Solar panel and front Cam

Mike Duhaime · November 30, 2022

I cant get over the load on battery from dash, lights, HVAC system on these Chevies. Not to mention starter draw from constant on/off useless system that costs more in batteries and starters than pennies of saved gas!!

Anyone notice the heating/ventilation system changing door position 5 minutes after shutting off? Symphony of noises, doors closing5 mins after key off. Guessing its for recirc door to shut, preventing any rodents from coming in/ any thoughts? Another power drain!

I often travel, and leave truck parked a week or 2. I'll install a 55watt solar on dash form now on. Heck, when it's 20 below, it wont hurt battery! $60 US for a folding one might save me one day. At minus 30 , you need all the power you can get!

Front cam installed last week works real slick. My wife hit a trailer hitch bar, sticking out a foot from of some wreck Ford pickup. You just cant see these things, like short posts of steel or marker pins. The cam is mounted at base of license and sees these hazards. This "Wolfbox 900" cam is very clear, and mounts right over rear view mirror. It's a dash cam and rear view, but i installed the cam low in front. Dash cam is invaluable when your cut off by a Ford that lost it's steering wheel I installed a cigarette lighter plug on right side fuse box, with a switch to kill all power. This Cam is working well and is very clear, easy to install . $175 US

Found out those grooves in our roofs are useless, not roof rack mounts available. Found a rack on Ebay, similar to GM or Thule roof racks offered by GM for $800 US

Cost me $180 US, coming from Turkey. Hey, they make good drones there..:) I need a rack for my paddle boards and Hobie Kayak when pulling a travel trailer. Will post on it's quality after it arrives.

dieselfan1 · November 30, 2022

6 hours ago, Mike Duhaime said:

I cant get over the load on battery from dash, lights, HVAC system on these Chevies. Not to mention starter draw from constant on/off useless system that costs more in batteries and starters than pennies of saved gas!!

Anyone notice the heating/ventilation system changing door position 5 minutes after shutting off? Symphony of noises, doors closing5 mins after key off. Guessing its for recirc door to shut, preventing any rodents from coming in/ any thoughts? Another power drain!

I often travel, and leave truck parked a week or 2. I'll install a 55watt solar on dash form now on. Heck, when it's 20 below, it wont hurt battery! $60 US for a folding one might save me one day. At minus 30 , you need all the power you can get!

Not necessary.

You would be surprised how easy these trucks start at -30F.

My 22 LTZ w/5.3 sat for a month last winter in MN. Never started it until a -23F below morning. I remote started it from my couch. It popped right off. Little power steering pump squeal though.

Mike Duhaime · December 1, 2022

2 hours ago, dieselfan1 said:

Not necessary.

You would be surprised how easy these trucks start at -30F.

My 22 LTZ w/5.3 sat for a month last winter in MN. Never started it until a -23F below morning. I remote started it from my couch. It popped right off. Little power steering pump squeal though.

Yes, Minnesota gets exactly the crappy cold weather we get here south of Ottawa. We're ok the first year, but 2-3 years and that battery is toast. My refresh has that huge display, that does a light show on start up.

Do you notice the heater vents closing a few minutes after shut down? What the heck is that for? At minus 30, those doors have to swing open and closed. They can snap from being frozen. Happens in Dodge...thousands to replace those vent doors!

jaxcam02 · December 1, 2022

On 11/30/2022 at 10:11 AM, Mike Duhaime said:

I cant get over the load on battery from dash, lights, HVAC system on these Chevies. Not to mention starter draw from constant on/off useless system that costs more in batteries and starters than pennies of saved gas!!

Anyone notice the heating/ventilation system changing door position 5 minutes after shutting off? Symphony of noises, doors closing5 mins after key off. Guessing its for recirc door to shut, preventing any rodents from coming in/ any thoughts? Another power drain!

I often travel, and leave truck parked a week or 2. I'll install a 55watt solar on dash form now on. Heck, when it's 20 below, it wont hurt battery! $60 US for a folding one might save me one day. At minus 30 , you need all the power you can get!

Front cam installed last week works real slick. My wife hit a trailer hitch bar, sticking out a foot from of some wreck Ford pickup. You just cant see these things, like short posts of steel or marker pins. The cam is mounted at base of license and sees these hazards. This "Wolfbox 900" cam is very clear, and mounts right over rear view mirror. It's a dash cam and rear view, but i installed the cam low in front. Dash cam is invaluable when your cut off by a Ford that lost it's steering wheel I installed a cigarette lighter plug on right side fuse box, with a switch to kill all power. This Cam is working well and is very clear, easy to install . $175 US

Found out those grooves in our roofs are useless, not roof rack mounts available. Found a rack on Ebay, similar to GM or Thule roof racks offered by GM for $800 US

Cost me $180 US, coming from Turkey. Hey, they make good drones there..:) I need a rack for my paddle boards and Hobie Kayak when pulling a travel trailer. Will post on it's quality after it arrives.

