How to wire in a battery charger ... for leisure battery

[wbmkk]

I have a T3 Westfalia van, which has a leisure battery located behind the drivers seat. This battery, when I get it changed, will eventually power the internal lights and the fridge.

I have bought a battery charger (CTEK 7000) which i want to wire in place, to help charge the battery, when connected to the mains, whether at home or on a site.

I have a couple of questions ...

If I am on a site, with an electrical hookup, can the battery charger trickle charge the leisure battery ?

When traveling, does the alternator charge the leisure battery as well as the main engine battery ?

On a couple of occasions the main battery has been flat, through lack of use probably, so I have charged it. Is there a way of doing this, if the charger is bolted inside, say on the cupboard floor inside the van . ... or would i simply need to get two extra long croc clips and wire and simply connect it up

trhanks !

[California Dreamin]

I have a T3 Westfalia van, which has a leisure battery located behind the drivers seat. This battery, when I get it changed, will eventually power the internal lights and the fridge.

I have bought a battery charger (CTEK 7000) which i want to wire in place, to help charge the battery, when connected to the mains, whether at home or on a site.

I have a couple of questions ...

If I am on a site, with an electrical hookup, can the battery charger trickle charge the leisure battery ?

When traveling, does the alternator charge the leisure battery as well as the main engine battery ?

On a couple of occasions the main battery has been flat, through lack of use probably, so I have charged it. Is there a way of doing this, if the charger is bolted inside, say on the cupboard floor inside the van . ... or would i simply need to get two extra long croc clips and wire and simply connect it up

trhanks !

My first question would be: are you sure that it doesn't already have a leisure charger? have a look to see if there is a black box on the left as you look under the rock n roll bed.

Yes....powers the internal lights etc but if standard, the fridge will only run on 12 volts whilst the engine is turned on (has a relay fitted to prevent the fridge using 12 volts whilst camping as the fridge would flatten the leisure battery in a matter of hours).

Absolutely fine to permanently wire in the Ctek 7000.......giving the charger a live feed from the mains so when 'hooked up' it would automatically charge the leisure battery.

Yes...if it has the Westy split charge system then this will charge the leisure battery as soon as the engine in running, presuming all is working well.

Can you post a few more details...like Westy Model/year etc

Martin

[wbmkk]

My first question would be: are you sure that it doesn't already have a leisure charger? have a look to see if there is a black box on the left as you look under the rock n roll bed.

Yes....powers the internal lights etc but if standard, the fridge will only run on 12 volts whilst the engine is turned on (has a relay fitted to prevent the fridge using 12 volts whilst camping as the fridge would flatten the leisure battery in a matter of hours).

Absolutely fine to permanently wire in the Ctek 7000.......giving the charger a live feed from the mains so when 'hooked up' it would automatically charge the leisure battery.

Yes...if it has the Westy split charge system then this will charge the leisure battery as soon as the engine in running, presuming all is working well.

Can you post a few more details...like Westy Model/year etc

Martin

Thanks Martin for your reply.

No charger in at present.

Model is a 1989 1.6 TD Westfalia California

I am going to bring the van to an auto-electrician for checking, as well as having the internal lights etc changed, so he'll be able to sort everything out.

I was just wondering whether everything was possible etc and at least I can speak to him with a bit of background knowledge.

So would he be able to wire something which would make charging the main battery easy, as and when required .. say over the winter, when the van is locked away and never gets used. My mate, with a similar van says I should start the van every few days, but I usually forget. Also, it's a lot less faff, just charging the main battery in the spring.

[California Dreamin]

My first question would be: are you sure that it doesn't already have a leisure charger? have a look to see if there is a black box on the left as you look under the rock n roll bed.

Yes....powers the internal lights etc but if standard, the fridge will only run on 12 volts whilst the engine is turned on (has a relay fitted to prevent the fridge using 12 volts whilst camping as the fridge would flatten the leisure battery in a matter of hours).

Absolutely fine to permanently wire in the Ctek 7000.......giving the charger a live feed from the mains so when 'hooked up' it would automatically charge the leisure battery.

Yes...if it has the Westy split charge system then this will charge the leisure battery as soon as the engine in running, presuming all is working well.

Can you post a few more details...like Westy Model/year etc

Martin

Thanks Martin for your reply.

No charger in at present.

