Power from White Plug to Anderson Plug

[gagsa]

We had an adaptor made to go from the White Plug to the Anderson Plug by Land Rover dealer for our 2011 D4, and I have tested it with a multi-meter but it seems to only have .35 volt at the positive. I was expecting it to be 12 volt, so it would charge the battery in the Camper Trailer while travelling.

This was tested with the motor both on and off, there was no change to the resulting power output.

Not sure if this is normal or not?

[drivesafe]

Hi gagsa and welcome to the AULRO.

First off, you need to let us know which pins of the 12S plug are connected to the Anderson plug but also check to see if you have blown a fuse for what ever pin is connected.

[gagsa]

hi drivesafe . checked fuse green 30AMP blown. battery fed positive on anderson plug goes to 4/R red wire. negative black wire goes to 3/31 and another black wire from the negative side of anderson plug goes to the centre pin looks like No58 on car plug. I tested the socket on car with voltmeter before pluging the anderson plug in could I have blown the fuse this way cheers

[gghaggis]

hi drivesafe . checked fuse green 30AMP blown. battery fed positive on anderson plug goes to 4/R red wire. negative black wire goes to 3/31 and another black wire from the negative side of anderson plug goes to the centre pin looks like No58 on car plug. I tested the socket on car with voltmeter before pluging the anderson plug in could I have blown the fuse this way cheers

Wiring sounds correct, although you shouldn't need the earth from the centre pin of the 12S plug - that's the earth for the ignition-feed circuit.

You're powering from the constant-live circuit. Is that what you want (ie power fed from the car battery regardless of the ignition on/off)?

Cheers,

Gordon

[gagsa]

Thanks Gordon,
I have put a new fuse in and everything seems to be ok now, we are now getting 12 volt power at the plug. Regarding the constant supply of power, I have to remember to unplug when I stop driving I guess.:angel:

[bcl]

Hi Guys,
I would suggest it is better to run a dedicated circuit for the Anderson plug direct from the battery than running through the S type plug.

I have run my anderson plug through a 100Amp redarc SBI12 solinoid. This device senses the batery voltage and will automatically turn off when voltage drops, saving me from getting a flat battery. and saves you the effort of remembering to disconnect. (Pain in the rear end when you forget, even worse if you have an auto and shouldn't jump them I am guessing.)

I would also be concerned about the voltage drop being experianced accross the run. I have ran a fridge in a van accross my setup (not sure of the exact wire size but it is bigger than that on the car) and found over an 8 meter run that I was dropping about 1 volt when running 20 amps through the wire. Haven't done any maths on this but just be aware is my message.

[Glynhouse]

When running a dedicated line, where do you take it from the battery ? simple question but I have had all sorts of advice.
there is an empty threaded hole in the terminal connector whatever that does, but do I just use that to connect to ?

DD

[gghaggis]

A dedicated line is always a better solution, however it's more complicated and I don't think it's necessary for loads under 20A or so. I've used the switched (ignition -fed pin) option in the S plug over the last 6 years to power the fridge in the various caravans/campers I've had (up to a 175 ltr fridge), and in all that time I've never had an issue. Yes there is a voltage drop (around 1 to 1.5V at full load), but the system works well enough and is switched, so you don't have to worry about forgetting to disconnect it.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Tinman]

I have also modified the white socket where I have removed all the pins taped them up then installed my own pins. Two were connected to my auxiliary battery and a third just to help line up and give a better plug fit. I then plug my caravan into the socket which runs a 12 volt to 12 volt battery charger in my caravan to charge the caravan battery. The charger cuts out if the battery supplying it drops below a set figure so as not to flatten the battery. This gives me two batteries if required. So if I disconnect the caravan from the car I still have battery supply.
Cheers Tinman

[bcl]

When running a dedicated line, where do you take it from the battery ? simple question but I have had all sorts of advice.
there is an empty threaded hole in the terminal connector whatever that does, but do I just use that to connect to ?

DD

Yes, I would come off the terminal connector itself with 1 wire of at least 8 mm size and stright to a circuit breaker or alike and then to a solinoid. This way you are not interfear with any of the existing electrics. You can also jumper this feed for your electric brakes if needed from the battery side. 1 wire to the battery then does everything for you.

Be careful of any fusable links on the battery connector - if you blow these they could be expensive to replace and whatever you do dont accidently short it out as who knows what you will destroy.

[Scary]

A dedicated line is always a better solution, however it's more complicated and I don't think it's necessary for loads under 20A or so. I've used the switched (ignition -fed pin) option in the S plug over the last 6 years to power the fridge in the various caravans/campers I've had (up to a 175 ltr fridge), and in all that time I've never had an issue. Yes there is a voltage drop (around 1 to 1.5V at full load), but the system works well enough and is switched, so you don't have to worry about forgetting to disconnect it.

Cheers,

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Where can I buy an adapter or did you make it up yourself?

[alpick]

DISCO3 Shop (http://www.disco3.co.uk/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=45)

[gghaggis]

Hi Gordon,

Where can I buy an adapter or did you make it up yourself?

Made it up myself. If you need one, PM me and I'll see if I've got the bits to do another.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Ashes]

Do you recall what size fuse you have in the 12s ignition feed? I have a 15A fuse in mine and the book says it is a 15A fuse. I've read in a few places people having a 30A fuse on that circuit so not sure if they have "upgraded" it or some are wired with larger wire.

[gghaggis]

My brother's borrowed the car for the weekend :eek::eek:

So will have to wait until he get's back.

Cheers,

Gordon

[outasight]

I believe the 30A mentions online come from (as I understand it to be) there are TWO 15A lines in the white socket - one switched & one constant. So if they are tied together at the Anderson connector you could theoretically pull up to 30A.

I too have an adaptor made up by supplying a local Baterry World with the pin information & the white(grey)plug from a LR dealer. I then run a Ctek D250S Dual to step the charge back up for my van house battery & fridge.

Regards,

Les.

[Ashes]

Thanks Les. That's the conclusion I was coming to as well. Using both wires and adding a relay to act a as an isolator to only charge the camper when ignition is on sounds good. I'm really torn between using the 12s plug or upgrading my current isolator and running some 6b&s from my aux battery to the rear. The 12s solution is much cheaper but the 6b&s solution would let me run items like a 40amp compressor however this would be more a minor convenience than a must have. Leaning towards the 12s solution.

[phl]

Which is why I went with the 12S. Also much neater than having an Anderson socket in there. For my usage, without a camper/caravan, I wired it up to a CTEK plug so I can plug the charger without lifting the bonnet, and also for solar and also external power for lights.

