Thread: Wiring for Anderson Plug for Camper

Hi Bill, your Toyota probably had a low voltage operation and while there are better solutions to remedy that, a DC/DC device would fix the low voltage.

D4s have a totally different type of alternator operation, and there is absolutely no need for a DC/DC device in either your D4 or your camper trailer.

I have over 4,000 D3s and D4s equipped with my gear and they do not have any problems charging banks of batteries in caravans and camper trailers.

For example, there are now quite a few D4 owners with an Optima under the bonnet and three house batteries in their caravan and many of them do a lot of free camping and then require their D4 to charge their house batteries as they move to the next camp site and they have no problems do just that.

Whereas, with your D4's charging capabilities, if your two optima are in a low state, your DC/DC device in your camper trailer will actually take much longer to charge those two Optimas, than what your D4's alternator can do by itself.

Furthermore, if you fit one of my D4 dual battery kits, your auxiliary battery will be mounted in a battery tray under the bonnet, freeing up cargo area space.

Bill, I'm one of many that have a Traxide dual battery kit as described by Tim (drivesafe) above.

I reckon the D4-5S kit will pretty closely replicate your 80 series setup, including locating the aux battery under the bonnet rather than wasting space in the rear.

The kit includes the isolator, low voltage cut-out switch, large capacity cable with Anderson Plug to run from aux to rear (for camper connection), battery tray and detailed DIY instructions.
So you really only need to buy the aux battery (kit is based on the Optima yellow top).

My use is almost exactly as Tim describes, except I have only 2 x 110ah aux batteries in the camper plus the aux under the bonnet.

Some other experiences in these threads:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-disco...ttery-kit.html
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-disco...-charging.html

Cheers,
Scott

I'm another that can recommend Tim's kit. Excellent gear and even more excellent help from Tim

Another happy customer.Have used Tims gear in 4 vehicles.
As for fitting in the D4,his diy kit is brilliant and all setup to suit the future body off servicing.
The instructions are easy to follow with pics.
Easy Peasy.
ENJOY
Andrew

Originally Posted by LRD414

Bill, I'm one of many that have a Traxide dual battery kit as described by Tim (drivesafe) above.

I reckon the D4-5S kit will pretty closely replicate your 80 series setup, including locating the aux battery under the bonnet rather than wasting space in the rear.

The kit includes the isolator, low voltage cut-out switch, large capacity cable with Anderson Plug to run from aux to rear (for camper connection), battery tray and detailed DIY instructions.
So you really only need to buy the aux battery (kit is based on the Optima yellow top).

My use is almost exactly as Tim describes, except I have only 2 x 110ah aux batteries in the camper plus the aux under the bonnet.

Some other experiences in these threads:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-disco...ttery-kit.html
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-disco...-charging.html

Cheers,
Scott

Scott, I've just read your build thread....excellent write up of all that you've done to you D4....on the dual battery issue, can I ask if you do long term camping and have solar input with your setup? I've read about the Traxide kits and note that people have differing opinions....my concern is having a small 55ah auxiliary battery and having both batteries connected down to 12v?....I'm certainly a novice in this area, but don't want to be stranded outback with a flat starter battery. That's why I was thinking of a larger..at least 120ah aux in the D4. The compressor was going to go into the aux battery spot under the bonnet. I thought that the smart alternators in the D4 "throttled down" at times and that this would prevent proper battery charging? If your system is working then I assume that this in not the case?

Cheers,
Bill

Bill, a few comments below ....

Originally Posted by D4206

....on the dual battery issue, can I ask if you do long term camping and have solar input with your setup?

Not a lot of long-term camping with just the D4 in a single location without driving.
Most of our trips involve regular driving, whether travelling daily or site-seeing from a base camp.

Yes I do have solar: a 150W free-standing panel, a 120W foldable panel and a 15A MPPT regulator.
I find the 150W alone is sufficient for most situations but carry both panels when travelling with the camper trailer or if just going to the beach with the D4.

Long-term camping in one place with the camper is straightforward.
The 2 panels with 2 x 110ah batteries works well in most situations for a few days and if there's even just semi-regular sun it's basically self-sufficient.

