Page 1 of 1

leisure battery relay knackered

Posted: 20 Jul 2014, 12:49
by dave lfc
Hi everyone my leisure battery relay is knackered and dont know where to get one today so I have run a cable from positive to positive with a 40 amp inline fuse and a cable from negative to negative from the battery. Is this safe till I am able to get a relay,cheers dave

Re: leisure battery relay knackered

Posted: 20 Jul 2014, 12:56
by ghost123uk
Yes, safe as long as you have done it neatly and the wire cannot chafe on anything (really you should have a fuse at each end, right by the battery terminals) and the wire is good for a bit more than 40 Amps.

You have done what I would do ;)

Plenty of split charge relays on Ebay.

Pull the fuse out if camping up so you don't drain your main battery ;)

PS, just re-read = you don't need the cable from -ve to -ve, but it won't do any harm either.

Re: leisure battery relay knackered

Posted: 20 Jul 2014, 14:37
by dave lfc
hi john i have just reused the original cable that came with the relay kit which was quite thick around about 8mm,thanks for the advice,cheers dave :ok

Re: leisure battery relay knackered

Posted: 20 Jul 2014, 17:39
by billybigspud
Halfrauds would do one as it will be just a standard relay if you want one sharpish. Just remember that they will find a charge level together so if your leisure is discharged and you link it to the crank battery then you may not have a lot of power to turn ya bus over with. Also most leisure batteries ( depending on construction) do not like to be discharged in the way starting a camper does. :?

Re: leisure battery relay knackered

Posted: 20 Jul 2014, 18:05
by Hacksawbob
some of your engine cranking amps will be drawn through your cable as both batteries will be starting the engine. Depending on the state of your connections to your starter and the level of charge in your leisure battery this can vary. It is better to isolate the batteries until the engine has started. However this is no different to how most people have their relays set up (with the relay being triggered by the charge light) without issue. If your fuse is rated lower than your wire you should be fine.

Re: leisure battery relay knackered

Posted: 21 Jul 2014, 09:42
by California Dreamin
Hacksawbob wrote:some of your engine cranking amps will be drawn through your cable as both batteries will be starting the engine. Depending on the state of your connections to your starter and the level of charge in your leisure battery this can vary. It is better to isolate the batteries until the engine has started. However this is no different to how most people have their relays set up (with the relay being triggered by the charge light)

But ^^^^^^^ the relay doesn't actually switch and connect the batteries UNTIL the engine has started. :ok

Martin