[sniegy]

Or you can do this.

61054

I seem to be doing this more & more.
Fitting a 12 Pin plug in place of the white plug & gives the benefit of using in reality 3 plugs.
7 Pin round, 7 Pin Flat & a 12 Pin plug also.
In the White plug there are 2 live cables that could be used in your 12 Pin plug.
Pink/Blue trace permanent live
&
Brown/Yellow trace ignition switched.
Now this is for all 10MY D4's but from memory it is the same for a D3.

On the 12 Pin plug pins 9 & 10 act the same as an Anderson plug.

Just some food for thought guys.

Cheers

[Muddy Diver]

This issue is appearing in a few threads now which is great becasuse like others, I have not been keen to start adjusting wiring on my new LR4.

I have learned quite a bit from my research and would offer this here if I may.

The 12S socket supplies two power options (at least on the D4) the manual for your car will tell you the rating of the fuse for your earlier disco. For mine it has a 15A Ignition positive and a 30A permanent supply. Many connect fridges to the 15A ignition positive in preference to the permanent supply to protect their battery from draining when stopped. This is fine if your fridge draws less current than the circuit can supply but if your fridge is rated higher than 15A and you wish to use the 12S socket then this should be achieved via the 30A permanent supply using a voltage sensing solenoid which is sensing assessing the voltage of the 30A supply to see if the alternator is running and isolating the fridge when not.

If you want to utilise the wiring in your disco then you have a couple of options.

1) Dont run fridges in your trailer from the ign Positive if it draws over 15A
2) Use the 30A Permanent live 12V with a VSR which switches your fridge off when stopped.
3) Fit a dual battery system to your car and run the trailer accessories from the auxhiliary battery.
4) Fit an auxhiliary battery in your trailer (if you don't have one already) run the fridge from this battery and fit a 12V/12V charger to charge the battery while towing.

My preferred option is 4 as some in this thread will already know for the following advantages:

No need to change the disco wiring or sockets (so long as your charger doesn't draw more then 30A

No need to be concerend at losing volts on the long run to your trailer as the chargers will step this up in the trailer itself (always mount the charger close to the trailer battery).

No worries about flattening the car battery ever, as the charger senses when the alternator is running and only charges then. (no need for the solenoid).

A decent charger will also accept a solar input. Mine has an MPPT controller ensuring a max 30% increase in the charging efficiency. This means that you do not need a regulator on your panels and the panels can be left connected while running ( if mounted to the roof of your trailer) The charger circuit utilising a relay to switch between car 12V and solar 12V or they may be connected (as I am doing) so that when parked I pull the 12S plug out of my vehicle and connect it to the lead running from my portable solar panels.

The socket, used in this way, is being so more akin to what it was designed to do. Feed an onboard charging system while the on board batteries feed the onboard appliances. Remember, us Poms dont go offroad in caravans in the UK! Well not many do as most will tow on tarmac to a site, pitch and plug in! And theres not much current draw on a fridge which is just as cold as ambient;) JOking here but in UK you don't need massive fridges as they sinply don't have to work as hard as Aussie ones.

Some of the damage occurring to the 12S sockets can be avoided. Earlier in this thread someone reported that their centre earth had a wire going to the ignition earth in the 12S socket. This is a remedy to provide two returns for the earth current 'to share the load' as it is often the case that the centre pin (also used for guiding the socket and plug together) can become compressed and have a poor contact. I understand these to be brittle though, so take care if trying to splay them again. The practise involves looping a piece of wire between this centre earth and the ignition earth pins in both the plug and socket which should effectively halve the current travelling back to negative in each of these circuits keeping things cooler. (allowing for circuit resistance differences as mentioned below)

Take a look at a tip on this very subject here
Totalcaravancare.co.uk » Tips and advice from Total Caravan Care (http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=0f96a38a5a863735e17251f4eccd9b82&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aulro.com%2Fafvb%2Ftechnical-chatter%2F175153-thanks-some-give-back.html&v=1&libId=72710243-ea26-4ebc-8b8f-4f4821aaf934&out=http%3A%2F%2Ftotalcaravancare.co.uk%2Ftips-from-totalcaravancarecouk%2F&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aulro.com%2Fafvb%2Fsearch.php %3Fsearchid%3D3844856&title=Thanks%20and%20some%20give%20back%20-%20Australian%20Land%20Rover%20Owners&txt=Totalcaravancare.co.uk%20%C2%BB%20Tips%20and%2 0advice%20from%20Total%20Caravan%20Care&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13697955779716)

Outasight mentions drawing current from two 15A circuits to get 30A but if you have two 15A circuits I don't advise that you do this. There is always some imbalance due to circuit resistances (Connections, cable sizes etc) and one WILL draw more than the other. More than 15A will blew your fuse and then very quickly the other one moreover you will be momentarily overloading your cabling on the higher resistance circuit. Sorry Outasight but I needed to offer this point in order to prevent dissapointment or worse:o

If you simply want to power massive electrical loads then use an isolator and run a large diameter (6B&S) cable through your disco to the rear and plug into it. But if you want to utilise the 12s socket then consider the above advice.

[Tombie]

G'day Muddy

Option 4 is a Bad idea.

DC/DC chargers will take about 18-20hrs of driving to charge a 20%SOC charge (acceptable) battery.

No good for normal use.

Nothing beats the Aux under bonnet and Anderson cable to trailer setup.

Dc/Dc chargers are over hyped and often sold on BS by salesmen who have no idea or are pushing a sale.

Your alternator is a far better charging solution.

And the wiring on that plug, whilst protected by a 15a fuse is not enough to get the job done...

[Ashes]

And here is the problem...
Some say the 12s can charge a camper battery no problems directly.
Some say it cannot charge it or it will take an eternity.
Some say DC DC chargers are required, others say they are snake oil.

Don't you just love forums!


Using an isolator, eg traxide and 6b&s from an aux battery to an Anderson plug is also well tested and used by many. Obviously works well and seems the safest option as it has the capacity to carry many amps,with near 0 voltage drop and will not deplete the cranking battery. Is it safest though because it is a very over-engineered solution. Running a white plug and cable from the 12s socket is certainly simpler and cheaper.

[discotwinturbo]

G'day Muddy

Option 4 is a Bad idea.

DC/DC chargers will take about 18-20hrs of driving to charge a 20%SOC charge (acceptable) battery.

No good for normal use.



I have had a DC to DC charger in my camper for about 5 years charging two 105 amp AGM house batteries while driving with 150 litre fridge running directly from the house batteries. AGM batteries still going strong due only to using a proper battery charger.

