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Thread: Traxide SC80 Battery Controller

  1. #1
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    Traxide SC80 Battery Controller

    I have just installed an SC80 battery controller and relocated by auxiliary battery to the driver’s side rear storage bin.


    I have a few queries for those in the know:


    I was going to use 6B&S 13mm cable to connect the auxiliary to the main but was told that I don’t need anything bigger than 7.9mm and have used that. I read somewhere that AGM’s require high levels of charge rate and wonder if the 7.9mm cable is adequate for this task.


    I have run the auxiliary earth to and earth point on the D pillar – is that good enough or should I run it back to the main battery?


    Once the auxiliary battery was installed I decide to charge it. I did not disconnect the auxiliary battery from the main and began charging it with a 6 amp, 3 stage charger. This took ages and I decided to disconnect the auxiliary from the main. The auxiliary battery then showed full charge within minutes. This leads me to believe that the charger was trying to charge both batteries – is this the case?


    Today, my auxiliary battery was showing 12.3 Volts. When I disconnected it from the main it immediately jumped to 12.5 Volts – could the main be drawing power from the auxiliary?


    I note from the installation instructions that a circuit breaker should be installed – what is the purpose of this circuit breaker?


    Thanks for any input.


    Cheers,


    Franz


  2. #2
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    Hi Franz.

    Quote Originally Posted by Franz View Post
    I have just installed an SC80 battery controller and relocated by auxiliary battery to the driver’s side rear storage bin.

    I was going to use 6B&S 13mm cable to connect the auxiliary to the main but was told that I don’t need anything bigger than 7.9mm and have used that. I read somewhere that AGM’s require high levels of charge rate and wonder if the 7.9mm cable is adequate for this task.
    Fist off, because your battery is in the rear of the vehicle, while 8B&S ( 7.9mm2 ) will allow your auxiliary battery to charge, if the auxiliary battery is low, the current draw it will try to place on the 8B&S cable will cause a fair bit of voltage drop, slowing the charging and increasing the amount of driving time needed to recharge a low battery.

    For batteries located in the engine bay, a single positive 8B&S
    cable is fine, but with the battery in the rear, the distance means you need thicker cable to reduce the voltage drop. Here TWIN 6B&S ( 13.5mm2 x 2 ) is a much better choice.




    Quote Originally Posted by Franz View Post
    I have run the auxiliary earth to and earth point on the D pillar – is that good enough or should I run it back to the main battery?
    As above, it is better and gives a guarantied good earth every time if you run the from battery to battery.




    Quote Originally Posted by Franz View Post
    Once the auxiliary battery was installed I decide to charge it. I did not disconnect the auxiliary battery from the main and began charging it with a 6 amp, 3 stage charger. This took ages and I decided to disconnect the auxiliary from the main. The auxiliary battery then showed full charge within minutes. This leads me to believe that the charger was trying to charge both batteries – is this the case?
    YES, the SC80 allows all batteries to be charged at the same time, UNLESS the common voltage has dropped below 12v and the SC80 has turned off ( cut-out ).

    In this case, if the battery charger is connected to the auxiliary battery(s), only the auxiliary battery(s) will charge.

    If the charger is connected to the cranking battery, once the charge voltage rises above 13.1v, all batteries will then be connected to the charger.




    Quote Originally Posted by Franz View Post
    Today, my auxiliary battery was showing 12.3 Volts. When I disconnected it from the main it immediately jumped to 12.5 Volts – could the main be drawing power from the auxiliary?
    Yes and this is one of the main advantages of the SC80. If your have only done a short drive and your auxiliary battery is in a higher state of charge when you turn the motor off, the auxiliary battery will help to put some additional charge back into the cranking battery.

    While this feature was not a designed intention, owners of D3s, D4, and RRSs who were getting “LOW VOLTAGE” warnings before they had one of my systems installed, because of the back feed, the messages stop occurring because the system improves the state of charge of the cranking battery and this also helps to extend the operating life of the cranking battery




    Quote Originally Posted by Franz View Post
    I note from the installation instructions that a circuit breaker should be installed – what is the purpose of this circuit breaker?
    You need circuit breakers on the positive cables that come from any battery in a dual battery system because if you have an accident where the cable is shorted out you could end up with a fire if each battery is not protected by a circuit breaker ( or fuse ).

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by drivesafe View Post
    You need circuit breakers on the positive cables that come from any battery in a dual battery system because if you have an accident where the cable is shorted out you could end up with a fire if each battery is not protected by a circuit breaker ( or fuse ).
    As I discovered when I forgot that there was another battery on the other end of the wires I had just disconnected from my Aux battery.

    Just a quick flash of spark and then the reality hit me of what I had done!

