A Comprehensive Guide to REDARC Installation in RAM 1500!

Installing a REDARC Smart Battery Monitor and Dual Battery Charger in a 2018 RAM 1500

I recently installed a REDARC smart battery monitor in my 2018 RAM 1500 Laramie 4×4. The installation process should have been relatively straightforward, as the instructions provided by REDARC were clear and easy to follow—but I made it harder. We’ll get to that.

While this article is primarily about the easy-to-install REDARC smart battery monitor, I also had to install a REDARC BCDC1225D dual battery charger. This 12-volt, 25-amp in-vehicle DC-DC battery charger is designed to charge secondary battery banks to 100% while on the move. It’s solar-ready and suitable for a wide range of battery types, including lithium, AGM, GEL, standard lead acid, and calcium. I needed this setup to power an ARB compressor and auxiliary lights with an auxiliary battery. Eventually, I connected the monitor to my auxiliary battery to keep track of its voltage, current, power, and state of charge.

Now for the “I made it harder” part. At this point, the rig is pulled into the garage, half torn apart, and I need to add bumpers that have been sitting on the shelf for a year. I also have to add lights and remove the foldable tonneau cover so that the “new to me topper” can be mounted on the bed. All this frantic construction is all happening as Christmas approaches, the day I will load up the family, hook on the Taxa Mantis trailer, and head to Baja for 14 days. Oh, and beyond the vehicle work, I must ensure all of my family’s travel paperwork is in order.

The REDARC equipment shipment was delayed (Pro tip: Order the REDARC FK40 40-amp fuse kit if you are installing the charger), so the rush was on. The first install attempt was a bit hasty, probably (definitely) sloppy, and due to an installation error, the smart battery monitor and charger did not function correctly on the Baja trip. Luckily, the demands on the battery were minimal, and I had enough power to get through the trip without figuring out an alternative charging method.

INSTALL TAKE 2

As the weather warmed up after a cold winter, I tore into the project once again. I wanted an final install that would allow my daughters use the entire back seat. Because of that, I don’t have the available space for an electronics board—that’s what you will see in the photos—so I utilized the underfloor storage space in the RAM to hold the 55ah AGM battery and the space under the seats to host the REDARC smart battery monitor and BCDC1225D in-vehicle dual battery charger.

As I went through troubleshooting and gathering additional information from REDARC, I found my first issue. The ground I chose needed to be cleaner. Remember the hurry to prepare for the Baja trip? While fixing that, I went back through all the connections and wiring diagrams. I’ll outline the items you should be looking for in the photo captions. You will see how I tackled the installation to hook up auxiliary items, charge the auxiliary battery, and monitor the auxiliary battery.

I’m confident that the REDARC smart battery monitor will be a game-changer for monitoring the health of my auxiliary battery, especially when using it to power accessories while camping or off-roading. I’m particularly impressed with the monitor’s accuracy and reliability, which have provided me with invaluable insights into my vehicle’s electrical system.

This simple diagram from REDARC helped me immensely. I have the REDARC BCDC1225D in-vehicle dual battery charger instead of the TVMS1280 and BMS.

Make sure that you have cleaned the ground area to bare metal to ensure good contact. This is a critical step for wherever you choose to ground. Here, you can see I installed it near my driver-side seat.

Now that we covered the important diagrams and most critical steps, let’s back up. While REDARC does provide a few connectors, I needed enough connectors and 8- to 10-gauge wire to make mistakes, run wire from my main battery to the auxiliary battery, and connect the battery monitor and charger. I also needed shrink fit and a heat gun, connector crimping tools, wire cutters, a multi-meter (mine was handed down to me by my grandfather and it still works great), and an assortment of hand tools, cordless drills, and wrenches (not pictured) to attach fasteners. Also pictured is a six-way fuse block, 12V blade fuse, and 6-circuit ATC/ATO waterproof fusebox holder with LED indicator and waterproof cover that I purchased off Amazon. The various connectors and tools were also purchased off Amazon. The fuse block allowed me to keep the installation clean as I ran various lights and compressors to my auxiliary battery.

I mounted the REDARC smart battery monitor and the REDARC BCDC1225D in-vehicle dual battery charger under the rear seat of my RAM 1500. The wiring is mocked up to run to the battery in the underfoot storage. The directions that come with the battery monitor and the charger will be critical to ensuring proper installation using the correct wire gauge and length of various wires.

I chose to mount the REDARC FK40 40-amp fuse kit (needed for the battery charger install, but not needed if you are only installing the battery monitor on a single battery) and the fuse circuit underneath the seat overhang and easily visible for future diagnostics.

Another 40-amp fuse was located on the positive cable running between the main battery and the dual battery charger. I ran the wire from the rear seat, under the kick plates, through the firewall and into the engine bay.

The location of the dual battery charger makes it a bit difficult to see the indicator lights on the left of the charger, but the routing of wires in the correct direction was more important to me.

I tested everything out prior to final cleaning and organizing. Everything is now working as it is designed to. The app provides a full suite of information.

Everything cleaned up and functioning.

This install allows for full use of the backseat while allowing for dual batteries. The auxiliary battery powers the ARB compressor and rear lights and is easily accessible for other power needs using alligator clips.

Modification of the storage box was necessary to fit the 55ah AGM battery.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

Here are the most important things you need to know before installing the battery monitor and charger.

If you aren’t an experienced electrical builder, review online resources about building wiring connections.

The REDARC smart battery monitor (shunt) monitors all current going in and out of your battery, allowing the battery percentage to be accurate on your display or device via the RedVision app. You have to download the RedVision configurator and the RedVision app to get things working properly.

You need to ensure that all your devices (lights, fridge, inverter, charging sockets, battery charger, etc.) have the ground wire connected to the ground terminal (GND) side of the shunt assembly.

You should only have one wire connected to the battery negative terminal (BNEG) side of the shunt, which will connect to the battery negative terminal. This will ensure all current travels through this shunt. There should only be one wire on the negative terminal of the battery in a single auxiliary battery install.

Ensure the cable from BNEG to battery negative terminal is a suitable size to carry all loads combined, inverter often being the main load here.

Note: Any ground wire that bypasses the BSEN500 smart battery monitor will result in inaccurate battery percentage.