This is by far the best setup in my years of travelling.

DC to DC charger is putting up to 25 amps into the house batteries, and state of charge has never been below 97% according to my battery minor (control unit).

I don't have the voltage drop running from the alternator which even with big cable I use from the battery never exceeded 10amps to the house batteries.

So for me, I find your statement mostly inaccurate.

No hype at all....DC to DC chargers work if used for the appropriate purpose....from someone who uses them on 2 different trailers, and since using them, have never had to replace batteries like I did in the past with bulk chargers.

But agreed that if they are close to flat it will take a long time to get them back up, but at just under 10 amps coming in from the alternator without the use of a DC to DC charger, the rate of charge is even slower...and that's using big cable, almost too big to fit in a 50 amp Anderson plug.

Brett.....

[Tombie]

I disagree..

Your statement of "my AGM batteries... Because of a proper charger"

You can't back that up with evidence.

I can back up mine - because they were going strong 5 years later... That AGM without a charger, using only the alternator, were going strong after 5 years...

Your batteries get 25a max.

Mine get whatever they need.

Your twin 130ah batteries at 20% SOC would require over 8 hours driving to get close to charged.

If you never run that low then you are lucky - you're not seeing the problem - it doesn't mean it's not there.

Camp in a spot for a week, get the batteries down to their lower safe limits and see how you go... A days drive might just get them close to full.

As for cost:
Redarc 25a Dc-Dc ~$600.00
Plug and wiring ~$25.00

Traxide isolator and h/d Anderson plug kit (batteries in trailer) $350.00 less AULRO discount.

One has a 25a limit the other 80a.
A 3.2x capacity.


I'm glad your system "works" for you. But it's expensive, unnecessary and actually limits your capability as opposed to other simpler more robust systems.

With your $600.00 you could wire the lot with an SC80 and Anderson and then fit a charger hard wired to the camper for when it's stored and still be in front $150.00

$425.00 (plus a battery) would get you the Anderson plug, 1 aux sockets in the cargo area and an aux battery in the vehicle. Same outlay and better functionality... Plus additional capacity that can be shared with the camper
House batteries or stand alone for charging phones, car fridge, camp lights etc.

Whilst the spin doctors continue to push these Dc-Dc units as the be-all-and-end-all when there is no need for them people will read the brochure, read a positive thread somewhere and believe the marketing.

In theory it all sounds great. In practice there's better suited, more economical systems.

[discotwinturbo]

I disagree..

Your statement of "my AGM batteries... Because of a proper charger"

You can't back that up with evidence.

I can back up mine - because they were going strong 5 years later... That AGM without a charger, using only the alternator, were going strong after 5 years...

Your batteries get 25a max.

Mine get whatever they need.

Your twin 130ah batteries at 20% SOC would require over 8 hours driving to get close to charged.

If you never run that low then you are lucky - you're not seeing the problem - it doesn't mean it's not there.

Camp in a spot for a week, get the batteries down to their lower safe limits and see how you go... A days drive might just get them close to full.

As for cost:
Redarc 25a Dc-Dc ~$600.00
Plug and wiring ~$25.00

Traxide isolator and h/d Anderson plug kit (batteries in trailer) $350.00 less AULRO discount.

One has a 25a limit the other 80a.
A 3.2x capacity.

I'm glad your system "works" for you. But it's expensive, unnecessary and actually limits your capability as opposed to other simpler more robust systems.

With your $600.00 you could wire the lot with an SC80 and Anderson and then fit a charger hard wired to the camper for when it's stored and still be in front $150.00

$425.00 (plus a battery) would get you the Anderson plug, 1 aux sockets in the cargo area and an aux battery in the vehicle. Same outlay and better functionality... Plus additional capacity that can be shared with the camper
House batteries or stand alone for charging phones, car fridge, camp lights etc.

Whilst the spin doctors continue to push these Dc-Dc units as the be-all-and-end-all when there is no need for them people will read the brochure, read a positive thread somewhere and believe the marketing.

In theory it all sounds great. In practice there's better suited, more economical systems.

I base my statement on experience! With and without DC to DC charger.

The amperage coming from the car, does not get over 10amp to the house batteries from my D4 and previous Patrol...fact. I get up to 25 amps from my DC to DC charger depending on SoC. Xantrex controller provides me with the current flow in/out and a whole host of other info.

80amps would be great....but will destroy my AGM's (not orbital AGM's) which don't like charging over more than 20amps each.

Brett.....

[Tombie]

Brett, if you're only getting 10a from the alternator.. Something is wrong!

D4 alternators throw out 180amps (max) so more than enough to feed the house batteries.

The house batteries won't always draw max. Even the charger you have won't be running 25a very often if you are never running batteries down below 97%

That seems quite minimal as well.
2x105 = 210a/h = 6.3a/h drawn is 97% capacity. Running a 150l fridge with a say a Danfoss compressor you would pull that easily a day. Add camp lighting, tank pumps etc and I struggle to see your obtaining sub 97% figures.

Solar can make this happen, and a solar reg is dirt cheap anyhow. It's the only way to be camped longer and maintain that SoC without resorting to gen sets or long top up drives.


What you do have now too, is a better power system in your vehicle - smarter alternator and charging control which better matches to modern AGM batteries...

The playing field is different.

[Tombie]

I base my statement on experience! With and without DC to DC charger.

The amperage coming from the car, does not get over 10amp to the house batteries from my D4 and previous Patrol...fact. I get up to 25 amps from my DC to DC charger depending on SoC. Xantrex controller provides me with the current flow in/out and a whole host of other info.

80amps would be great....but will destroy my AGM's (not orbital AGM's) which don't like charging over more than 20amps each.

Brett.....

80amps is max. Batteries will pull what they need.. The battery dictates the rate if there's surplus to its needs it won't pull it...

What cable size did you have to only see 10amps? I'm guessing were talking independent cables not factory loom?

Your experience at the back of the vehicle is certainly very different to what mines throwing back there!

[discotwinturbo]

2x105 = 210a/h = 6.3a/h drawn is 97% capacity. Running a 150l fridge with a say a Danfoss compressor you would pull that easily a day. Add camp lighting, tank pumps etc and I struggle to see your obtaining sub 97% figures.

I have 180 watts of solar too.

97% SoC is during driving....batteries don't get below this during driving and running the fridge. Was a different story before the DC to DC charger.

Gets lower of course while camping, using led lights, pump, TV, 240v inverters, etc.

Last 350km return trip from Warren River saw SoC at 98% by the time I got home, after 5 days of camping.

Works for me.