    Very glad of that 60A fuse.

    cheers

  4. #4
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    Hi Franz,I have wired up a triple battery system in my 96 D1 v8 and I used 6B&S all the way from under bonnet to the rear cargo area of the vehicle.I run 3 Exide Orbital batteries (1 crank and 2 aux),these are spiral wound gel batteries and do require 14.2 to 14.4 volts to charge properly which is similar to the AGM batteries.Also I set up an extra charge cable in 6B&S from my alternator to my crank battery which gives my 14.2 v at idle and approx 14.4 ish at 1500 odd RPM and I get this all the way to the rear of the car.So I would suggest 6B&S all the way if possible.By the way I also installed a Maxi fuse between the extra alternator charge cable and between the 2 aux batteries with a 100 amp fuse.Hope this helps...

  5. #5
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    IMO connecting the aux battery's earth to the body is better than using a cable connecting to the primary battery because there will be no voltage drop by connecting to the body but will be if using a cable. There's going to be voltage drop from the positive cable without adding to it with an earth cable. Don't connect to the D2's chassis though because it isn't positively earthed ex-factory, only via steering linkages etc although fitment of a winch with its earth connected directly to the battery usually overcomes this.

    A CB or fuse is required at each end of the inter-connecting power cable because if there's a short circuit part way along, neither battery must be able to provide unrestricted current so as to prevent a fire.
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Graeme View Post
    IMO connecting the aux battery's earth to the body is better than using a cable connecting to the primary battery because there will be no voltage drop by connecting to the body but will be if using a cable.
    Hi,
    I started off this way, with my Aux battery Negative connected to my Defender passenger seat rail bolt very securely. (6 B&S twin cable)

    My Aux battery was not charging properly, and the voltage across the Aux battery was about 1 Volt less than the Crank battery.

    Drivesafe talked me through some testing with a multimeter, and we could measure a difference in Voltage across the two battery Negative terminals. My you beaut tightly connected Earth return via the seat rail bolt wasn't so you beaut.

    I couldn't connect to the Crank battery Negative because of the ridiculous type of cable used on the Defender, but the other end of the Original Earth return at a transfer case bolt was accessible.
    A length of 6 B&S (terminated with proper connections) from the seat rail bolt to the transfer case bolt brought the Voltage drop to zero and solved the charging problems.

    I would now recommend connecting the Negative back to the battery or the other end of the battery earthing cable on the engine block.

    cheers

  7. #7
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    Where can you buy this heavy duty cable - I need to run cable from my battery - 15 feet to the rear then another 15 feet to the rear of the van - so a long way to send 12v power and expect some oomph at the end.

    Thinking about welding cable but is a bit expensive.

    Garry
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by drivesafe View Post
    Hi Franz.



    Fist off, because your battery is in the rear of the vehicle, while 8B&S ( 7.9mm2 ) will allow your auxiliary battery to charge, if the auxiliary battery is low, the current draw it will try to place on the 8B&S cable will cause a fair bit of voltage drop, slowing the charging and increasing the amount of driving time needed to recharge a low battery.

    For batteries located in the engine bay, a single positive 8B&S
    cable is fine, but with the battery in the rear, the distance means you need thicker cable to reduce the voltage drop. Here TWIN 6B&S ( 13.5mm2 x 2 ) is a much better choice.






    As above, it is better and gives a guarantied good earth every time if you run the from battery to battery.






    YES, the SC80 allows all batteries to be charged at the same time, UNLESS the common voltage has dropped below 12v and the SC80 has turned off ( cut-out ).

    In this case, if the battery charger is connected to the auxiliary battery(s), only the auxiliary battery(s) will charge.

    If the charger is connected to the cranking battery, once the charge voltage rises above 13.1v, all batteries will then be connected to the charger.






    Yes and this is one of the main advantages of the SC80. If your have only done a short drive and your auxiliary battery is in a higher state of charge when you turn the motor off, the auxiliary battery will help to put some additional charge back into the cranking battery.

    While this feature was not a designed intention, owners of D3s, D4, and RRSs who were getting “LOW VOLTAGE” warnings before they had one of my systems installed, because of the back feed, the messages stop occurring because the system improves the state of charge of the cranking battery and this also helps to extend the operating life of the cranking battery






    You need circuit breakers on the positive cables that come from any battery in a dual battery system because if you have an accident where the cable is shorted out you could end up with a fire if each battery is not protected by a circuit breaker ( or fuse ).
    Thanks all for your useful responses.

    Tim - what you are saying is that I need to run 13.5mm cable all the way from my main battery to the SC80 and onwards to the auxiliary battery - 6.5 metres of cable all up. I only just managed to get the 7.9mm cable onto the 2 connector plugs - how on earth do I get 13.5 mm cable to work?

    Where do I mount the circuit breaker - between the main battery and the auxiliary or between the SC80 and the auxilary battery?

    Oh, what does 6B&S mean and what's the difference between it and 8B&S?

    Cheers,

    Franz

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by garrycol View Post
    Where can you buy this heavy duty cable - I need to run cable from my battery - 15 feet to the rear then another 15 feet to the rear of the van - so a long way to send 12v power and expect some oomph at the end.

    Thinking about welding cable but is a bit expensive.

    Garry
    Autobarn, SCA, Repco or caravan accessory suppliers.

  10. #10
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    just use the voltage drop calc to find your cable size over known distance


    http://www.kilowatts.com.au/calculator-voltage-drop.php
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