Power to Rear Anderson Plug to charge trailer battery

[Franz]

I need to get power to an Anderson plug at the rear of the vehicle without running another cable.

I currently have a 13mm cable running from my main battery through a Traxide SC80 and along the RH chassis rail to my second battery in the rear of the vehicle. I was thinking of tapping into this cable to power the Anderson plug.

I'm not sure how to do this - can anyone give me some ideas?

Cheers,

Franz

[drivesafe]

Hi Franz and your idea is the simplest way to achieve what you are after.

Just make sure you take your positive connecting for the rear cable at the cable side of the circuit breaker at the rear battery, not the battery side, or you will need another circuit breaker.

This diagram should help you.

NOTE, this is an old diagram and all circuit breakers should be 50 amp

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/06/1370.jpg

[MarknDeb]

Gday, I personally would not tap into anything their I would run a new line ' I ran 12V Battery Isolator, 4 Post, 60 Amp | Caravan Switches & Relays | CaravansPlus (http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=10907) (this is mounted L/H side under the bonnet against the side guard and have a manual switch on the dash I will be changing to a auto switch when iam reading to go camping again) a 30Amp Circuit Breaker Automatic Reset (http://www.springers.com.au/product/268/30Amp-Circuit-Breaker-Automatic-Reset)

[Franz]

Thanks Tim.

I think my circuit breaker is mounted between the main battery and the SC80.

I'm unsure as to how to splice into the cable and get a good clean connection though. Cutting, joining & soldering is all I can think of but my soldering skills are so bad I'd rather try for a better, cleaner connection solution.

Cheers,

Franz

[cewilson]

Go from your second battery and put a 50A circuit breaker in-line as close to the positive terminal as you can. Keep using a minimum of a 13mm cable and it'll be fine.

There's no need to have a switching mechanism/controller as you've already got that fitted between the main & secondary battery.

There is thoughts in regards to dissimilar batteries being connected together without a controller, but I'll leave that discussion for someone else.

[nismine01]

Hi Franz, do you really need to splice into the cable, what length of cable are you saving by doing this if your battery is in the back already?

If you do want to join the cables there may be a fitting available that could clamp around the bared cable, just remember to ensure it is well insulated afterwards.

Alternately, cut the cable, attach terminals at the cut and the new cable ends and fit in a junction box.

Good luck

Mike

:angel:

[drivesafe]

I think my circuit breaker is mounted between the main battery and the SC80.

Hi again Franz and you SHOULD have a second circuit breaker, for safety reasons, at the rear battery.

If you don’t, then you need to fit on and then use it as the junction for your new positive cable you want to run to the Anderson plug.

The negative for your new cable can come directly off the rear battery’s negative ( - ) terminal.

[PhilipA]

You can buy gold plated distribution blocks from Jaycar which have 2x4B&S in one end and 4X8B&S in the other.
All you do is cut and bare and the cables are held in securely by allen screws. I have been using these for years with no problem, and they have lots of spare taps for 8B&s to run more plugs etc as required.
Regards Philip A

[drivesafe]

Hi Philip and do you have a part number for the joiners?

[Franz]

Hi Franz, do you really need to splice into the cable, what length of cable are you saving by doing this if your battery is in the back already?

If you do want to join the cables there may be a fitting available that could clamp around the bared cable, just remember to ensure it is well insulated afterwards.

Alternately, cut the cable, attach terminals at the cut and the new cable ends and fit in a junction box.

Good luck

Mike

:angel:
Hi Philip,

I have a positive cable running from my main battery, through a circuit breaker, SC80 controller, along the chassis to my second battery which is located in the RHR storage bin. The second battery is earthed to the D Pillar earth point.

I'm trying to avoid running a cable from the second battery on the inside as it's another potential source of dust ingress and would therefor like to tap into the + cable before it enters the vehicle.

I'll have a look at the gold plated distribution blocks at Jaycar - hope they are available for the 6 B&S cable that I have used.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers,

Franz

[PhilipA]

Hi Philip and do you have a part number for the joiners?

Just look in the various pages here
Jaycar Electronics - Search results (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productResults.asp?MID=4&CATID=88&keyform=CAT2#4)

Pages 4 and 10 have several products
Regards Philip A

[drivesafe]

Thanks Philip and I will get a couple and see how they work.

Could be a good easy alternative to what I do now.

Thanks again.

[roverrescue]

Tim,
Please come up with a better connection solution for your isolators than those poxy white plastic plugs on your units.
I love your product for its brains but the brawn of the wiring connection loses it for me.
Look at a Redarc for an idea (solid bolted lug that can take any number of variable connections)

This is especially true when you want to connect both "sides" of your units in parrallel. You end up with a pretty untidy connection which just looks naff...