Had Kalamunda autosparky check my Anderson wiring and was impressed in the cable size that I used, and confirmed amperage was about right.

Brett....

[Tombie]

Thanks for your feedback Brett.

Good to have these discussions.

[drivesafe]

Hi Brett and sorry mate but your math just doesn’t add up.

For a start, over long cable runs, you will NOT damage your batteries if charged direct from your alternator as the high current draw caused by the batteries being in a low state will make the cable act as a quasi voltage/current regulator, but your batteries, IF IN A LOW STATE, will charge much faster from your alternator, and with out any risk of damage.

Next, if you had low batteries when you set off on that return trip from Warren River, there is no way on gods earth you could have had batteries at 98% SoC after such a short drive, and I’m guessing 5 hours at most.

If your batteries were at 50% SoC and this is not low but average use levels, and you DID NOT have the fridge connected, using your 25 amp charger would at very best, got your batteries somewhere between 85% to a bit over 90% “IF” the drive was 5 hours long.

With your fridge running off your batteries and drawing 15 amps, your batteries would be lucky to be at 75% SoC after a 5 hour drive.

As to your cable-only set up, direct from your alternator, only providing 10 amps to your batteries, well the batteries must have been near fully charged to be drawing that low a current level over decent cabling, “OR” you had some serious problems with your cabling.

When I first got my ( my wife’s ) D4, I carried out load/charge testing and with 10m of 6B&S twin cabling, and three low batteries, totalling 260Ah, I monitored currents of up to 63 amps and over a 4 and a bit hours drive I raised the batteries from 20% SoC ( 11.58v ) to just under 80% and averaged 36 amps per hour and note, the cranking battery was also low at the start of the drive but was not monitored.

I suspect your batteries are never in a genuine low state so your DC/DC device is doing nothing more than topping your batteries up, not charging depleted batteries.

[discotwinturbo]

[QUOTE="drivesafe;1920590"]Hi Brett and sorry mate but your math just doesn’t add up.

For a start, over long cable runs, you will NOT damage your batteries if charged direct from your alternator as the high current draw caused by the batteries being in a low state will make the cable act as a quasi voltage/current regulator, but your batteries, IF IN A LOW STATE, will charge much faster from your alternator, and with out any risk of damage. (I understand this logic)

Next, if you had low batteries when you set off on that return trip from Warren River, there is no way on gods earth you could have had batteries at 98% SoC after such a short drive, and I’m guessing 5 hours at most. (Not low, but not full. Batteries had 180 watts of solar connected so this would help keep them topped up)

If your batteries were at 50% SoC and this is not low but average use levels, and you DID NOT have the fridge connected, using your 25 amp charger would at very best, got your batteries somewhere between 85% to a bit over 90% “IF” the drive was 5 hours long. (Have never seen my batteries get that low)

With your fridge running off your batteries and drawing 15 amps, your batteries would be lucky to be at 75% SoC after a 5 hour drive. (You are making too many assumptions. Fridge does not draw 15 amps all the time, only while compressor is running. 25 max amps going in, with less than 15 amps (max 7.5 amps per hour based on running 50% of the time) ... my batteries have never got as low as 50% SoC due to constant charging from solar panels)

As to your cable-only set up, direct from your alternator, only providing 10 amps to your batteries, well the batteries must have been near fully charged to be drawing that low a current level over decent cabling, “OR” you had some serious problems with your cabling. (Agreed, as I always have a battery charger connected....I am paranoid about keeping batteries full...the reason why my batteries last so long. Cabling, as mentioned, was checked by an autosparky and tested with camper connected.)

When I first got my ( my wife’s ) D4, I carried out load/charge testing and with 10m of 6B&S twin cabling, and three low batteries, totalling 260Ah, I monitored currents of up to 63 amps and over a 4 and a bit hours drive I raised the batteries from 20% SoC ( 11.58v ) to just under 80% and averaged 36 amps per hour and note, the cranking battery was also low at the start of the drive but was not monitored.

I suspect your batteries are never in a genuine low state so your DC/DC device is doing nothing more than topping your batteries up, not charging depleted batteries. (Correct....I have solar panels keeping them up while camped. For longer periods (around 5 days more or less depending on weather) I may start my gennie and let the other 40 amp battery charger give them a tickle for a few hours.....but rare and still batteries not as low as 50% SoC)

My xantrex battery monitor provides all the information I need to confirm state of charge and current in and out, current over a 24 hour period, etc....if this is giving me wrong readings, then I have posted wrong readings. But I think the readings are correct, and I am happy with this setup, as it has worked better for me than previous setups (15 years of using bulk chargers and now 5 years of DC to DC charges is a better solution for me...not for all).

Brett....

[drivesafe]

Hi again discotwinturbo and seriously, with your type of battery usage, you could LITERALLY throw away the DC/DC device, remove one of the batteries and the remaining battery would still die of old age before your power demands had any effect on the battery’s longevity.

The best thing you have for your batteries is your solar set up. That will cover your power requirements will your are using the batteries on a trip, and the solar will give you perfect maintenance of the batteries while they are stored away between trips.

As to using the 12S socket, if you are running a 3 way fridge then yes this socket’s output would be idea because 3 way fridges are not as finicky when it comes to voltage drop.

BUT, contrary to suggestions made, these sockets are not suitable for charging batteries in the way we use batteries here in Australia.

In Blighty land, as someone has already pointed out, they tend to go from one powered site to another and the battery circuit in these sockets is intended to do no more than trickle charge the house battery(s) to keep them in a fully charged state.

Now for a reality check.

Using one of these circuits to power the fridge is fine. You know what the total load of the circuit is going to be at all times. Nothing unusual with that.

The same thing does not apply when setting up a circuit for charging batteries.

For a starter, there is no constant current factor to work from or base the limitations of the circuit on.

While your can guestimate the maximum current a low battery or number of batteries will draw but this is not enough.

In a conventional circuit, with a known maximum current requirement, you can select the cable and circuit protection to allow for safe supply of the needed current for the circuit and still cover for the potential of a short circuit condition occurring.

Just two simple factors to work with.

In a Dual Battery System there is a critical third factor and the one that must be given considered and that is a current overload situation.

Most people have no idea of what sort of problems can be caused by current overload and this is probably the most common cause of damage in DBS set ups.

It’s a long and involved topic and I will not go into detail here other than to state that the 12S socket wiring is not up to the job of charging house batteries in a CT or caravan being towed by a D4.

[discotwinturbo]

Works for me....certainly wont consider your advice about throwing it out.

Brett.....

