ten25

Turns out the solar does work simultaneously with the DC DC Charger - if the battery is depleted enough. For me, that is a good thing!

Hey all. I managed to get my Renogy DC DC Charger hooked up and working. I followed the wiring in the Renogy instructions and used a fuse tap on F42 in the engine bay (rear window wiper, it only comes on when the vehicle is on. Best part is my solar charge controller will shut off when the DC DC charger is going (although I think I was at around 70-80% before turning the car on - not sure yet if it will shut off if the battery is lower). I think this might be a good thing to keep the batteries from charging too quickly, although if you have a big enough bank maybe not ... I take no responsibility for anyone copying this setup blowing themselves up. In fact I almost blew myself up when I accidently connected the positive and negative on my battery with my wrench (doh). Never managed to do that until this install. I really really hate the place Ford put the battery in this car.

What type of fuses are used in the passenger compartment fusebox? I am trying to install a Renogy 20 amp DC DC Charger and want to wire the D+ Signal to the ignition switch fuse with a fuse tap. Bought a fuse tap from Autozone but must have been the wrong one (didn't seem to fit). This is the fuse tap I tried (maybe I'm just an idiot, but it didn't seem to want to go in and I didn't want to try and force anything) ... https://www.autozone.com/electrical-and-lighting/fuse-and-accessories/p/bussmann-circuit-fuse-tap/547344_0_0?cmpid=LIA:US:EN:AD:NL:1000000:ELC:8360136649&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2_OWBhDqARIsAAUNTTHL9yFirA8YIzTowTNyZaA9sQxZrUQ19VaG-4Ke0kSQELDEh3snEDEaAsSJEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds edit: 2016 Transit Connect. Alternatively I read in the below thread (2nd post) tapping in to the rear wiper fuse should work ... but I have the same question about that fuse. )

What type of wood did you use? I guess what I am asking - were these premade / prefinished pieces or did you just buy some lumber and stain them / cut them etc?

Gotcha. When your original post was talking about fishing a wire through I was imagining fishing it through the engine bay in to the passenger area - not the other way around. Thank you! One thing I am still wondering is do I need to worry about creating a strong seal to prevent any exhaust from leaking in the hole - or can I just put the wire through and put the little grommet back in over the wire (if it will still go back in with the wire coming through the hole...)? I imagine any fumes would be negligible unless there is something wrong with the vehicle anyways. edit: I actually found this too btw (https://pictures.dealer.com/kellehermotorfordfd/c4bdd3dc0a0e09a7404529c2fe6ee796.pdf) for the 2020 2.0 Connect and this one for the 2022 Connect (https://madocumentupload.marketingassociates.com/api/Document/GetFile?v1=6671194&v2=010722113631&v3=60&v4=7176044e62d5a0d44a8cee39cebd1f3c8ba1854618631307f2a6f82e&v5=False), it has a power curve for the 150a alternator, assuming the part is the same as my 2016 ... My understanding is to get the amps output by the alternator you multiply your engine RPM by the pulley ratio (2.69) - which should mean the alternator produces roughly 100 amps at idle since it should be spinning at around 2000 rpm (my idle is 750 rpm). Could totally be wrong though - my mechanical knowledge is limited to finding info on the internet lol.

Thanks! I found the knock-out described in your original post but where is the hole when I'm looking in the engine bay? From the looks of the location from the interior ... seems to be under / behind the battery? Trying to install this to help keep my battery bank topped up. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q5VYPCF

I would recommend buying an AGM battery and inverter instead of the Jackery unless portability is an absolute must. For roughly the same price of the Jackery 500 watt kit (500 watt hour power station, 2 solar panels), you could have a 200ah AGM battery (2400 watt hours) a 2000w inverter and 3 100w solar panels.

Hey Don, I noticed you mentioned the alternator produces 88 amps at 1800 rpm. Is that referring to the alternator RPM or engine RPM & is that the alternator RPM when you are idling the engine? PS: Thanks for the informative post.

The battery certainly is a pain in the butt to remove compared to most cars, but if you already know how it's just annoying and not really that bad. This is the best video I have found on it. Def following this thread though, I plan to install a Renogy DC-DC charger soon.

Hi all, trying to find information on how many amps the stock alternator outputs at various engine RPMs (especially at idle). So far, can't seem to find a chart or spec sheet with this information. I do know the alternator is rated at 150 amps. Reason I am trying to figure this out is because I want to install a DC-DC battery charger to charge my battery bank on days without much sun (I have solar). It would also be helpful to know how many amps / watts the accessories use.