For short trips with just the D4, the 120W panel is ok but find I need to use the car every second day if it's cloudy or the camp site is shady.
This is fine for us as we tend to drive regularly anyway.

Originally Posted by D4206

....my concern is having a small 55ah auxiliary battery and having both batteries connected down to 12v?....I'm certainly a novice in this area, but don't want to be stranded outback with a flat starter battery. That's why I was thinking of a larger..at least 120ah aux in the D4.

The cranking battery easily starts the D4 even when at 12.0V, although I wouldn't do this regularly.
It's happened a couple of times when using the fridge on -4 and running LED lights but not getting a lot of solar input.
A larger aux battery would have delayed that but eventually it catches up with you anyway.
If we're staying put in one place with minimal driving, I would be taking both solar panels and am also considering getting a second foldable panel (easier to pack).

However, if multiple days without driving was a regular situation, then I would perhaps consider adding a 2nd battery to the rear in addition to the 55ah under the bonnet.
Perhaps one of those portable units, which allows flexibility to carry it only for trips where it was really needed.
Would be easy to provide a connection point into the Traxide arrangement in the rear somewhere.

Originally Posted by D4206

The compressor was going to go into the aux battery spot under the bonnet.

Some people fit an air compressor into the covered factory aux tray on the driver's side and the aux battery in front of the main battery (passenger side) where the fuel burning heater is located in Europe.
This is where the D4 Traxide kit's battery tray is designed for.
Other people have done the reverse of this (compressor in front of cranking battery)
Both arrangements work but in my opinion it is neater to locate the aux battery adjacent to the cranking battery.

Originally Posted by D4206

I thought that the smart alternators in the D4 "throttled down" at times and that this would prevent proper battery charging? If your system is working then I assume that this in not the case?

There was a situation where the battery management software was doing as you describe but this was fixed by a software update.
Mine has never suffered that problem as it was outside the affected VIN range. It is up above 14V nearly all the time (portable cig socket voltmeter readings).
However, it is true that you won't get the battery up to absolute 100% charge without many hours driving (obviously depending on how low it goes and how much solar "top-up" it gets).

Hope all that helps.

Cheers,
Scott

Here's a thread on compressor locations for reference:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-disco...ide-setup.html

Compressor in driver's side aux tray:


Aux battery in space on passenger side c/w Traxide SC80 isolator mounted to side of battery tray:

Thanks Scott and an excellant post.

Originally Posted by LRD414

It is up above 14V nearly all the time (portable cig socket voltmeter readings).
However, it is true that you won't get the battery up to absolute 100% charge without many hours driving (obviously depending on how low it goes and how much solar "top-up" it gets).

As Scott posted, this is true where batteries have been discharged a few bit and then need to be recharged while driving.

BUT!!!

This is where the reality stops and fiction gets in the way of the advertising used to sell DC/DC devices.

If you have used a fair bit of your battery capacity while camping and then need to recharge the batteries with a DC/DC device, you will need to drive for a much longer time to replace the same amount of used capacity that your D4's alternator can do by itself.

When using my isolators, there are a number of reasons for this and the first is that unlike any other dual battery setup, because the used capacity is spread over an additional battery, the cranking battery, none of the batteries are as low as they would be with any other dual battery setup, including DC/DC setups.

So at the start of your drive, all your batteries are already in a higher state of charge.

Then, because the D4 alternator is so large, it will easily charge all the batteries at at the same time and at a much higher charge current.

This ultimately means that while it is unlikely that you will fully charge low batteries in a given drive time, but all the batteries will be in a much, MUCH higher state of charge at the end of the drive than if you used one or even two DC/DC devices.

And all these advantages are gained for a much lower setup cost.

Thanks for the detailed response Scott....much appreciated. I will check out the alternative compressor location on the drivers side.

Tim, how would your control unit work with a third battery (only used on extended free camping trips- in conjunction with solar panels) in the back of the car? Would it be just a matter of providing another Anderson plug in the cargo area (to charge the third battery whilst driving) as a branch from the cabling going to the rear Anderson plug?

Can you also clarify the advantages of the USI 160 over the SCI80 LR. For me it seems as though the ign mode of the former might be an advantage in that I can choose to seperate the batteries at a higher voltage. Is this correct?

Cheers,
Bill