[Muddy Diver]

The beauty of forums is that there is plenty of discussion which should be used to make an informed decision. The ugliness of them is when they turn ferrel and folks just tell someone else that their opinion or choice is wrong.:(


There are advantages and disadvantages in the variety of systems out there. I have planned my total system based on my usage and style of camping and being a "system" it all works together well. My battery capacity was selected to never go below 50% charge as AGM's life can be considerably shortened by repeatedly doing so. If you are constantly charging AGM's from 20%Soc then you have the wrong capacity batteries on board should you wish to save replacement costs sooner then later. I chose a DC/DC smart charger because again I calculate that with 25A charging current it should take no more than 2 hours to bring my 100A/Hr battery from 50% to full charge (almost 100%) and will then gently float it there. (again, a well matched charger for the battery) I chose the DC/DC smart charger method because I prefer the more gentle charging profiles for my batteries for longevity reasons. Coupled with the fact that it has an MPPT solar regulator with it My 160W panels used when I'm set up ensure that I can charge at surprisingly fast rates and never have need for power. Call me old fashioned but having looked after big old batteries aboard submarines - nice and slow with low temps is the best way to charge. Particularly with sealed batteries fitted with pressure relief devices:o.

Don't buy from Redarc direct! I got my BCDC1225 on ebay for half the price readarc charges. (around the $320 mark from memory) I too believe that over 600 bucks for a battery charger is a joke!

There are no real right and wrongs just preferences so please lets try to allow each other there own preference.

[Muddy Diver]

G'day Muddy

Option 4 is a Bad idea.

DC/DC chargers will take about 18-20hrs of driving to charge a 20%SOC charge (acceptable) battery.

No good for normal use.

Nothing beats the Aux under bonnet and Anderson cable to trailer setup.

Dc/Dc chargers are over hyped and often sold on BS by salesmen who have no idea or are pushing a sale.

Your alternator is a far better charging solution.

And the wiring on that plug, whilst protected by a 15a fuse is not enough to get the job done...

Well, as I said Preferences should be allowable Tombie. For my style of camping I would not wish to have my only power source on the vehicle as when the vehicle is away the fridge in the camper is OFF (unless you travel around with the fridge in the back of the car when not hitched up. Also, while away from the camper in the vehicle, the solar panels are charging my camper battery through the chargers Mppt regulator making sure I never run out of juice. As an electrical engineer with sales experience I am immune to salesperson BS and have made the decision using my own knowledge and experience and am just trying to share my set up and decisions why I favour one way over the other with others who might be considering their own set ups.

[Muddy Diver]

Sorry Tombie but I also meant to say in my last post that I was at pains to point out that the 25A charger would be connected to the 30Amp circuit not the 15A Ignition Positive. Sorry If I didn't mention this clearly enough earlier.

[drivesafe]

There are no real right and wrongs just preferences so please lets try to allow each other there own preference.

Hi Muddy and this will probably upset you but you are WRONG about your charging times.

Your 25 amp DC/DC device will take about 3 hours to raise you 100Ah battery from 50% SoC to somewhere around 95 to 97% SoC

That’s about the same time an alternator, running at 13.8 to 14.0v will take to do get ordinary AGMs and wet cells to about 90 - 95% SoC.

If the alternator is running at a higher voltage then it will do it in a shorter time.

If you had something like an Optima, or in the case of Tombie, with two 55Ah Optimas, you could safely charge them from 50% SoC to well over 85% SoC in the first hour of driving and have them over 95% in the next 30 minutes.

So it all depends on your knowledge as to what constitute good battery house keeping.

But Tombie’s system goes one major step further in that his system will also result in his cranking battery being in a much higher state of charge then the normal D4 cranking battery will be, whether there is a DC/DC device fitted or not.

Your system works for you but it does not mean you could not have improved on it and for less money.

For instants, because of Tombie’s set up, his cranking battery is likely to last long than the average D4’s cranking battery so more money saved there.

While his two Optimas will have cost a lot more than your single battery, he already made up for the difference because he didn’t waste his money on a DC/DC device in the first place, and as the Optimas will out least most other AGMs, once again, more money saved.

The advantages go on and on so please Muddy, again while you may be happy with your set up, you really need to know how your set up actually works before you compare it to others.

[Muddy Diver]

Hi Muddy and this will probably upset you but you are WRONG about your charging times.

Your 25 amp DC/DC device will take about 3 hours to raise you 100Ah battery from 50% SoC to somewhere around 95 to 97% SoC

That’s about the same time an alternator, running at 13.8 to 14.0v will take to do get ordinary AGMs and wet cells to about 90 - 95% SoC.

If the alternator is running at a higher voltage then it will do it in a shorter time.

If you had something like an Optima, or in the case of Tombie, with two 55Ah Optimas, you could safely charge them from 50% SoC to well over 85% SoC in the first hour of driving and have them over 95% in the next 30 minutes.

So it all depends on your knowledge as to what constitute good battery house keeping.

But Tombie’s system goes one major step further in that his system will also result in his cranking battery being in a much higher state of charge then the normal D4 cranking battery will be, whether there is a DC/DC device fitted or not.

Your system works for you but it does not mean you could not have improved on it and for less money.

For instants, because of Tombie’s set up, his cranking battery is likely to last long than the average D4’s cranking battery so more money saved there.

While his two Optimas will have cost a lot more than your single battery, he already made up for the difference because he didn’t waste his money on a DC/DC device in the first place, and as the Optimas will out least most other AGMs, once again, more money saved.

The advantages go on and on so please Muddy, again while you may be happy with your set up, you really need to know how your set up actually works before you compare it to others.

Well done Drivesafe yet another offensive thread entry. Having stated my set up is different to suit my style of camping and that my choice is ALWAYS to charge batteries a little slower, you tell me that my choice is wrong, question my knowledge and claim I don't know how my system works!!! Nice one mate, not a great advertisement for your business is it.

OK, if this the way this forum works I'm unsubscribing till people like you are banned for their aggressive and derogatory posts.

[drivesafe]

Hi Muddy and I stated from the outset that you would be upset at what I was posting and while I apologies for coming on so strong, I will not apologies for correcting you.

Your DC/DC device will take at least 50% longer to achieve what you have been told it will do in the time you posted.

DC/DC devices and battery chargers charge at their full rate unlit a battery gets to around the 80% SoC and then these devices reduce the charging current. If they didn’t reduce the charging current, the battery would be cooked and destroyed after just a couple of cycles.

This means they will take a lot longer to fully charge a battery than you calculated and by the way, this is exactly how an alternator charges batteries. So you could say DC/DC devices are just mimicking what an alternator does naturally.

