Thread: Simple solenoid dual battery set up

Originally Posted by buzz66

Don't waste your time on electronic controllers, they are a waste of money.

Originally Posted by HangOver

i found a solenoid to be a good cheap solution the only drawback for me is remembering to flick the swich on/off.

This is the main problem with using a manual set up and why they are called idiot switches.

You only have to forget once and you can easily stuff a battery and then you end up paying more than one of these electronic controller would have cost you in the first place.

Originally Posted by drivesafe

This is the main problem with using a manual set up and why they are called idiot switches.

You only have to forget once and you can easily stuff a battery and then you end up paying more than one of these electronic controller would have cost you in the first place.

I know what your saying and i use one of your controllers and are more than happy with it

What Hangover is saying is right as much as you are , i used to run the old solenoid set up with a switch to isolate the 2 batterys and were more than happy with the job it did (if you remember the switch , which i never forgot it)
Some people live in the past and are scared or cant afford a flash electronic jobbie or maybe not happy with all this electronic stuff , each to there own

I did have a problem with a Rotronics isolator when I had a strange wiring in my truck.
I had wired the headlights into the domestic battery, which worked fine for years using a diode isolator between the two batteries.
The diode isolator got 'accidentally' cooked on one trip when a battery was put in the wrong way round, and very expensive lesson on why wires should have fuses was learned as all the smoke escaped from the circuitry.
That is when I wired in the Rotronics, and was happy with it for a long time, till the domestic battery started to fail.
Syptoms:
Start vehicle, turn on headlamps.
No headlamps till vehicle battery was charged then headlamps would come on.
Then the load of a dicky domestic battery and the headlamps would pull the voltage on the vehicle battery below the critical level - then no head lamps again.
Repeat ad nauseum for hours.
Moving the headlamp circuit back to the main vehicle battery fixed the problem till I could replace the domestic battery, and have left them there.
The idea was to have some insurance against leaving the headlamps on, but it turned out that the cure was worse than the problem.
cheers

Originally Posted by rangieman

I know what your saying and i use one of your controllers and are more than happy with it

What Hangover is saying is right as much as you are , i used to run the old solenoid set up with a switch to isolate the 2 batterys and were more than happy with the job it did (if you remember the switch , which i never forgot it)
Some people live in the past and are scared or cant afford a flash electronic jobbie or maybe not happy with all this electronic stuff , each to there own

I am not scared of, and can afford a fancy electronic isolator I just can't see the point in spending a lot of money on a device when a $30 solenoid does the job just as well.

Dave.

Why do you guys have an aversion for electronics and want to use huge ugly mechanical switches? We all have accepted that we turn the key, the relay/solenoid pulls in and the starter motor cranks. If you are so concerned about the reliablity of relays and electronics, I have a big push button on the floor of an old mini you could use to replace the solenoid and ignition switch.

Originally Posted by slug_burner

Why do you guys have an aversion for electronics and want to use huge ugly mechanical switches? We all have accepted that we turn the key, the relay/solenoid pulls in and the starter motor cranks. If you are so concerned about the reliablity of relays and electronics, I have a big push button on the floor of an old mini you could use to replace the solenoid and ignition switch.

Yea, your right, although having spent massive amounts of time in my life, working with PLC/SCADA/various types of HMI automation, automated prot., wiring EFI engine conversions, I have a stoopid Isuzu RR with a dumb solenoid, why? cause it works everytime I need it to albeit, without the finesse

Originally Posted by slug_burner

Why do you guys have an aversion for electronics and want to use huge ugly mechanical switches? We all have accepted that we turn the key, the relay/solenoid pulls in and the starter motor cranks. If you are so concerned about the reliablity of relays and electronics, I have a big push button on the floor of an old mini you could use to replace the solenoid and ignition switch.

When you refer to big ugly mechanical switches I assume you are talking about the solenoid, yes?

Dave.

Originally Posted by slug_burner

I have a big push button on the floor of an old mini you could use to replace the solenoid and ignition switch.

just dont mount it on the floor like leyland did in the mini. my old mini would die totally for about 10 seconds every time i hit a puddle of water. took me ages to work out it was the starter switch in the floor that was getting wet and must have been shorting out cutting all the electrics.

at least a D2 TD5 ecu if it gets wet you can blow dry it and put it back and away you go.

my HID lights played up one time after i had a laser car wash. turned out the mechanical relay in the control unit had water in it. the rest of the electronics still worked fine, just one relay latched on even thought the dashboard lightswitch wasn't on. relay needed replacing due to water and corrosion after a while. electronics still going good after a dose of pc board cleaner.

so much for reliable old switches and solenoids.