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Lithium Upgrade Install

MartyMoose007MartyMoose007 Member Posts: 3
in Battery/Electrical & Solar
We have a 2022 Tab 400, with the standard two AGM batteries.  Also the Victron shunt. I want to swap out the batteries for a Li Time 230ah lithium.  Can anyone walk me thru the install and what the final setup looks like once there is only the one battery?  Thanks
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 4,439
    edited November 2024
    The only real difference for installing the batteries is you do not have to be concerned with the batteries being wired in "parallel".  Your single LiTime will just need a set of cables that go to the "Battery Distribution Block" inside the battery area. Follow the battery cables you have now, and you will find a black squarish "block" where the battery cables are attached.
    After that: you need to set up the Victron solar controller to "properly" charge a lithium battery. Hold on to the LiTime brochure, and all the basic numbers you will need will be there.  On the Battleborn web page, they have a couple of good guides.  This is the solar controller guide (again, use the LiTime numbers, but they will be close to what Battleborn batteries use).
    Here are the basics for the Shunt settings:
    Some of the 400's models have the distribution block "hidden" behind a panel that may be hard to find.
    There are many discussions about installing the LiTime setups (or the equivalent) but I could not find any photos of the installed batteries.
    Do not hesitate to post a few pictures and we can help decode what you are seeing.  Many owners have done this, and it is not "too hard".
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • MartyMoose007MartyMoose007 Member Posts: 3
    Thank you so much.
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 4,439
    And: I just realized this might be the same question asked on one of the FB pages yesterday!  The battery replacement is not hard to do, but with the various parts involved, it can get confusing.  Post some photos of your battery compartment and the location of your shunt and wiring.  There are many owners here who have done this, and can point you in the proper direction.
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • marleecampsmarleecamps Member Posts: 170
    As luck would have it, I took a photo of my new LiTime 230 ah lithium battery in my 2021 400 before pulling it for storage.  Wanted to make sure I re-installed it correctly.  I also added the Victron smartshunt at the same time.  I did add a small piece of wood on the lower right hand side to fill a space gap, but otherwise, it was pretty much plug and play.


    --Marlee
    2021 Tab400 Boondock; TV 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited; Minnesota
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  • DonFDonF Member Posts: 25
    We have a 2022 T@B 400 and I have ordered the same 230 Ahr LiTime battery.  pthomas745 - you answered some battery questions I had on another recent thread.  Below is a photo of our battery compartment and it seems the battery upgrade should be simple as the LiTime battery's terminals are in the same general location as the positive and negative cables on our current setup.  Am I missing something?  I realize I need to change the Victron app to the lithium settings per the link you listed above.  Thank you!




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  • HoriganHorigan Member Posts: 832
    edited November 2024
    You got it.  While you're in there you should add the Smartshunt.  Well worth it.
    Rich
    2019 T@b 400
    2025 Toyota Highlander 2.4L Turbo
    Bellingham WA
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  • DonFDonF Member Posts: 25
    Horigan - thanks!  Which shunt should I get?  They offer 300, 500, and 1000 amp and it seems the 300 amp should be adequate for the 230 Ahr battery.  I doubt I'll be upgrading to a larger bank anytime soon, if ever.
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  • HoriganHorigan Member Posts: 832
    I would get the Victron shunt, which would be sized by the inverter wattage you have.  The 300A would should be sufficient.  There are two shunts, the 712 with a display, and the Smartshunt that is bluetooth only and displays on the app on your phone.
    Rich
    2019 T@b 400
    2025 Toyota Highlander 2.4L Turbo
    Bellingham WA
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  • DonFDonF Member Posts: 25
    Rich - The specs online for the inverter are 1200 continuous/2400 peak watts (although I think ours may be 1200/1500) but if I did the math correctly even at 2400 watts, the max peak draw is 200 amps.  I ordered the 300 amp shunt.  thx!
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  • cottonmouthcottonmouth Member Posts: 109
    LiTime has Cyber Monday pricing. My originals are not holding a charge as well as before. Thinking of making the switch. I need to check if the 280 fits my 2021 400 space. 

    https://www.litime.com/products/12v-280ah-plus-lifepo4-battery
    2021 T@B 400 BDL aka Little Joe
    2019 Tundra Crewmax aka Hoss
    SE Louisiana
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  • bern64bern64 Member Posts: 6
    I too am upgrading to a LiTime battery on my 2020 Tab400 Boondock, ordering one on Black Friday.  I plan to install myself.  Prior to installing do I need to turn off the WFCO breaker? Is there a switch on the AIMS Inverter that needs to be off? Does the Victron Solar Controller wires need to be disconnected at the controller? 


    Bernadette / 2020 (8/2019) T@B 400 BD / 2023 Honda Ridgeline / St. Louis region

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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 4,439
    You should have the battery switch off, and unplug from shore power.  Your inverter should be off when it is not in use, in any case.
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • MrPrez68MrPrez68 Member Posts: 2
    2022 Tab400 lithium compatible, presently 2 Harris batteries. A lot of post on the lithium battery upgrade, Are you better off with the 2 100AH 12VLiFePO4 lithium battery or one 12V230AH. Seems like a perfect fit LiTime 100AH bluetooth heated in Parallel? has anyone installed these
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  • qhumberdqhumberd Administrator, Moderator Posts: 739
    For my 2019 with 2 Harris batteries, the 230 Ah LiTime fit the space perfectly with a bit of room to spare on the length and I did not need additional cables for the swap out. There are some pics in this thread:

    https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/19831/2020-tab-400-lithium-battery-upgrade#latest

    2019  T@B400 Boondock Lite "Todd"

    2016 Toyota Tundra 5.7 Crew Cab
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  • tphaggertytphaggerty Member Posts: 71
    LiTime has a new compact 320 ah battery with Bluetooth, not self heating. Helped my son install 3 of these in his live-in van. Awesome amount of power in a relatively small space.

    I initially replaced the original Harris batteries with 2 Renogy 100ah batteries (seem to be great quality). But I wound up adding a 3rd battery shortly after. Camping in the northeast for longer trips can be problematic if you depend on solar! Lots of trees and shaded campsites. My point is that replacing the batteries is a fair amount of work and having extra battery capacity is great, so go bigger if you can!
    2019 Honda Ridgeline RTL TV
    2018 T@B 400, 300Ah Renogy LiFePo batteries, 350W Renogy rooftop solar
    Poughquag, NY
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