Club 80-90 Forums

Hi Guys

When I first bought my van a mate installed one of these kits
http://www.justkampers.com/leisure-batt ... g-kit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My leisure battery does not seem to be charging these days so I asked him to take a look at it and he thinks the relay may be broken and need replacing. I don't know much about electrics so did a quick search on towsure and found this one http://www.towsure.com/product/SelfSwit ... tion_Relay" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can I replace the relay in the JK kit with this one from towsure?

The split charger is wired up as split charger 3 in the wiki https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ca ... it_charger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If the one I have suggested is no good could you please suggest a better alternative.

Thanks in advance
Matt

mattrsa wrote: Can I replace the relay in the JK kit with this one from towsure?

Hi Matt

No, the Towsure relay would do the job, but in a slightly different way - it's an 'intelligent' relay that senses the charging voltage, rather than using the trigger wire (connection 86 in the split charger 3 wiring diagram).

If you just need to replace a failed relay, this one from Halfords looks ok. The one supplied with the JK kit appears to be a 15A relay, so the Halfords one, at 40A, should be more than enough. Any motor factors should sell a relay like this though - take this picture with you if in doubt.

thanks for the reply. I will stop off at halfords and get the one you suggested to see if it solves the problem.

The winter plan is to rewire (with the help of a mate) all the leisure battery electrics so hopefully this will sort this problem for now and I can look at the "intelligent system" at a later date.

Thanks
Matt

Ah, OK, maybe I misunderstood what you meant by 'replace'. The Halfords part is a direct replacement for your (assumed) failed part. The Towsure item, and others like it, can be fitted as an alternative, using slightly different wiring. Personally, having gone down the 'intelligent' relay route myself, I can't see the benefit over a conventional relay setup like yours, particularly if you've already got all the wiring in place.

ok thanks.

Yeah since I have the wiring already in in place and my knowledge of electrics is not great I will just go for a straight swop for the time being and hopefully that will solve the problem of the leisure battery not charging.

Really need to read up a bit more on electrics so I have a better understanding if this solution does not solve the problem.

Thanks for your help

Matt

another quick question.

Will either of these do the same job as the one from halfords?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/40a-spno-and-30 ... elay-37526" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm not sure what is meant by SPNO and SPDT

Thanks
Matt

The 'broken' relay that you currently have should have a little diagram on it that shows the pins and the connections between them inside the relay - a bit like this one;



Almost all of these 'automotive' type relays should be the same pin layout but you'd be wise to ensure that it works/looks the same as the one you have;

SPDT - Single Pole, Double throw - Basically it is one switch that connects to one output when 'off' and a different output when 'on;
SPNO - Single Pole, Normally Open - (I've usually seen this written as 'SPST' - Single Pole, Single Throw) - This is one switch that is connected to nothing when 'off', and connected to an output when 'on'

If your relay has 4 pins then its probably a SPNO/SPST, if it has five pins its probably a SPDT.

I would assume that your relay is an SPST (or SPNO as Maplins seems to call it) - I'd also make an assumption that a SPDT relays would also work too - but probably safer to match what you already have. Also, the connector that you connect your relay to may only allow a 4 pin relay to be connected - check that too,

Also (again) note that you need a '12V' relay - some of the relays in the link you sent are 24V relays (that is the voltage that the relay needs to flick it's internal switch) - so your relay needs to be a 12V relay.