Zig unit "Touring / Site" switch

[High Peaker]

I've got a Zig CF8, and it has a switch to select between "Touring" and "On Site".
There is very little mentiuon of it in the handbook, and seems to make no difference which position it is in.
Any ideas what it does?

[Mocki]

i think it is to switch between main (van) battery and leisure battery, but mostly they are not wired to do this, just the switch is there

[Nickblue]

I have the same Zig unit in my camper. I still have the original manual and it states:-
WHEN TRAVELLING
Whilst travelling the control unit charging switch should be in the touring position. Both batteries will then be charged by the vehicle alternator.

The refrigerator will also be supplied with 12 volts via the ignition switch. Therefore it is necessary for the refrigerator control to be set to 12 volts.

WHEN STATIC
When 'On Site' the control unit charging switch should be switched to 'On Site'. This will ensure that any 12 volt current will only be drawn from the secondary battery. If for any reason the secondary battery will not operate the 12 volt equipment then it is possible to run the equipment from the vehicle battery by switching the charging unit to 'Touring'. Use of the vehicle battery in this condition should be restricted to avoid flattening the battery below the level for starting the engine.

If the vehicle is connected to a 220/240 volt supply via the control unit the switches should be positioned as follows:- Mains switch 'ON', charging switch to 'MAINS'. In this condition the secondary battery will automatically be charged as required. It is not possible to charge the vehicle battery through the control panel.

The refrigerator should also be switched to LP Gas or Mains power. It should never be left on 12 volt supply when static as this will very quickly drain the battery.

USING THE 12 VOLT EQUIPMENT
Turn on the 12 volt switch on the control unit. The battery condition indicator light will light either red or green depending on the state of the battery (see below) and the 12 volt equpment will be operative.

THE BATTERY CONDITION MONITOR
The purpose of this device is to warn that the caravan battery is becoming discharge. The red light will glow when the battery voltage is below 11 volts, above this voltage the green light will glow. No harm will come to the system or the battery if the accessories are used when the red light is on, and it will be found that possibly another few days of reserve of current is available after the red light first appears.

A true reading will only be given when all the 12 volt equipment is switched off and when neither charging system is in operation. The red light may come on when an appliance is switched on, this is normal - current surges cause momentary voltage drop. It is important to remember that the battery monitor is not a charging indicator. The fact that the green light is on does not mean that the battery is fully charged. Even with a flat battery the green light will glow if either charging system is operating due to the high terminal voltage present at the battery.

NB. When using current from the vehicle battery when the charging switch is in the 'Tourig' position, the red light may glow. This is due to voltage drop between the batteries.

[High Peaker]

Funny, I've got the same manual but it made more sense reading it on screen. Thanks for the transcript!
So - it stops the vehicle battery discharging when in camping mode, and allowing it to charge when in travelling mode.
Has anyone tried repacing it with a diode, or a relay like the fridge one would connect / disconnect the vehicle battery dependant on whether the ignition was live.
It just seems that relying on a manual intervention is a bit old-fashioned and liable to forgetfulness.

[DentedDevon]

I have just rewired the switch on ours.

In the "on site" position it selects the leisure battery and allows it to be charged from from 240v.

In the "touring" position it selects and charges the engine battery , but only if the 240v charger is working.
(can't run of engine battery without hook-up).

Charging from the alternator will be controlled by a relay under the drivers seat.

I think the CF8's design dates back to pre '81 caravans when the tow vehicle only had a permenant 12v supply available in the 7pin socket.

[Bowton Lad]

So - it stops the vehicle battery discharging when in camping mode, and allowing it to charge when in travelling mode.
Has anyone tried repacing it with a diode, or a relay like the fridge one would connect / disconnect the vehicle battery dependant on whether the ignition was live.
It just seems that relying on a manual intervention is a bit old-fashioned and liable to forgetfulness.

The split charge relay allows both vehicle & leisure batteries to be charged from the alternator when driving & at the same time it will allow the fridge to run on 12v whilst the ignition is switched on.

