split charge

[barsocial]

hi again,

been looking at posts but not quite answering this question..

I've noticed the leisure battery is not charging whilst driving. We have a solar panel which normally tops this itself but the british weather being what it is there is not enough chrage going into the battery and hence we noticed the problem. There is no zig unit as such but i'm guessing there is a split charge relay in the enging compartment to charge the leisure battery whilst moving.
We took the engine out ourselves last year to do a complete overhaul and it seems the problem may have started then. I have done a full cable check and all seems to be in order.

My question is has anyone seen one of these boxes in their engine compartments and is it the split charge relay? I have looked up the numbers on the square blocks inside and they don't come up as relay switches..

the numbers of the two blocks are 171 911 261 e and 141 951 253 b
Anyone got one of these as their split charge relay? I just want to replace the right thing!!

The van is a 1.6 td '89 La Strada conversion

[kevtherev]

Can't you trace the thick charge wires from the alternator to the split charrge relay then on to the leisure?

[andisnewsyncro]

Like Kev says, follow the wires from the leisure battery back until you get to a relay. I guess it's a diesel, from the part numbers? so your starter battery is in the back? Where's the leisure? It may be the fuse, but once you have found the right relay you're almost there

E D I T - only just spotted that you told us it's a diesel
if you Google the part numbers you give it suggests that one is the glow plug relay and the other may be horn/lighting circuit. Not 100% sure, but I don't think either of them are the one that you're looking for..

[barsocial]

Ok, I've followed the wires back and they defo go into this box and into the above mentioned box. This box contains the 2 fuses/(relay?) and a fuse that is still ok. So these must be the ones.

I did the searches in google too and came up with the same answers. All very confusing. The one that comes up glow plug relay has a picture similar to this on it.. http://www.autoteile-meile.de/cgi-bin/a ... RSA-922143

I was thinking of testing the set up by running the enginge and seeing if there is a charge in the system tomorrow. Will get back with outcome. Never know, might be useful for reference

As for the batteries. Starter in the boot and leisure in the cab under the driver seat (LHD)

[andisnewsyncro]

It might be simpler for you to start again. Previous owners' modifications can often leave a little bit to be desired. Components and methods also sometimes change as manufacturing progresses. There's some good advice on installing a split charge setup on here, and then at least you would know you have it all installed correctly and you're not going to wake up in a field one day with a flat starter battery.

[barsocial]

Aha, got it. managed to find the relay under the driver seat!
seems this is where la strada (Baumgartner model) thought was a good place not too far from the leisure battery and the ignition. In the end the problem was that the relay was stuck open. I managed to get the casing off and there is a bit of plastic which had fused to the gate of the relay so that even though the electromagnet was activating the bridge was not being made. A simple play with a scredriver prised the gate away from the plastic and it now works!

I have been trying to understand how the gate so hot in the relay to fuse to the plastic and i think it is linked to the solar panel (50w) on the roof. It is always on and going into the battery aswell as the alternator when the engine is on. as they are in series the voltage is still 12v but the amp is much higher so I am going to replace the relay with a single pole double throw relay (SPDT) from maplin with will select either the alternator when the engine is running or the solar panel when not running. will post if this works !!

[Oldiebut goodie]

Yet another case of the under-rated split charge relay overheating! (most probably 20 - 30A)

Replace the system with a suitably rated relay and wiring. I recommend a 100A setup but 80A will do. The output from the solar panel is not relevant as it is only 50W. Most probably what has happened is the leisure has been flattened and you have tried to pull 60A or more from the starter battery and alternator on startup and so melted your puny relay.

[Mocki]

clearly not fused correctly then..........

common thing, start van with flat leisure battery and charge fuse blows , operator installs bigger fuse, bigger than the rating of the relay

[barsocial]

will check the new relay rating is high enough for the demand before installing.. cheers for that

[Oldiebut goodie]

You need to check that your wiring is up to carrying the current also, not forgetting to fuse at below the wire rating.