Nautilus Charging Port Mod (Not a How To....just a Show & Tell)

[Steve_C]

Here is a Mod I performed recently on my Naut. It is a NOCO charge port attached to the grille. I did this same mod a few years back on my wife's BMW. We rarely use the BMW in the winter, same with the Naut also. This external hookup saves me the trouble of having to unlock & open the doors, open the hood, and connecting the charger to battery, ad nausea. Now, I just plug & play...no fuss! I have a NOCO x2 Charger, so I can hook up both vehicles at once.
I am adding a detachable volt meter to the port so I can quickly check voltage readings when desired. Working on that now.
**DISCLAIMER** this is NOT a “How to Do” mod. I am just showing what I did out of boredom one day. It is at best just a “Show and Tell”.
I am not an engineer so I cannot and do not recommend, nor endorse, or suggest that anyone do this to their vehicle! I did this at my own risk!
Photo 1). Parts (Wire loom wrap not in photo).
I used a NOCO GC002 pigtail (shown in front of the NOCO box). Basically, I just cut this harness in two, spliced in 14g wires to extend the length using the connectors shown to the left of the photo. I used soldering iron to join all, no crimps!

Photo 2). Battery Hookup, I did a bit of re-routing after I snapped this photo to tidy it up a bit more, but this is basically what it looks like.

Photo 3). This was the hardest part! Routing the new harness past the radiator assembly to gain access to the grill was a bit challenging! Took me several tries to come up with a routing that worked! The radiator is sealed all around so no air passes around it. The header panel to radiator cover (not shown in photo) has a lot of molded foam to keep the seal tight as well! This was the routing I came up with so as to not interfere with the foam sealing strips attached to the underside of the header to radiator cover. The new charging loom can be seen at the lower end of the photo, towards the right. The yellow rectangular connector is part of the new charging port harness. To the right of this connector, you can see where it sits in front of the hood bumper stop just behind the header panel. From there it goes back to the battery. This view is with the header to radiator cover off the vehicle.

Photo 4). Now I plug my NOCO here to keep my battery charged during long periods of no vehicle usage.

 

[swindler]

Never a bad idea. I did this to my vehicles that were only driven once a month. I would leave the lead long enough to dangle so I could reach underneath the vehicle. I would leave them on the float chargers indefinitely but could unplug and go.

Also, NOCO does have units that are designed to be permanently mounted under the hood. You have to access the power plug when you want to charge.

 

[Steve_C]

Never a bad idea. I did this to my vehicles that were only driven once a month. I would leave the lead long enough to dangle so I could reach underneath the vehicle. I would leave them on the float chargers indefinitely but could unplug and go.

Also, NOCO does have units that are designed to be permanently mounted under the hood. You have to access the power plug when you want to charge. No need to reach underneath for hook up!

The only reaching I did in this entire process was grabbing a beer out of the back of my refrigerator after the mod was complete!

NOCO had a 2.5 watt solar charger for awhile, but seems like it has since been discontinued. I am going to pick up a solar maintainer to plug into the port as an alternate choice in lieu of the NOCO Genius.

 

[swindler]

NOCO had a 2.5 watt solar charger for awhile, but seems like it has since been discontinued. I am going to pick up a solar maintainer to plug into the port as an alternate choice in lieu of the NOCO Genius.

You're probably the last person that needs a recommendation, but make sure the solar charger has a charge regulator or is not rated above the float voltage. I can give you a few stories of seemingly undersized solar panels damaging decent size lead-acid batteries because the voltage would creep too high.

______________________________

 

[PTF]

STEVEC....Thanks for your example and pics.....

I'm new to Lincoln (22 Nautilus) and battery maintenance became my first question, with all the convenience lighting and power seats/tearing wheel adjustment, and convenience exit etc...... coupled with the fact that we are retired and it gets a lot of short distance use.

Formerly have had a Beemer 528 that had the same battery maintenance type issue and put into my trunk (where battery was) heavy duty wire for my Shumacher full capable charger.

My question....if you or anyone is still on this thread, will a trickle charger work if used just some of the time (my Shumacher was doing a full charge I would put in for several hours but only maybe once a month.

I don't want to plug it in all the time.... is it sufficient to use just seldom, like maybe once a month.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ADVICE

Best Regards Peter

 

[Steve_C]

Yes, trickle is fine!
Most (better) chargers today have features that will maintain battery charge after battery is up to snuff, preventing overcharging & electrolyte boiling!
Many on this forum (including myself) use a NOCO charger, I have a 2 amp model.
To get back to your question, on a good battery, trickle charging (about one amp and below) is enough to keep the electrolysis flow in motion, thus preventing "sulfation".
Once a month, depending on climate is OK, but I personally don't like to go beyond two weeks or so, especially during the NY winters.
My wife uses our 23 Naut 3 days a week, Mo, Tu, We. It sits for 4 days (Th, Fr, Sa, Sun.) unless we take it on a trip. I attach the NOCO sometime within the 4 days of no usage, and remove it night before start of the week. Again, I do this because of freezing temps. If you live in a freezing zone, I would keep trickle in use more often than 30 day intervals.

 

[Steve_C]

STEVEC....Thanks for your example and pics.....

I'm new to Lincoln (22 Nautilus).......

Best Regards Peter

Forgot to welcome you to the forum! I hope you enjoy your Naut as much as we enjoy ours!
What trim did you get? How many miles on it? Color combo?
I need to replace my old 2006 Infiniti M between now & the spring. I am looking for a 22/23 Naut with trailer tow package as a replacement.

 

[PTF]

Steve... Gosh...Thanks for the quick response and your advice.

Really do love him... Link (we name our cars) is a 22 Reserve/silver radience?/Black interior. Have to get into my files to see his package number and exact composition... but he has everything that we like...he's a 2.7 and will get-up-go, especially in S. He had 41K (coming off initial lease) and still have 5 months factory warranty. (He does not have the massage seats, which given the choice, we would have liked. ) With a trade, it's hard to tell exactly what we paid....I figure about 32-33K. He is immaculate, but I had to aftermarket buy his manual , and the luggage packet that came originally on him, but was missing...which we did not care about at all.

We were trading in a 2016 Q5, and and are just now catching up to all the new technology he has. (We also considered a 2024 or 5, but we really did not like all that technology. We're older and that 24 was just too much to learn and seemed gimmecky to us.

With my prior issue with the 528 Beemer, I was concerned with all his seeming electric demands when the engine was not turning the alternator,.... I guess a lot is LED's now, but still concerned me. I had just two days ago checked his standing battery charge, and it was 12.6, and the battery looked clean.

Following your exact execution, I will very likely throw a NOCO on him.... keep that battery healthy... as it looks like a real f'n PIA to drop a battery in. (That might be my only complaint... oh yeah, oil changes too but I'll just buy those at Walmart.)

Any how... THANKS AGAIN

Best to ya
Peter

______________________________