Model is a 1989 1.6 TD Westfalia California

I am going to bring the van to an auto-electrician for checking, as well as having the internal lights etc changed, so he'll be able to sort everything out.

I was just wondering whether everything was possible etc and at least I can speak to him with a bit of background knowledge.

So would he be able to wire something which would make charging the main battery easy, as and when required .. say over the winter, when the van is locked away and never gets used. My mate, with a similar van says I should start the van every few days, but I usually forget. Also, it's a lot less faff, just charging the main battery in the spring.

So the BBB (Black Box Charger) must have been removed as these were standard on California's.
Shame because this was wired with TWO outputs (which are probably still there) to charge BOTH batteries when the hook-up cable is attached.
Best you can do is wire the Ctek to one of batteries (this would normally be the leisure battery) I suppose you could wire some sort of 'change over' switch, to swap from leisure to starter battery once one had been charged.

Is the ebberspacher heating still there? and the under slung gas tank?

Martin

[wbmkk]

So the BBB (Black Box Charger) must have been removed as these were standard on California's.
Shame because this was wired with TWO outputs (which are probably still there) to charge BOTH batteries when the hook-up cable is attached.
Best you can do is wire the Ctek to one of batteries (this would normally be the leisure battery) I suppose you could wire some sort of 'change over' switch, to swap from leisure to starter battery once one had been charged.

Is the ebberspacher heating still there? and the under slung gas tank?

Martin

Once again, thank you for your reply. No doubt the auto electrician will be able to do as you suggest, but at least I can point out (after looking shortly) that there is probably already some wiring in place for the dual battery set up.

Ebberspacher heating still there? no .. a Truma heater was installed instead, in the wee bottom cupboard under the table

..and the under slung gas tank ... yes, I actually filled it yesterday. A mate with a similar van let me borrow his 'double adapter'

[California Dreamin]

Some positives.....unfortunately (as you have found out) many of the German imported 'Westies' have had these important extras removed, mainly because of the tuff TUV (MOT) testing over there.
As the original leisure charging wiring is likely still in place it should be possible to wire in the Ctek to the two outputs into a changeover switch that would give you the choice of which battery to charge. Ignore the last comment as wiring does not allow although this could still be done separately.
Under normal circumstances, that would be the leisure battery and perhaps clicked over to the starter battery every few weeks when the van is laid up.
This type of 'SMART' charger can be left permanently switched on as it's circuitry switches to a 'float' (minimal charge) once that battery is charged.
As this charger has charge indicators it's easy to determine when one battery is charged and can be switched to the other.

Truma in the small cupboard....... ....the original 'Ebberspacher' would have been mounted outside, under the sliding door (large rectangular black box) with the pump for this heater mounted on the fuel tank outlet (again, can be seen if you look under from the sliding door side, towards the front).

Is everything else working OK? kitchen block LED's, water pump, fridge on all 3 sources?

Martin

[AdrianC]

As the original leisure charging wiring is likely still in place it should be possible to wire in the Ctek to the two outputs into a changeover switch that would give you the choice of which battery to charge.

Doesn't work, unfortunately. Unless somebody's played with the wiring on ours, at least...

There's no perma-12v to the third wire in that multiplug, so the smart charger doesn't see that there's a battery there, so doesn't put out any output, so the charge relay doesn't trip and connect it to the battery.
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=117166" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WestfaliaT3.info has prices for charger/leisure and Eber as an optional extra on Calis - so it's entirely possible that wbmkk's van never had 'em.
http://www.westfaliat3.info/html/westfa ... ornia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Westfalia California was introduced in late 1988 and the Westfalia Atlantic a few months later in mid 1989. As the names might suggest the California was aimed at people using the bus in summer as in standard form it came fitted with single glazing and without an Eberspacher night heater.

Options :-
M558 Two batteries with split charge relay for Otto engines. Cost 253.08 DM
M558 Two batteries with split charge relay for Diesel engines. Cost 318.06 DM

Eberspacher night heating with leisure battery and split charge relay system and battery charger (Standard on Atlantic):
Petrol-heating B2L. Order number 216 117 400 002. Cost 2981 DM
Diesel-heating D2L. Order number 216 117 400 003. Cost 2981 DM

[California Dreamin]

Fair enough...
I guess it's worth mentioning the interior light/radio mod which takes these consumers off the main battery and onto the leisure.
This basically should ensure that the 'starter battery' remains 'untouched' and 'Stays' charged for when it's needed.

Martin