Went to Kent VW Festival this weekend. Used My TV and DVD for 2 days with no worries. Just before leaving, tried plugging my 300W inverter into 12v socket, so could use the 3 pin plug. Never got to plug anything into it, as the warning light was flashing - one light covers, low voltage, over heating and some thing else. Tried it a few times but kept flashing, so packed it all up. Stereo and Ipod would not work on the way home, kept cutting out and switching off. Don't ask why, but this has been wired to work just off the leisure battery (will get that sorted) Anyway got home and checked the voltage on leisure battery and it said 10.4 volts !!!! Turned engine on, to see if it was getting a charge, and still 10.4 volts. Pulled relay fuse out and that had blown. Put a replacement one in (20amp) and it blow straight away (note engine was still running) The split charge relay kit I have is from Just kampers - Leisure Battery wiring kit (J15328). Used to have a 15amp fuse, but changed it to a 20amp one, as that kept blowing. Battery is an Elecsol 100ah Few questions I have. Would the inverter have drained the battery even though nothing was plugged in? Don't know why else it would have dropped to 10.4 volts as it was fine powering the TV before hand. Did check battery after one day and it was 12.56 volts. never checked it on the second day. Is the fuse now blowing, because the battery is so flat, that the alternator is sending more than 20amps to it, to try and charge it? Is the basic Just Kampers leisure battery split charge kit a load of rubbish? Do I need a heavy duty relay and some heavy duty cable? (guess I do, if so, what and from where) With the Just Kampers kit, when the fuse blows, therefore stopping the battery charging, does the cable before the fuse still carry a current, and is it possible that the cable could overheat and burn through? Sorry for all the questions. Whole leisure battery system driving me mad :banghead: Any help appreciated.
Have a read of this someone else having problems with the jk kit http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=14528.0
Matty/Snotty, I take it I can't put a 30amp fuse in the JK kit that I have? Do I need a 4 blade 30amp fused relay? Not sure if it is wired off coil or alternator light output. Would have to ask the guy who installed it. Is it easy to tell, and what way is correct? What type of cable do I need as well?
Here's another way that works for me. Take one standard 30 or 40A relay with a mounting tab from the accessories shop (£3) For for the battery-relay-battery circuit, the thickest wire you can cram into blue spade connectors and two 30A fuses/in-line holders (not very technical I know!). Then for the switching circuit any old vehicle wire. Take a feed from the blue wire on the regulator to the relay and a short wire from relay with a ring terminal and earth it with the mounting screw. That's your split charger in a nut-shell, better bits and cheaper than JK's apalling kits.
Zed, Bodyrock2006 are we taking something like this Bodyrock2006 Some good links there. What fuse and inline holders would I use. I can only see 30amp fuse holders on that site. Unless I am looking in the wrong area. http://www.thetoolboxshop.com/0-376-90-1-standard-blade-fuse-splash-proof-in-line-fuse-holder-1503-p.asp
That's the circuit yes. I like these as they are durable, you don't have to join your wires to pathetic weedy tails and they take the same "continental" type fuses as the main fusebox in your bus. http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/292/category/62
i used to have the same problem with my fuse when the batterys were very flat i tried bigger and bigger fuses until i got to 40a then started again i now use a 100a rated voltage sensing relay protected with a 60a fuse and matching wiring since doing it this way i have never blown a fuse
The relay in the quoted post is connected to both battery's and an earth and that's your lot. It senses when the main battery is full and switches charge to the leisure, when the main drops below 12.3 it switches back
The main is always on a slow drain, the engine uses this all the time. What happens when your engine is running and you pull the live from the battery? It dies
Personally i don't like the self switching relays for the following reasons, Cost If you have a week battery or high load (lights,wipers on) the relay may not sense the 13.5 volts and not switch to charge the leisure battery. The alternator works best under load so with 2 battery's to charge at the same time (as with a normal relay) you are getting the best charge from the alternator and a quicker charge time.
relays is like oil... whatever works for you, i use the basic relay like the picture above, cost me nothing as i had a few knocking about from old spotlight sets, works fine for me. the only downside if any is my main battery is a bit poor so on cold days it doesnt charge well.
