The NorthStar AGM Battery + Voltage Booster Upgrade

Woot, new battery.

 

That was easier to find than "where's Waldo" dang do you drive in the mud with the hood open.....

 

Looks like dust, not mud. Means it’s doing truck things.

 

Feel like there's something missing in the equation here and that's ambient temperature. By artificially increasing the voltage output you are quite possibly over-charging these batteries at temperature >90 degrees F. I've been running the 27F Northstar for a couple of years and recently stumbled upon this thread looking for a way to "equalize" charge the battery for a short period of time, but I believe running this over the entire life of service could be more harmful than good.

OP - you mention the manufacturer recommendation for charging for cyclic service (typically indicative of deeper discharges) which many of us will likely never do in daily use. For the majority float voltage would be more ideal at 13.5-13.8V which is the alternator standard output.

I'm not discrediting anything you wrote up, as it's very well done, but I am slightly skeptical prescribing the use of a voltage exciter could outgas an AGM and reduce its lifespan. Think it may just need more evidence and testing.

 

leds that are properly engineered are current controlled to prevent this. Leds are even more sensitive to voltage fluctuations is the reason for that. Cheap methods just use a resistor which isn’t as effective(current reduced but not controlled) so some but not all bulbs are affected. Good point otherwise.

 

@crashnburn80

Attempting to instal the HKB fuse and noticed I don’t have the 7.5A ‘Alt-s’ fuse. OVTune the only solution?

 

Yep it won't work on a 3 gen Tacoma 2016+

From the first post

In some newer vehicles like the 2016+ Tacomas, the voltage is regulated by the ECU, meaning no voltage regulator Alt-S circuit to spoof. The ECU can be reprogramed for 3rd Gen using OV Tune and likely others, see post #3821 here for details.

 

I figured as such. Well, I’ve got a new HKB fuse for sale if anyone is interested. Save time on shipping.

 

Bummer Man. It really is a sweet mod. Combine it with a high power headlamp swap & you’ll wonder how you ever drove without it.

 

If I didn't just get a shipping notification for mine.

 

Did you happen to get the adjustable one, or the regular fuse looking one thats fixed at 0.5 volt?

 

I have the same truck as you and my stock battery is pretty much worthless now after running my vent fans while parked eating lunch 3-5 days/week to stay cool working outside here in San Diego.
I definitely want to upgrade to an AGM and most likely a NorthStar 27 with the voltage booster since I don’t want to drop $700 on the OV Tune. (I’ve also heard from tons of sources it is a huge pain in the ass and takes forever to get it done.)

What battery did you end up going with?

 

See the original post that the voltage booster is not compatible with 3rd Gen. A tune is currently the only proven way to boost vehicle charging voltage.

 

Ah, shoot I got way too excited with all your specs that I overlooked that main point.
This is very saddening. Really don’t want to be forced to deal with the somewhat ridiculous OV Tune processing debacles just to squeeze a few more volts out of the alternator unless they’ve streamlined it in the last few months this year that I haven’t caught up on

 

Does anyone know if the 3rd Gen Toyota factory tunes that are offered free to reportedly resolve the clunky shift patterns possibly have the ability to increase the alternator voltage?
Long shot but worth asking

 

Buried in this thread (IIRC) someone with access to the OEM tuner checked all the custom settings, and that was not something that was configurable. It requires an aftermarket tuner. Alternatively you can run an AC/wall AGM maintenance charger on the battery periodically.

 

Is this the correct fixed voltage booster for a ‘15 w agm?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alternator...oyota-FJ-Cruiser-Tacoma-4runner-/224393420344

 

I had the fixed one but never got to use it. It was sold.

 

Check this one out, https://www.ebay.com/itm/164706700869, make sure of your fuse profile before ordering. This allows you to keep your fuse protection in place. I have run one for a while with no issues. Well made and the price is reasonable. Mine was in my box about 3 or 4 days after I ordered it. I should menschen that Ryland felt that the voltage variants were suspect. But after an exchange and learning of the history of the design from the engineer who designed and built them I was all in.

 

Just ordered the adjustable booster. Great writeup @crashnburn80 and thanks @Key-Rei for letting me know about this. Hopefully it won't take too long to arrive.