As I have posted time after time, people are being DELIBERATELY mislead into thinking these wonder devices will do things they just can’t do and then when the REAL facts are put to them, many like yourself, get riled.

The FACTS are these device should be the last thing to consider, not the first, as they are so often promoted.

For example, and this is not to rub your noise in it but for the benefit of others who maybe considering a set up like yours, for the same reason.

If someone is out to protect their battery and think these devices do the best job, a better set up that would cost the same or even less to install, would be to simply add a second battery, and while it does NOT have to be the same size, I will use the same size to demonstrate the advantages.

But first, this is only an advantage if you have the room.

If you do have the room then consider these operating advantages based on both usage and charging parameters.

If you use 50% of a 100Ah battery when camping and you want to avoid heavy charging, for what ever reason. By adding a second 100Ah battery and using the same power, you will now only discharge the batteries down to 75%. This in itself will extend the operating life of batteries beyond the same type batteries if they are discharged to 50%.

Then when you get on the road, the batteries, because they are only discharged down to 75%, will take 1/3 less driving time to get them to around the 90 - 95% charged state, and both batteries will be charged with a lower current than your device will use, so again, this set up will be kinder on these batteries than the so called “Gentle charging profiles” of a DC/DC device.

Now note, this is based on a dual battery set up using any brand of standard type isolator.

If some one whats to achieve the same usage as above but fits one of my isolators, they can do so for hundreds of dollars less than what a DC/DC set up can do and won't need the second auxiliary/house battery.

On top of all this, with two batteries, if your power requirements increase, your power requirements can literally double before the two battery set up is being discharged as low as a single battery set up.

And one more important fact that is never pointed out when people are being told how wonderful these devices are. If you do indeed find you have a need for more capacity, you have two choices, discharge you existing battery to a much lower state or add a second battery.

In both cases, these wonder devices will now take much longer to charge the battery(s) to a 90 - 95% charge than an alternator will, which means you have to drive longer to achieve what an alternator can do.

Again Muddy, if you and discotwinturbo are upset at the way I replied to your posts then sorry for that, but I am not sorry for once again, having to correct the gross misconceptions people have about these “wonder” devices.

[SBD4]

Hey Muddy, I don't think that Tim said your your set up was wrong, He said your calculations were wrong for charging times.

While I agree he he may have come across a bit strong in explaining his point I don't think he was trying to say your choice of system is wrong. He is trying to clear up any possible misconceptions(in his view) around the different capabilities/limitations of the various systems.

I am sure he completely respects your choice and understands that it suits your needs.

He is a long time contributor to the forum who has helped many a person with his extensive knowledge of these cars and battery systems.

Don't take it too personally - the key board is not the best form of communication, too easy to misunderstand and be misunderstood.

Stick around - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

PS Brett, I don' think he said to throw out your system, he said, by way of example, that you could remove part of your system:


you could LITERALLY throw away the DC/DC device, remove one of the batteries and the remaining battery would still die of old age before your power demands had any effect on the battery’s longevity.

Low stress and casual be thy way ;)

[alpick]

"OK, if this the way this forum works I'm unsubscribing till people like you are banned for their aggressive and derogatory posts"

Geez how agressive was that?

Chill out , Drive safe is a guru for advice on many forums,

Hard to accept sometimes when you are not as correct as you think.

I read his post objectively and Muddy you are out of order I reckon.

(no connection to Traxide except as a satisfied customer)

[discotwinturbo]

I think sometimes you need to be a little thick skinned when posting on forums. What works for some will not be accepted by others.

Exploroz is the perfect example of this. A huge number of negative comments on a continual basis.

This forum has few disagreements as we all generally drive a very similar bus, and have very similar ideals.

All of us research and take advice as we see appropriate.

Brett....

[drivesafe]

Hi and thanks SBD4 and alpick and I did come on a tad strong but I have had a gut full of the mistruths and in some cases, the out and out lies that are being used to peddle DC/DC devices.

Around 4 years ago I was offered the import rights for a USA made 40 DC/DC unit and not just any an ordinary unit.

This one worked out cheaper than the those available now and the USA unit could be set up as a single 40 amp output or as two separate 20 amp outputs.

I did a fair bit of testing with this unit and I just could not justify the price the customers would be paying, for the little benefit it offered, where there was an actual benefit.

I now read all the advertising hype being put out by a number of companies selling these things and I can not believe they can get away with some of the claims being made and if you look overseas, no such claims are made, and this is because most modern countries have REAL consumer protection laws in place to stop this type adverting.

Add to this that I am a sponsor on this site and you can get an idea of how I feel every time I see these mistruths being posted up and I have to try to compete with it.

And note, I don’t hold people discotiwnturbo or muddy responsible. They have simply posted up what they have been lead to believe is the best way to do what they are after, but unfortunately for them, their calculations are based of deliberately misleading advertising.

Here are a couple of charts based on how my gear compares with what is available and these charts are based years of testing, so they are pretty close to the mark.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/06/1248.jpg



https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/06/1249.jpg

[DirtDigger]

I hear of owners using the 12S for 12v supply to trailer/van
Personally I have run a#6 SWG (13mmsq) cable from my deep cycle yellow top battery thru a 100amp resetable fuse block to a SD 50 Anderson plug bolted under rear guard. This feds a 50 amp DC -DC charger for the 360aH batteries 3x120 aH full river AGM on the RV van. The 12 S socket is fused for only 30 Amp pin 4 (constant) & 6 (ignition)

The Van uses a 12 pin flat plug as per latest ADR's . GOE mentions an adaptor that uses both the 12N and 12S sockets. AULRO forum has a diagram how this works - see Jayco 12 pin to D4 connection 4 Aug 2012

Rosco

[drivesafe]

Hi Rosco and don’t take this as some sort of personal attack ( as someone else did earlier in this thread ) but that is a really dangerous set up.

6B&S ( 6 Gauge ) cable has a continuos maximum current rate of 100 amps.

While on the other hand, a 100 amp fuse or circuit breaker is rated at being able to carry 100 amps for 4 hours, but to achieve this it must carry much higher currents for shorter periods of time.

It must be able to carry around 135% of it’s marked rate for 30 minutes and much higher for shorter periods than this.

Even at 135 amps, you are exceeding the safe current rating of the cable, which is set to a tolerance of 100 amp and the cable not exceeding 70 degrees C.

So you have the potential of getting to a point where the cable is running way too hot but your safety device in not caused to trip.

The largest fuse/circuit rating size that can be safely used will 6B&S cable is 60 amps

Next, your 50 amp DC/DC device could draw as much as 75 amps in a low voltage situation and your have a 50 amp Anderson plug in the circuit.

