UPDATE!!! And its a good one.
First, everyone has issues, and I found the reason why alot of the input cables are out of stock at Goal Zero. Its the new lithium yeti's fault. I personally think it was a design issue with a few things prior but the litium yeti brought it to head. But If you want a MC4 to 8mm input cable or other cable shown out of stock, call goal zero directly. Their site will also show out of stock but here the deal... They have most these cables but due to an issue are redesigning alot of them for safety, so they show out of stock.
One thing I did not know, they are local. Just 10 minutes away so I had the day off and decided I would go in and check out their "store" and talk to some people, first everyone I talked to was AWESOME. They either helped, or put you in contact with someone who could.
Of all the cables the MC4 seemed the most over built with the 12V cig cable being the worst. The cig cable is built with a little 16 or smaller gauge cable. The new Lithium pack will draw over 10A on charge if the supply is there, so when you plug it into the cig lighter adapter it will either blow a few in your car or heat the cable to the point of melting. That explains why the new li400yeti does not list car charging on it. And its the reason I did not get it but now that I know the facts and have suitable power on the vehicle to not need to use the cig lighter adapter (which again if you look at the MS paint drawing I made on post 56, you will see I HATE them anyways). After talking with a few people at Goal Zero and showing them my rig and its wiring. they agreed the issue will not be an issue with my truck if I build my own cable. Which I am doing right now, so I guess a LI400yeti is in my future as well. The LIs are A WHOLE LOT LIGHTER. Its stupid how much lighter they are, less than the half weight easily.
To get your cables, you need to call goal zero and they will inform you of the risks and if you still want them they will ship, but they had 15 of the MC4 cables hanging on the rack when I left and they even said I could post this info. OLB exclusive hook up here.
More photos to come but here are a few to start with on the output cable for my ARB fridge.
First upon arriving I spotted a awesome Taco with Tepui tent out front, so needless to say I had to park next to it. Found out it belongs to one of their marketing guys
And some of the haul, they also gave me and my daughter a bunch of swag. Shirts, and a few other little things. Pretty cool team they have their. My daughter liked it ALOT.
My output cable started life as a 98009 6mm to alligator clip that I paid $9.99 for. Upon cutting off one clip I noticed something that concerned me immediately. The wire is not a wire, it is a coax cable. IE, a center conductor with shield separated by insulation. I did a quick CNR (continuity and resistance) test and determined that the shield is tied to the same polarity contact on each end. Odd way to do it and part of the problem I think goal zero is having is due to this. The center conductor is 16g and the shield is easily stripped with a 10g stripper, so if you remove the insulation between the 2, and reform the wires as single conductor, you have approx a 12g wire. Which being just a couple feet long will not really impact my power needs for the ARB fridge. According to the AWG wire chart for 12VDC, I would be safe for about 25ft at 6A draw. I have 2 feet before it steps to 10g for 6 ft, so I am plenty safe in this harness for my needs.
Next I crimped on the Anderson power pole connectors being sure to keep the ARES standard polarity/ keying which means paying attention to how the contacts are oriented on the wire prior to crimping. But Viola this one is done. Give me a few moments for dinner and to finish the input cable using a modified MC4 to 8mm cable.
FYI some may ask, why did I do this, why not just buy the Anderson cables they have (like the 98054) 8mm input to Anderson power couple contacts.... as I pointed out to the team at goal zero, they changed their design and use ribbed/ keyed Anderson connectors as such the standard smooth Anderson that everyone uses will no longer fit. They opened one of their displays and tried to mate some of my cables, and it was a no go, and they were shocked to see it. The only reason I knew this was a guy on youtube had the same experience and a review on amazon.com. Again, like I mentioned earlier, the peripheral cables are the issue and the lithium just brought it all to light. But odd that only a few have picked up on it yet. I am sure in time this will be more noticed and expressed.
First, everyone has issues, and I found the reason why alot of the input cables are out of stock at Goal Zero. Its the new lithium yeti's fault. I personally think it was a design issue with a few things prior but the litium yeti brought it to head. But If you want a MC4 to 8mm input cable or other cable shown out of stock, call goal zero directly. Their site will also show out of stock but here the deal... They have most these cables but due to an issue are redesigning alot of them for safety, so they show out of stock.
One thing I did not know, they are local. Just 10 minutes away so I had the day off and decided I would go in and check out their "store" and talk to some people, first everyone I talked to was AWESOME. They either helped, or put you in contact with someone who could.
Of all the cables the MC4 seemed the most over built with the 12V cig cable being the worst. The cig cable is built with a little 16 or smaller gauge cable. The new Lithium pack will draw over 10A on charge if the supply is there, so when you plug it into the cig lighter adapter it will either blow a few in your car or heat the cable to the point of melting. That explains why the new li400yeti does not list car charging on it. And its the reason I did not get it but now that I know the facts and have suitable power on the vehicle to not need to use the cig lighter adapter (which again if you look at the MS paint drawing I made on post 56, you will see I HATE them anyways). After talking with a few people at Goal Zero and showing them my rig and its wiring. they agreed the issue will not be an issue with my truck if I build my own cable. Which I am doing right now, so I guess a LI400yeti is in my future as well. The LIs are A WHOLE LOT LIGHTER. Its stupid how much lighter they are, less than the half weight easily.
To get your cables, you need to call goal zero and they will inform you of the risks and if you still want them they will ship, but they had 15 of the MC4 cables hanging on the rack when I left and they even said I could post this info. OLB exclusive hook up here.
More photos to come but here are a few to start with on the output cable for my ARB fridge.
First upon arriving I spotted a awesome Taco with Tepui tent out front, so needless to say I had to park next to it. Found out it belongs to one of their marketing guys
And some of the haul, they also gave me and my daughter a bunch of swag. Shirts, and a few other little things. Pretty cool team they have their. My daughter liked it ALOT.
My output cable started life as a 98009 6mm to alligator clip that I paid $9.99 for. Upon cutting off one clip I noticed something that concerned me immediately. The wire is not a wire, it is a coax cable. IE, a center conductor with shield separated by insulation. I did a quick CNR (continuity and resistance) test and determined that the shield is tied to the same polarity contact on each end. Odd way to do it and part of the problem I think goal zero is having is due to this. The center conductor is 16g and the shield is easily stripped with a 10g stripper, so if you remove the insulation between the 2, and reform the wires as single conductor, you have approx a 12g wire. Which being just a couple feet long will not really impact my power needs for the ARB fridge. According to the AWG wire chart for 12VDC, I would be safe for about 25ft at 6A draw. I have 2 feet before it steps to 10g for 6 ft, so I am plenty safe in this harness for my needs.
Next I crimped on the Anderson power pole connectors being sure to keep the ARES standard polarity/ keying which means paying attention to how the contacts are oriented on the wire prior to crimping. But Viola this one is done. Give me a few moments for dinner and to finish the input cable using a modified MC4 to 8mm cable.
FYI some may ask, why did I do this, why not just buy the Anderson cables they have (like the 98054) 8mm input to Anderson power couple contacts.... as I pointed out to the team at goal zero, they changed their design and use ribbed/ keyed Anderson connectors as such the standard smooth Anderson that everyone uses will no longer fit. They opened one of their displays and tried to mate some of my cables, and it was a no go, and they were shocked to see it. The only reason I knew this was a guy on youtube had the same experience and a review on amazon.com. Again, like I mentioned earlier, the peripheral cables are the issue and the lithium just brought it all to light. But odd that only a few have picked up on it yet. I am sure in time this will be more noticed and expressed.
