Thread: Tri Battery Setup Help Please

Can anyone help me out please?

No doubt one of the members with appropriate expertise wlll answer your query in due course...

AFAIK one potential problem with L1 & L2 wired as they are in your sketch is that if there is a fault with either one of them or with any accessory pwered off either one of them you will have both spare batteries down, not just one.

perhaps you could pm drivesafe

Hi Tom, do you have some more info about the LEAB Dual Battery Switch?

http://www.caravanshop.com.au/?Nav=P...&PageID=8&wp=8

looks expen$ive

The alernator will have no problems but it could be simpler try leaving the starter bat wired to the alt run a single heavy wire to a VSR or you battery switch then to the 2 aux batteries, ground the aux batteries to the body or chassis. For the 3 x 5 watt leds you can use almost any light wire even speaker wire if thats what you have

Thanks for the replies so far everyone.

Originally Posted by 87County

http://www.caravanshop.com.au/?Nav=P...&PageID=8&wp=8

looks expen$ive

Yeah that's it, but mine wasn't that expensive. Mine was only about $200 from memory.

Originally Posted by THE BOOGER

The alernator will have no problems but it could be simpler try leaving the starter bat wired to the alt run a single heavy wire to a VSR or you battery switch then to the 2 aux batteries, ground the aux batteries to the body or chassis. For the 3 x 5 watt leds you can use almost any light wire even speaker wire if thats what you have

I will leave the alternator hooked up to the main battery and run an extra wire from the main battery to the isolator. I guess the diagram doesn't show that.

So grounding the aux batteries to the chassis won't give any voltage drop or be bad for charging? Will it be better to run the negative back to the charger then to the main? I don't mind spending a bit of extra money to make sure it's done right.

With this setup will the alternator try to charge the leisure batteries @ 70amps if the main is fully charged?

It would be very unlikly to charge at 70 amps unless there is a dead short in one of the aux batteries but it is a very remote possibility. Grounding the batteries will help with charging them also means less wire to run or have problems with later.

You mention a charger if you have a charger connected then your batteries will only charge at the max rate for the charger not the alternator

Originally Posted by THE BOOGER

It would be very unlikly to charge at 70 amps unless there is a dead short in one of the aux batteries but it is a very remote possibility. Grounding the batteries will help with charging them also means less wire to run or have problems with later.

I thought the battery system might need the negative terminal connected for a full circuit and then can charge properly.

So a battery charger will work exactly the same if it has the positive connected to it and negative to the car chassis, as long as the battery negative is also connected to the car chassis?