually unless you are angled towards the sun...

If there was a charger that could do more output, and also less output, you could get a bit more out of it by peaking in the middle of the day and tapering off mornings and evenings. Or, haul a bit less panels, you would need at least a single row 25' long though. It wouldn't be dynamic though, you would have to change settings at fixed points.

That is using pvwatts which includes average climate conditions.

 

[Runaway Tractor]

The technology to do what you want to do does not exist. You would need a solar array of 7-10 of the best full size 400w commercial panels. And an inverter to change to AC, which you can feed a level 1 or 2 EV charger. Which you can only use while parked.

If slapping a few solar panels on top of an EV was a practical and useful thing, you wouldn't be doing it, it would be like that from the factory. There's a reason it isn't.

 

[Silenze]

I think it would be cheaper to just get an extended range truck

 

[tearitupsports]

The benefit isn’t financial. The benefit is freedom.

The coefficient of drag on this truck is twice that of a tesla which means that the mileage is more sensitive to speed which means that you get a huge bump in total mileage when travelling at say … 25 mph. My Pro has a 98kwh battery and gets 2.3 mi/kwh at highway speed but I can get up to 6 mi/kwh at low speeds. Overland speeds.

Therefore even just 10 kWh per day would potentially provide 60 miles of range over a territory that may only accept 10/mi per day. Therefore….the truck would be entirely off grid and….could use the power to extract water from the air.

My point is….there are many vectors of value and I see opportunity investing in splicing my $70,000 trucks charign port to find out.

You would have to lay out an entire array facing south all day in order to get 10 kWh into your truck. About 1.5 - 2.5kW worth of panels on a typical day.

 

[Danface]

Here ya go!

https://enteligent.com/products/enteligent™-tlcev-t1-trusted-charging-presale

DATA SHEET:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...teligent_TLC_EV_T1_FAQs_v1.0.pdf?v=1711121032

FAQ:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...teligent_TLC_EV_T1_FAQs_v1.0.pdf?v=1711121032

$2500 plus is still cheaper than a fire!

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