How to Determine if 2017 Ford E-450 Has Smart Alternator

Question:

It appears that my 2017 ford e450 rv has a conventional alternator charging at 14.4 however after some time, it will taper down to 12.6 or 12.8v therefore im not 100 sure if its a SMART system or not. This Sunseeker Forest River class C does have a BIM battery isolation manager and solennoid to charge the house batteries 2 agm grp 27s THe BIM will only sometimes show a voltage increase to 13,2v if the house voltage s too low, maybe 12,3v or so. Im not understanding 4 things. this BIM seems like a cheap gadget. 1. if this rv uses a BIM should i assume it is a SMART alternator ? 2. Could this BIM system be used with a non smart alternator ? 3. If this BIM burns out again, as it once did, can i add a jumper wire to bypass it using the alternator the old fashioned way charge both house as well as chassis battery. 4. Would adding a DC to DC charger be helpful to my system . Smart or regular ? or just go back to old fashioned way ?

asked by: Robert

Expert Reply:

Thank you for all of the information! In order for the alternator on your 2017 Ford E-450 to be a smart alternator there needs to be some type of sensor to read loads; this is typically found on the negative battery terminal. If you check out the attached photo I received from Redarc you can see an example of what that sensor would look like.

I'll address your questions in order, but the ultimate answer is that the Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger # 331-BCDC1225D (for standard batteries/smaller banks) or # 331-BCDC1250D (Lithium-ion batteries/larger banks) will be a big improvement to your current system. We have had great responses with these chargers and they are actually very popular among people that go boondocking because it does such a great job of keeping their batteries charged plus you can add solar panels to help gain power while you aren't driving.

1 - A BIM system can be used even if the vehicle doesn't have a smart alternator. The BCDC would be classified as a BIM (from what you are describing) and it can be installed on vehicles without a smart alternator.

2 - Yes, the BCDC can be used on a vehicle without a smart alternator.

3 - You can completely bypass your current BIM but if it does burn out I recommend replacing it with the BCDC because just running a straight wire between your batteries will only provide a maintenance charge. In short this just means that your battery charge level will remain where it is at and it won't lose some of the charge. The BCDC reads your battery bank and optimizes the power it receives to charge your bank to 100% instead of just making sure your battery bank doesn't lose it's charge.

4 - Yes, the BCDC will be a great improvement and there are other things that can be paired with the BCDC like solar panels to give you the most advantage when it comes to battery management.

I've attached some videos about the BCDC for you to check out as well.