Previous 2010s GM vehicles I have had have been notorious for mildew/mold buildup on the condenser and putting out a foul smell when you start the truck the next day if you didn't run the heater to dry it out before turning the truck off. I had to go get the dealer to activate the afterblower function to dry out the condenser after parking. These newer trucks probably do all these things partly to help dry out the condenser to prevent the smell.

Bikerjon · December 2, 2022

I think the sounds you are hearing a couple of minutes after shutting off the truck is the Anti lock brake "aliveness test". I read a post on here months ago from an engineer who worked on this system at GM. This is a self test of all the electronics, sensors, actuators, switches etc. in the ABS system.

I will be watching for that Ford that lost its steering wheel so I don't get cut off!

RedLT · January 26, 2023

On 11/30/2022 at 9:11 AM, Mike Duhaime said:

I cant get over the load on battery from dash, lights, HVAC system on these Chevies. Not to mention starter draw from constant on/off useless system that costs more in batteries and starters than pennies of saved gas!!

Anyone notice the heating/ventilation system changing door position 5 minutes after shutting off? Symphony of noises, doors closing5 mins after key off. Guessing its for recirc door to shut, preventing any rodents from coming in/ any thoughts? Another power drain!

I often travel, and leave truck parked a week or 2. I'll install a 55watt solar on dash form now on. Heck, when it's 20 below, it wont hurt battery! $60 US for a folding one might save me one day. At minus 30 , you need all the power you can get!

Front cam installed last week works real slick. My wife hit a trailer hitch bar, sticking out a foot from of some wreck Ford pickup. You just cant see these things, like short posts of steel or marker pins. The cam is mounted at base of license and sees these hazards. This "Wolfbox 900" cam is very clear, and mounts right over rear view mirror. It's a dash cam and rear view, but i installed the cam low in front. Dash cam is invaluable when your cut off by a Ford that lost it's steering wheel I installed a cigarette lighter plug on right side fuse box, with a switch to kill all power. This Cam is working well and is very clear, easy to install . $175 US

Found out those grooves in our roofs are useless, not roof rack mounts available. Found a rack on Ebay, similar to GM or Thule roof racks offered by GM for $800 US

Cost me $180 US, coming from Turkey. Hey, they make good drones there..:) I need a rack for my paddle boards and Hobie Kayak when pulling a travel trailer. Will post on it's quality after it arrives.

What roof rack or mounting hardware did you get? Got a picture of it installed?

Amcguy1970 · January 27, 2023

On 11/30/2022 at 9:11 AM, Mike Duhaime said:

Not to mention starter draw from constant on/off useless system that costs more in batteries and starters than pennies of saved gas!!

Tell us you don't know what you are talking about without actually telling us.

First, the starters aren't your off the shelf regular starter, they are much more robust and designed to last just as long as a regular starter even with all the start and stops. Things can be over engineered for certain tasks and these are just that. Just checked on Rockauto, a Genuine GM starter for a 2014 5.3 Silverado is $132 and that is without start stop. For a 2020 5.3 which I assume has start stop (correct me if I am wrong) is $157. So even being more robust (the power is much higher on the 2020) price difference is negligible.

Two, batteries are designed as such, now they aren't massively more powerful and there are more systems drawing on it but the start stop system plays a minimal role in a possible shorter life. But again, these are designed from the get-go to handle many start and stops each trip.

Third, in terms of fuel saving, it's much more than pennies. On the low end let's say 3% savings, that is 9 cents per $3.00 gallon of gas. Over one year of say 15,000 miles you spend $2,250 on gas (15,000 miles / 20mpg = 750 gallons x $3.00). At a 3% savings that is $67.50 in one year (a nice dinner at say Texas Roadhouse) and at the higher end at 8% that is $180 per year, or a nice high end steak dinner probably excluding drinks. Add that up over 5 years and they easily pay for a starter or new battery (from $337.50 to $900 over 5 years). I don't know about you but the finance side of me isn't going to just piss money away because I have some complex.

Savings overall depends on usage, if you drive a ton of city, it will save more. If you don't, well it won't save as much but it will be used much less often and last longer in your eyes (though really, they shouldn't last any shorter than without the technology and a regular starter and battery). Plus, bigger engines tend to save more fuel as noted in the below article saving in upwards of 10% on a V8 Jaguar. Now in hot weather with AC the system saves much less but still more than just idling (closer to 3%).

Automatic Start-Stop Tech Saves More Fuel Than You Think (roadandtrack.com)

Is Your Car's Start-Stop System Hurting You in the Long Run? (motorbiscuit.com)

Do Stop-Start Systems Really Save Fuel? | Edmunds

Tyler

Mike Duhaime · February 2, 2023

Clip on type roof rack from ebay was counterfeit. Fell off if you whacked it. GM one is very similar and clips on. Gave up and got bed rack instead from Amazon.