Looks like I'll be drilling whether I like it or not. Turns out those holes don't even fit the #8-32 (I just thought they would based on the measurements I took before ordering them). At least I can just go ahead and use a bigger riv nut for peace of mind ?

Thanks. Going down the freeway and having them fly off is exactly what I am trying to avoid! The rivnuts that fit without drilling are pretty tiny #8-32. Thinking I will also use VHB tape along the length of the aluminum rail as well, and perform daily checks on it to make sure everything is looking good.

Okay so one idea I just had was using riv nuts in the holes to create some threading for bolts.

I am trying to build and install some custom roof rails to mount solar panels on to. Got the first plug out for the driver side factory mounting location. I had seen an M8-1.25 recommended elsewhere for the regular Transit but seems to big for the Connect, so I tried an M7-1.0 x 40mm and this one fits in the hole, and grabs the edge of the hole, but I can use my finger to tighten it. Due to the length I didn't try to tighten it all the way down but given what I am trying to do (mount solar panels) the grip seems a little suspect and there doesn't appear to be any threading in the hole that the bolt is attaching to (it's just gripping the edges of the hole). Seems like I might need to drill my own holes or maybe I am missing something?

Thanks. I got an oil change the other day and they showed me what to look for.

I have seen others are having this issue and that somewhere there is a drain plug in the doors that sometimes get clogged. Does anyone have a photo of these or description of where exactly they are / what they look like? I can hear the water sloshing around sometimes when taking a turn or opening the doors. One time I opened the doors and tons of water was coming out everytime I rocked them back and forth…

But I had to have the windows! ? I don't know yet if I'll hate them or love them long term but the fact it's a wagon definitely is making the build out more difficult. I am planning on making some sort of easy sliding shutters (if they can be made without taking up a ton of space) but in the end I might just cheap out and do something like magnetic window covers.

This is the video I watched that gave me the idea to remove them ... rewatched it and noticed he mentioned replacing the old ones with some custom ones to cover the driver/passenger area. Might go that route if I can find a way to get some custom airbags installed.

Thank you for the explanation. I was thinking the ribs were the 5 indentations vertically along the vehicle (looking from the top of the vehicle). Makes a lot more sense now.

Yikes, good to know. I'm trying to convert it to a campervan and they take up space plus if I do a wood ceiling could turn wood in to projectiles in a crash. Need to figure out a solution... Thanks for the heads up. Edit: Looking more closely it appears the airbag runs along the driver and passenger seat also... not just the rear of the vehicle. So looks like it's staying in no matter what. At least that is less work for me ?

I have read not to cut the ribs of the van when installing one of these ... but that doesn't seem possible to me ... or I am misunderstanding where/what the ribs are. Can anyone clear this up?

So I found a thread on here that guided me in the right direction. https://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/7731-2014-tc-headliner-removal/ I basically skipped the front headliner removal. Removed the 4 fasteners above the driver/passenger seats, then removed the fastener on the passenger side which is under the front headliner but keeps the rear still attached to the ceiling. Then I disconnected the power cable that you expose above the passenger seat which according to the above post gives power to the rear passenger area. From there, I took off the little airbag notch things on both sides, and removed the 2 fasteners in the middle of the van, and the fasteners at the very rear of the van. I basically used brute force to get this stuff out because the trim tools I have couldn't get me enough leverage to remove the fasteners properly. Basically I wrapped my hands up in my sweatshirt put both my arms in and pulled down until the fasteners popped out (except in the middle, where I basically had to snap the fasteners with some needle nose pliers). That exposed the next thing I need to do ... remove the rear air bags.

Well, I found the answer on how to remove the rear panels. Just take off the jack cover / fuse box cover depending which side you're on, get a good grip (gloves are probably a good idea, pretty sure it's fiberglass under there), and give it a few good yanks. The seat belts have bolts under the rear panel and attached to the sealing (under a plastic cover which you need to lift upwards). You might break some of the plastic tabs doing this but I think I only broke 1 or 2 between the sides ... I think it should go back on if I ever decide to put it back. There is also a wire going to the 12v outlet on the passenger side that unplugs easily and you need to unplug it to finish the job. Still haven't done the headliner.

Does anyone know how or can point me in the right direction to remove the rear seat seatbelts, interior panels and headliner? Can't seem to find any videos or topics on it when Googling ?