Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all.

My van has a zig cf 8. I was just wondering if anyone knows what method it uses to charge the leisure and cranking battery?

I.e. is it a trickle charge that would take many hours or something a bit quicker?

On another u related note. I changed my gearbox oil with the comma stiff from wilko. Good news is the filler and drain plugs came out easily enough (phew) but I managed to spill lots and now endure the wrath of the other half as the drive way is a mess. Feel free to laugh.

Thanks in advance.

ads288 wrote: My van has a zig cf 8. I was just wondering if anyone knows what method it uses to charge the leisure and cranking battery?

I.e. is it a trickle charge that would take many hours or something a bit quicker?

iirc the CF8 charges at ~4.5A when on mains hook up.
iirc with a CF8 you still need a separate split charge relay for when you are driving (stands by to be corrected )

ads288 wrote:On another u related note. I changed my gearbox oil with the comma stiff from wilko. Good news is the filler and drain plugs came out easily enough (phew) but I managed to spill lots and now endure the wrath of the other half as the drive way is a mess.

Fine sawdust first, leave it a day (in dry weather or cover it up) then brush up and put fine sand ("silver sand" garden centres sell it) and leave that on it (again, in the dry). brush up and you will barely see where it was spilt

What ghost123uk said ^^^^^^

But the Zig doesn't charge the 'cranking' battery - it will only charge the leisure battery.

Good quality washing up liquid , neat, pour it onto the spillage, leave for a few mins, mix it up abit then pour boiling water onto it , as boiling as you can get it and scrub with a scrubbing brush.... Will be the cleanest bit of drive, but no oil!

ghost123uk wrote:iirc with a CF8 you still need a separate split charge relay for when you are driving (stands by to be corrected )

No you don't need a split charge relay, just switch the Zig to 'Touring'.
Not automatic like a split charge, has to be switched. Just links starter and leisure battery together. Not sure how much current it could handle, probably be better fitting one of the larger split charge systems.

Thanks for the info people

I had some soft sand left over from a previous job - I put that on and waited a day and it seemed to soak most of it up. Not spotless by anymeans but much better.

I think 1664 is right - when I did mess about with the zig a while back , switching the mode to 'touring' showed an increase in voltage on the leisure. At the time I was just happy the zig seemed to be working , so didn't give it much thought about how it would actually charge the leisure battery.

Excuse the lack of knowledge - but if the zig charges at 4.5amp , would it take approx 10 hours to charge a fully flat battery wit a capacity of 45amp hours?

On the vans shopping list is a proper leisure battery - I've currently got the old starter battery in the moment. Hoping to spot a cheap one that will fit at some point.