IMHO of course (and a few auto spark wranglers I have come across - Redarcs get the points as you can simply crimp on a fitting for the leads and bolt it straight onto the isolator. Tidy solid connection)

S

[drivesafe]

Tim,
Please come up with a better connection solution for your isolators than those poxy white plastic plugs on your units.
S

Hi S and most SC80 are now supplied as a complete pre wired system so there is no need to do anything more then bolt a cable to each battery.

Plus the USI-160 is already supplied with bolt connections and is smaller than anything else with anything near the switching capacity.

PLUS the new SC80+A ( DT90 ) is smaller than the standard SC80 ( 90 amps continuos ), has the same switching capacity, the main cables are not only bolted on, but they are protected by the DT90’s case. Then add to this the fact that the SC80+A ( DT90 ) also has 30 amp ACCESSORIES out put so this twin isolator not only protects the cranking battery, it also protects the auxiliary battery.

And the SC80+A ( DT90 ) is not much bigger then a pack of cards!

So can I interest you in a new isolator?

[roverrescue]

Looks like you have changed a few things - and for the better eh.

Anyways, not shopping at the moment!
I dont use an isolator - just a dirty great hunk of cable between the two plus signs and a voltmeter ;)
Aint no better "dual battery system" to winch off and the fridge quite likes it too.

I had installed an SC80 on a friends cruiser 1HZ. I liked the unit but the naff wiring annoyed me.
Unfortunately, somehow the smoke escaped from her cruiser when I was away from town.
According to the autospark who she got to fix it when it failed, the "SC80 was broke and no longer worked"... he chucked it in the bin (just lovely) and replaced with Redarc.

To be honest the Redarc fitout did look better but I think the SC80 was a better unit for fridge life... Cest la Vie.

Good to see you have made some changes. I know where I will be looking if I need a box of cards to do the thinking for another fitout.

Peace
Steve

[drivesafe]

Hi Steve and I bet there was nothing wrong with the SC80, the auto electrician was just out to con her, because all my gear has a 5 year warranty and a life time repair guaranty, so if something had really been wrong with the SC80, it would have cost her noting more than return postage.

I don’t know where half these auto electricians keep their jobs. I have had so many complaints about them continually blaming my isolators for flat batteries and when people have them replaced with something else, suddenly, “OH buy the way your cranking battery is stuffed too”.

A stuffed cranking battery is the problem in the first place, but these half-wits don’t know how to test a battery to see if it’s the problem.

BTW, the white plugs and socket, while fiddly to fit, have proven to be ultra reliable.

[roverrescue]

I knew you wopuld look after the SC80 if it did indeed have a problem and my thoughts were it was the autospark with the problem not your unit ;) I was pretty grumpy that he threw it out instead of leaving it in the vehicle.

My issue with the white plugs was I wanted to use both "sides" of the unit and with a single positive lead between batteries the fitout ends up messy. In Cooktown I couldnt easily source a pair of neat termination products along the lines of those Jaycar units mentioned above.

My thoughts on the cruiser going flat was it only gets run for a a few minutes a day and some other brightspark sold her a ca-ca main battery (for an alternator that barely gets to 13.2V at full noise)... anyways, the autospark "fixed" it for now with a pair of N70 AC Delcos and the Redarc. Even still I told her she needs to go for a drive down the beach every few weeks to keep the batteries happy.

Kinda like taking the dog for a walk - taking the old cruiser for a walk good for its health.

S

[woody]

Please come up with a better connection solution for your isolators than those poxy white plastic plugs on your units.

I chewed up one of the clips when I soughted out the battery box, so I just used an anderson plug.

http://imageshack.us/a/img208/9664/imag0246o.jpg

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/167037-sudden-loss-electrics-flat-battery-when-driving-2.html

[drivesafe]

That's a ripper Woody.

[roverrescue]

although Andersons do appear to work - I would still put it in the naff category compared with a couple of cable terminals bolted down to lugs on the brain box?

Call me picky but that wiring setup looks like a dogs breakfast

S

[woody]

Call me picky but that wiring setup looks like a dogs breakfast

It seems to work for me, in the limited space with the following


2 batteries under the seat
arc battery pac in the camper or rear
fridge replacing the cubby box
fridge hardwired in the rear with 2 12v sockets
front and rear anderson plugs for connecting solar panels
external socket to connect ctek charger
winch
upgradable for driving and work lights

all wiring is protected with fuses, circuit breakers and trip switches.