I've been thinking about replacing my Zig CF9 with a C-Tek battery charger and a Sterling Split Charge Diode Block. These would, I think be housed in the engine bay and thus save a liitle storage space inside the van. Can anyone offer any advice on whether this is a wise move? Would the voltage drop across the diode block have a major effect on being able to start the van on the cold mornings? With a standard alternator (70A?) and battery (60A/h?) plus a 110A Leisure battery would I need a 70 amp Diode Block or do I need to go for a 90A or even the 130 Amp? Any advice gratefully accepted! :- :-
Hi! Just read this page: http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/Sterling/SterlingDiode01.htm although the voltage drop seems to be minimal due to the use of Mosfets, why would you even bother with this solution when the traditional relay wiring is simple, cheap and tried/trusted? Also, using the diode method you seem to need to interupt the main alternator connection - not something I would want to do lightly...! Genuinely interested as to why you are considering this route?
You may find it doesn't work as the alternator needs to be self exciting to get the process working. modern alternators are 'self exciting' and use the residual magnetism to start the process. i would go for a normal relay £5 or a battery to battery charger £200
Thanks guys. The more I look at this the more I realise that simple is best (and cheaper!!). The 'self exciter' business seems to put an end to my thought of going down this route but it was worthy of consideration ...... I think!! So, it looks like a £5 relay and a bit of wiring on the way. Thanks again for the comments but I'll keep an eye out in case anyone elso responds.
I am fairly new to this so I did some research and found that traditional relays are not recommended for larger batteries above 80Ah, something to do with high current surges? The wiring to the sterling diode on the other site looks odd to me, why would you need to split the line from the alternator to the main battery? I bought an intelligent split charge unit which is solid state and has a very low voltage drop, something like 0.02v I measured. This only charges the leisure battery alternator output is above 13.4v. search for "12volt 70amp self sensing battery split charge relay" on fleabay dead easy to fit one wire to main battery positive other wire to leisure positive and one ground to chassis seems to be working well so far, but I have not yet flattened both batteries to test it out at full load