BTW I do not know the brand of DC/DC device you have but some of the lower quality ( less efficient ) devices will pull even higher currents.

A 50 amp Anderson plug, like circuit breakers and fuses, can handle much higher currents for a short time but not a continuos 75 amp load.

When setting up a high current system, you need to cater for the lowest common denominator as being the ruling factor for the rest of the circuit.

In your case, the DC/DC device is the ruling factor but your 50 amp Anderson plugs are the lowest common denominator.

I would suggest you do some safety modifications.

[Muddy Diver]

Sorry Tombie but I also meant to say in my last post that I was at pains to point out that the 25A charger would be connected to the 30Amp circuit not the 15A Ignition Positive. Sorry If I didn't mention this clearly enough earlier.


I have found an error in the manual for the LR4. Mine states that the permanent 12V Positive (battery feed) at the 12s socket is 30A (hence my 25A charger should be well matched). When I blew my first fuse I discovered that a 15A fuse was fitted and that the fuse "map" on the back of the fusebox cover states that it was 15A. I have been to Landrover to check whether the wiring is rated at 15A or 30A (if 30A I could refuse to 30A) but they have confirmed that it wired to 15A only). So like many others I am forced to run some cable and fit an Anderson plug in order to power my charger.


Just wanted to post an update to correct my original comment.

[drivesafe]

Hi Muddy and this may not be so easy to do but there is a FRIDGE circuit on the S12 plug ( PIN 6, RED wire ) and while it is set up to turn on and off with the ignition, it might be a simple job to convert this to a continual connection, like Pin 4, the Green wire.

If it is a straight forward job, you can then use both pins, in parallel to charge the battery.

Also, pin 2 use to be the charge circuit but I am not sure it even has a wire connected to it any more. If it does, this could be another option, either of which will save you having to run a complete new cable.

[zilch]

just to confuse things then.. as a total ignoramus, i have decided not to fit a 2nd battery, the camper trailer i have hired for Cape York already has a deep cycle battery fitted for the fridge, so was informed that i should fit an anderson plug and directly charge from the alternator with an Isolator to protect my own battery from draining, do not shoot the messenger :wasntme: would that be about right ?

[Epic]

Interesting read. I've decided that I'm going to replace the white plug with a 12 pin to tow a jayco camper and 'power' the fridge (with battery in the camper). With hopping between powered van sites, I think this will be the easiest solution.
When I get more serious with heading away from the powered sites, I will get a dual battery set up and an Anderson plug with associated wire upgrades.

[Scary]

just to confuse things then.. as a total ignoramus, i have decided not to fit a 2nd battery, the camper trailer i have hired for Cape York already has a deep cycle battery fitted for the fridge, so was informed that i should fit an anderson plug and directly charge from the alternator with an Isolator to protect my own battery from draining, do not shoot the messenger :wasntme: would that be about right ?

Make sure your deep cycle is charged then make and adapter up from the ign circuit pin in the above post to an anderson plug - this is what I do.

Drove x thousands of Km's and the draw is low and keeps the camper trailer batteries full while on the go.

Check the battery level on the way home before you leave though as I wouldn't hook it up with the batteries too low - wait till you have 240v and charge up again - it is only IMO a maintenance option for while you are travelling.

As it is on the ign circuit there is no chance of it draining your car battery and only using while the batteries in the camper are in a reasonable state of charge means the draw through the wiring will be low (about what the fridge pulls or less)

[Scary]

Interesting read. I've decided that I'm going to replace the white plug with a 12 pin to tow a jayco camper and 'power' the fridge (with battery in the camper). With hopping between powered van sites, I think this will be the easiest solution.
When I get more serious with heading away from the powered sites, I will get a dual battery set up and an Anderson plug with associated wire upgrades.

Why Modify the car? An adapter running from both plugs into 1 is very easy to make and will be more cost effective and neater.

[Redback]

Hi Muddy and this may not be so easy to do but there is a FRIDGE circuit on the S12 plug ( PIN 6, RED wire ) and while it is set up to turn on and off with the ignition, it might be a simple job to convert this to a continual connection, like Pin 4, the Green wire.

If it is a straight forward job, you can then use both pins, in parallel to charge the battery.

Also, pin 2 use to be the charge circuit but I am not sure it even has a wire connected to it any more. If it does, this could be another option, either of which will save you having to run a complete new cable.

We use this, but we do it via a DC/DC Charger but for one reason only, our fridge is a 3way fridge and the last thing you do is have a 3way running from the battery when stopped, hence why we have it setup to turn off when the ignition is off.

We have run this way for 10yrs and while the DC/DC Charger is not ideal for charging the camper battery, we suppliment the rest of the charge to the camper battery with a solar panel at camp, the fridge goes to gas and the only things running off the camper battery is the water pump and lights, it works for us at the moment.

Eventually we will take the DC/DC out, but we still want to have it set up in the same manner, only charging the battery when running, on all our trips the camper battery is fully charged at home before we leave, so we only need to keep it topped up while driving, we haven't really thought of getting a 12v fridge for the camper, if we did then we would need larger solar panels I guess, not going to get a generator:twisted:

Baz.

[zilch]

Make sure your deep cycle is charged then make and adapter up from the ign circuit pin in the above post to an anderson plug - this is what I do.

Drove x thousands of Km's and the draw is low and keeps the camper trailer batteries full while on the go.

Check the battery level on the way home before you leave though as I wouldn't hook it up with the batteries too low - wait till you have 240v and charge up again - it is only IMO a maintenance option for while you are travelling.

As it is on the ign circuit there is no chance of it draining your car battery and only using while the batteries in the camper are in a reasonable state of charge means the draw through the wiring will be low (about what the fridge pulls or less)

Do you mean put a 12 pin in? i was going to leave my tow electrics as is and just get a rated cable run underneath from the isolator to the tow area with an anderson on the end..

[drivesafe]

Hi Zilch and not a good move.

If your D3 or D4 needs to have the cab lifted off the chassis, if you have not disconnected the cables, they are usually damaged and/or cut.

If you intend to run new cabling to the rear, run it through the inside of the cab.

[Scary]

Do you mean put a 12 pin in? i was going to leave my tow electrics as is and just get a rated cable run underneath from the isolator to the tow area with an anderson on the end..

No I made an adapter from the 12S plug to Anderson plug.

Ignition feed only

Runs to the batteries then from Batteries to the fridge - hence it keeps the Batteries fully charged by drawing as required from the alternator.

My comment is to have the camper batteries in tip top state before setting off so the draw is quite low.

