Electric steering for 710/712s

[Thorinbushmill]

Thanks Scott.

Do you still have a rig at your shop that's available for a test drive?

John Stewart

[ExpeditionImports]

This instant no.....but I have a 712K slated to be installed for a customer who is buying the truck in the next week or two. Drop me a line to coordinate if you are coming thru.

Cheers,

Scott

[rmel]

Been PM'ing one of the folks on the forum getting this unit installed.
Long discussion about the power source for this hungry motor. We came up with two viable
approaches; obvious being 24V/12V converter, but I would not rule out an Equalizer esp. if
you have one installed already.

We came down to the converter being the best solution, if you go that route I strongly recommend
the Victron 70A converter, this is a very high quality commercial converter at a very fair price.
http://shop.pkys.com/Victron-Energy-Ori ... _2761.html
At 70A this will easily cover for the worse case peak demand of the motor and have juice left for other
creature comfort devices. Although I would not power your running electronics off this unit e.g. EFI.

An Equalizer is also a viable alternative, the actual output terminal is the bottom battery providing
plenty of source current for the Steering unit and then some. Be forewarned that you really need
an isolation diode between the load and the Positive terminal of the bottom battery or you may find
your top battery discharged even though you have a ground cut-off switch. Vanner and Victron have
"Battery isolator diodes" which are a pair of DIODES that can be used to prevent reverse current and
voltage from the bottom tap-off point. Be careful of other devices out there that are "Battery Isolators"
you just need a High current low voltage drop Diode.
http://www.invertersupply.com/index.php ... aAodCtIB3Q

[Hotzenplotz]

what about having a say 20 Ah motorcycle battery act as a buffer between dc-dc converter and steering unit?
the convertr will top up the battery which can deliver juice when needed.....

[rmel]

Essentially that's asking the converter to be charger which it ain't.
No reason why you can't use a mid-capacity battery as a source
but you will need to keep that charged with a 24V to 12V CHARGER.

Basically a converter is a pure VOLTAGE source, a charger is multimodal
needs to be a current source and voltage source depending upon the
state of the charge battery.

[Hotzenplotz]

thanks for the explanation !

[Garrycol]

My Landrover 101 is a 24v vehicle - most of my camping and vehicle accessories are 12v and to deal with this, the previous owner installed an additional 65amp 12v alternator on the engine which charges a dedicated 12v auxiliary battery which then runs everything. Not the most elegant solution but it works.

I am in the process of putting in a different engine, so the aux alternator needs to go so I am now using a 60amp 24v - 12v Dc to Dc battery charger - as mentioned a 24v to 12v converter will not work and tapping off 12v from one of your starter batteries will kill them if an equaliser is not used.

Given the steering is 12v (why is not a 24v version available) then I would recommend a 24v to 12v Dc Dc charger be installed to charge a dedicated 12v aux battery that will provide power and meet any shock loads from the steering. It also has the advantage of providing 12v hotel power to the vehicle for fridges, lights etc separate from the starting systems of the vehicle. Can also be used to provide enough charge to starter batteries if they become flat.

Garry

[NEWFISHER]

Bumping this up for current feedback

I am surprised that none of the users or customers have chimed in yet on this system?

It's been much longer than the 12 weeks and I still see EI site at the full price including the containered ones, any updates on price?

I'm getting ready for some wrecking yard Equinox diving and fab work if this system isn't well received by those who have installed them in the last 6 months.

I, and am sure a few others, would like the half dozen owners/operators to chime in

[4x4Pinz]

I was able to acquire an EI unit from the Expo this past weekend. Hopefully once the EI team gets back and settled in from the trip they can get me the installation instructions and I will get it installed and tested. I have the steering box/column out of the truck currently.

I understand that you can contact EI and get references of people that will give you their thoughts on the unit.

[TechMOGogy]

My unit is not installed yet but I know Andre had another truck arrive at his place that he tested it and said it was like holding hands with a greek goddess
I am sure he will chime in.

[Hotzenplotz]

All

i was given a test ride at S-Tec, and I immediately swallowed the bait.
Having purchased a second stering column I installed new bearings and a new spindle before sending that unit for conversion.
My plan for the juice has been laid out in arlier posts of this thread; going to use a 24 to 12 volts charger and a 20 Ah gel battery.
I expect delivery witin two weeks and will update this discussion here.

[Haf-e]

I'm getting ready for some wrecking yard Equinox diving and fab work if this system isn't well received by those who have installed them in the last 6 months.

The Saturn Vue uses the same electric steering box and is more common than the Equinox.

If resale value of the truck is a consideration, I would suggest going with the kit from Scott at Expedition-Imports. While a DIY system is possible - it probably wouldn't be as good as the kit.

That said, I am considering adding one to my truck once I complete my current list of projects and might go the DIY route myself.

[ExpeditionImports]

Hi Guys,

What we find is that a majority of customers who are installing are not really involved in this community. Tour operators, etc..... We are pleased with the end product and continue to install them in our trucks. Currently have a couple available at the shop available for test drives.

My website will only reflect the air shipment price. If you are wanting the containerized pricing drop us a line and we will discount it, bill it, and deliver when it arrives. About 10 days ago we unloaded 5 units out of a container. 3 of the 5 were spoken for.

We currently have them in stock for immediate shipment.

Cheers,

Scott

[4x4Pinz]

had a little time after work today so I started on the electric steering form EI. Very simple, easy to follow instructions. Taking box to welder tomorrow to get welded up and hopefully have some time to start the electrical end of it. I did get the converter that EI sells with the unit. In the future I will more then likely be adding a small alternator in the location where the distributor used to reside. Won't be long now and we will have some trail time experience on the EI electric units to see how they do. Hoping for great results.

[NEWFISHER]

Sent an "E ticket" in for an order today , just heard back from Scott and placed my order! Getting Rubicon ready. Still haven't secured a date to head down, most likely late August, but will give me a few weekends to install this system.