Club 80-90 Forums

Our van has a wiring setup different to the wiki diagrams.

the wire on pin 30 of the relay is actually coming direct from the alternator rather than from the +ve terminal of the starter battery.

Are there any disadvantages to this setup? Is it ok to charge the leisure battery in this manner?

I have had the wires disconnected since getting the van back on the road (I have just been charging the leisure battery from the mains)

Any advice welcome

That is ok as long as there is an in line fuse close to the alternator.

thecyrusvirus wrote:the wire on pin 30 of the relay is actually coming direct from the alternator rather than from the +ve terminal of the starter battery.

There's a big thick wire connecting both of those, together with the +ve of the battery. No real difference between any of them.

Thanks both, my assumption was that the circuit ends up behaving in the same way but thought it best to check.

I have a 10amp inline blade fuse, between the alternator and pin 30.

I feel more comfortable, plugging it all back in now

Just for info, I wired up the split charge relay as a test, just using some crimp connectors and offcuts of wire. I am seeing around 13.8volts across the leisure battery with the engine running and about 12.7V without it running.

Seems my split charge wiring is right, now I just need my 33amp thinwall cable to arrive in the post so I can make it permanent.

Thanks for the input

33amp thinwall will just about see you right.....I've seen a tad over 35amps flowing on initial charge after a weekends camping (this relatively high draw only occurs for 10 - 15 seconds on my discharged 100 amp leisure) and quickly drops to low 20's. I know this will vary between setups but you can see that something slightly heavier may have been advisable.
Fuse at 30amps.

PS: With a relatively charged leisure there isn't going to be much current flowing, it's only after a decent discharge that all of a sudden the weaknesses in the system are tested.

Martin

Thanks Martin. I struggled to find any higher rated thinwall at a reasonable price.

I have my 30amp blade fuses and holders ready for when the cable arrives.