If you stay somewhere for a number of days check the state of the batteries before plugging it all back in as in my mind if the camper batteries is in a low state of charge they will most likely draw too much current for the ignition fed cable.

Hence I carry a battery charger and solar panels as part of the overall kit to try and keep the camper batteries as full as I can.

This is not ideal if you are looking at long term no mains power travelling but does work for the trip to a destination or in between/home if you have access to mains or solar.

[zilch]

If you stay somewhere for a number of days check the state of the batteries before plugging it all back in as in my mind if the camper batteries is in a low state of charge they will most likely draw too much current for the ignition fed cable.

Hence I carry a battery charger and solar panels as part of the overall kit to try and keep the camper batteries as full as I can.

This is not ideal if you are looking at long term no mains power travelling but does work for the trip to a destination or in between/home if you have access to mains or solar.

Bought a charger to actually provide power to the Trailer batteries whilst at the powered sites, Battery world put an Anderson plug on for me, so when camped not a problem for the majority of nights, most i think we have is 2 nights without mains, i will see if the bro in law is taking a genie

[Scary]

Bought a charger to actually provide power to the Trailer batteries whilst at the powered sites, Battery world put an Anderson plug on for me, so when camped not a problem for the majority of nights, most i think we have is 2 nights without mains, i will see if the bro in law is taking a genie
2 nights will be fine if you are only running lights and fridge (of course this depends on your batteries)

All I am really saying is be careful if you have run the batteries to almost dead as the draw to recharge may be too great for the standard wiring

[PeterJ]

Hi everyone, with respect to the wiring and use of the White 12S plug, after reading this thread a few times to sort out the options I am going as below, if there is anything wrong with my proposed solution from a technical perspective, I would appreciate any thoughts, but first a quick bit of back ground.



I have bought but not yet taken delivery of a new van, it has 2 on board 110Ah AGM batteries and solar panels. It also has Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and breakaway system.

The wiring diagram supplied by the caravan manufacturer asks for Battery charge (pin 8 of the 12 pin plug for the “+ve” and pin 10 for the “-ve”) and Brakesafe charge on pins 11 and 12 respectively. I have not yet been able to find out what current requirement for those two circuits but initially used the 12V 30A (permanent) circuit from the 12S for the van battery charge and the switched 12V 15A circuit to provide battery charge to the brakesafe unit.



The ESC requires 30A circuit, I have done this via a 50A Anderson plug, from the vehicle battery via a 30A self resetting circuit breaker.



After reading this thread I looked at the fuse actually fitted for the “Trailer connector – battery feed” and found as posted here that it was a 15A fuse.



Hence, my proposed solution is to parallel wire pins 12 and 10 into the rectangular 12 pin plug from the Anderson plug wiring direct from the battery and not use the battery feed from the 12S plug.
I would like to confirm the designation of wire size used to connect the Anderson plug. While methods used seem a bit confusing but if I measure the diameter of the twisted copper conductor I get 3.7mm, which is a conductor area of 10.75mm^2 which I think is described as 6B&S, while I know this is not the actual method it provides a method of identification. I will leave the wiring to pins 11 and 12 as previous.

Is there anything wrong from a technical perspective, and what circuit breaker would be most appropriate.

Thanks.

[drivesafe]

Hi Peter and first off, if your two 110Ah batteries have been discharged down to a low state while you were camping, when you start your days drive, those two batteries' can easily try to draw 35 to 40 amps EACH.

That’s a total current draw of 70+ amps.

So forget the S12 connections.

Next, you should run 6B&S twin ( 13.5mm2 x 2 ) from your cranking battery, via an isolator, to your van’s house batteries, with a 50 amp auto resetting circuit at each end of the positive cable, near each battery.

You do not need to run a dedicated high current power supply for the ESC as it only draws high current if a instability even occurs.

Here is a simple device for connecting your ESC’s power supply to the battery charging circuit.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/10/256.jpg

[PeterJ]

Thanks for your feedback drivesafe, it is as I feared, the time spent on the weekend running the cables was wasted really, the cables are too small, though the current draw is a surprise, I guess it depends a bit on what the solar panels can contribute, on a rainy day……not much I guess, hence your comment. Yes the S12 was forgotten long ago, thanks for the circuit breaker suggestion. Good idea on the piggy back Anderson plug, amasing how obvious things are when someone has suggested a better way, I can do this on the van end (when I get it), it will be a bit neater I hope the wiring is up to the task. Not quite sure why the van manufacturer would provide a wiring diagram to wire the 12 pin plug to charge the batteries when it does not have the current handling capabilities. I guess I have a bit of rewiring to do at both ends.

[drivesafe]

The plug looks a bit of a mess but it's made up using three red and three black 8B&S ( 7.9mm2 ) cables wired in a triangle setup.

The Anderson 6 Gauge terminals will just accept two 8B&S cables.

This means the Anderson terminals can be used as the junction for each joint and while the cabling is 8B&S, the triangle configuration means you effectively have 15.8mm2 for each circuit.

This gives you the similar current carrying capacity as 6B&S cable and that means very little voltage drop across the plugs.

[Redback]

Thanks for your feedback drivesafe, it is as I feared, the time spent on the weekend running the cables was wasted really, the cables are too small, though the current draw is a surprise, I guess it depends a bit on what the solar panels can contribute, on a rainy day……not much I guess, hence your comment. Yes the S12 was forgotten long ago, thanks for the circuit breaker suggestion. Good idea on the piggy back Anderson plug, amasing how obvious things are when someone has suggested a better way, I can do this on the van end (when I get it), it will be a bit neater I hope the wiring is up to the task. Not quite sure why the van manufacturer would provide a wiring diagram to wire the 12 pin plug to charge the batteries when it does not have the current handling capabilities. I guess I have a bit of rewiring to do at both ends.



You'd be supprised how much they do work on rainy/cloudy days, they still add charge, not as much as a clear day of coarse, but they still add charge, all modern panels work in overcast weather, our small 20watt panel has charged or kept the camper battery charged on overcast days, enough to keep it going for a number of days, our power use isn't much though, just lights and the water pump but still with our setup, 10 days has been our best so far.

We don't run a fridge though, our fridge in the camper is a 3 way fridge and runs on gas when camped.

Baz.

[PeterJ]

Thanks driveshaft and Baz for your input, definitely heading in the right direction now, it's just a matter of the time to get it all done.


PeterJ

[sheerluck]

Thanks driveshaft.....

Bit of Apple autocorrect going on there? :D

[PeterJ]

:wasntme:Errrrrr..... that would be yes, ain't it just wonderful when the computers take over, my bad.