Once the camper is parked up on site the ignition should be switched off therefore the fridge can no longer run on 12v & flatten either battery.

No need for diodes etc. All you have to do is to have the fridge on 12v when driving & gas/230v (according to model of fridge) whilst on site, not forgetting to fire up the gas or set up the hook up lead.

No amount of fancy electrickery is going to take over the manual tasks detailed above.

[1664]

'Zig' units were originally designed to go in caravans not campervans. The 'touring' setting allowed the leisure battery in the caravan to be charged via the tow bar hook up from the car alernator.
Once set up on site, the car could be unhooked and the switch put into the 'site' position allowing the lighting etc to run off transformer if plugged into the mains (providing the mains neon switch was also 'on') which would also charge the leisure battery. In the 'off' position (ie, no mains available), the lights etc would just run off the leisure battery. The 12v switch which lights up the green/red LEDs would have to also be on for the lights, water pump etc to work via the three fuses on the RHS of the Zig unit.

Or at least that's the way I've always understood it to work.

Campervans don't actually need a Zig unit as the leisure battery automatically charges everytime the van is run via the split charge relay(also making charging off the mains redundant). Not many people in campers stay parked in the same place for long enough to discharge the leisure battery although a caravan may not move for a fortnight.

[Cruz]

My leisure battery discharged in about 2 hours last weekend. I do use the stereo when parked through it but I think it's down to the battery being ancient and ready for the scrap heap

[DentedDevon]

1664 is 100% right on the design & opperation of the CF8
However,
Our '88 AAutohomes Kameo dosn't have a split charge relay , only a fridge relay.
High Peaker's '83 Reimo may be the same ?
We have to manually select the touring position to charge the leisure battery on the move .
Fitting a split charge relay is on my list of things to do !

[High Peaker]

Thanks for all the input, not sure if I am any clearer though!
The fridge is not connected in any way to the Zig, so does not come into it (it runs off vehicle battery via relay to only run when ignition on in the normal manner).

There is no split charge relay in my vehicle, so perhaps that is what I was imagining in my last post. You would have through that for the money the Zig would do that, as otherwise it is just a very expensive fuse carrier and battery charger. Do people have split chanrge relays and Zigs?

Cheers,

[1664]

just a very expensive fuse carrier and battery charger,

Yes, it is.....

Do people have split chanrge relays and Zigs?

Cheers,

Yup!

[trundletruc]

Our Devon Moonraker 1984 has the said Zig panel.

I have recently done a re-wire of the leisure wiring and I agree that the fridge and Zig panel are completely seperate. Furthermore the only relay in the vehicle, which is just behind the driver's seat, is for running the fridge on 12volts and only allows the current to the fridge when the alternator is charging.

When I came to rewiring the fridge I found out that the fridge was connected to the leisure battery. However, the fridge instructions say that it should be connected to the main battery and the wires kept as short as possible. This has now been done and the fridge works a lot better on the 12 volts when we are going along!

I believe that the touring/onsite switch just connects the two batteries together because the manual says "With modern batteries, split chargers are not necessary, as batteries are now much more tolerant to equalisation". So I put the touring/onsite switch to "onsite" when we stop to camp and I switch it back to "touring" AFTER I have started the engine when we are about to move away. (You do a similar thing on yachts). I fear that if the exhausted leisure battery is joined to the main battery before starting there may not be enough power left in the main battery by the time I get into my seat and start the engine?

I agree with High Peaker that it is a pain in the neck having to manually switch the batteries and if anyone knows a way of putting a relay in the wiring I would be very happy. Perhaps Zig electronics could help us? They must make a more automated one by now?

[irishkeet]

Hi
My mate Ade has a good guide to installing a relay on his site
check here http://www.freewebs.com/vwgoatboy/leisu ... nstall.htm

[High Peaker]

Thanks, that is a good website with well-illustrated practical guides.

[irishkeet]

no worries