Where is the VSR on my Cali?

Damian_2

New Member
Fitting a Ctek B2B unit but having problems locating the VSR. Looked around the leisure and starter battery, without any luck. Before I strip back the dashboard and lift the carpets, any suggestions would be appreciated. I have one of the last T5's, Thanks..
 
post some pics of the leisure battery and connections.
 
Get a mate to listen whilst you tap a charger on & off the starter battery contacts. Its quite a heavy duty relay so can be heard clicking in & out quite plainly.
 
IMG_20210209_184740.jpgIMG_20210209_184827.jpgIMG_20210209_184900.jpgIMG_20210209_185231.jpg

IMG_20210209_184827.jpg

Thanks both for taking the time to reply. Attached are some pics with battery removed. Not tried the relay click test yet. Could the VSR be the small square box with "100" marked on. I was expecting something a little bigger. Currently located in the fuse rack under the seat.
 
The VSR is the relay with 100 on the top
 
The socket that the relay sits un, has all the connections you need - alternator in, leisure battery out, ignition live, you can buy an identical relay for peanuts and gut it to make a plug for your B2B.
 
i had the same relay setup, 100A relay, 80A fuse etc etc.

i cut the relay holder and fuse out and wired in my own DC-DC charger (Redarc from @travelvolts) at the time.


1612972992558.png

more info on that here:












.
 
Hello possibly already been covered but I can't find it and I'm sure it's relevant.
I have the factory fitted 70ah leisure battery under my passenger seat and would like to upgrade it to a 130ah. The original is a agm. The battery that I would replace it with isn't agm. Will the smart charger be okay with this? Does it need programming in. If I wanted to add solar do I need the dc dc charger thing that was posted a above? I'm rather confused with it all.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers. Mark
 
Hello possibly already been covered but I can't find it and I'm sure it's relevant.
I have the factory fitted 70ah leisure battery under my passenger seat and would like to upgrade it to a 130ah. The original is a agm. The battery that I would replace it with isn't agm. Will the smart charger be okay with this? Does it need programming in. If I wanted to add solar do I need the dc dc charger thing that was posted a above? I'm rather confused with it all.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers. Mark
what battery did you want to swap it for?

if its the OEM setup then it will be the SCR/ split charge relay . . .

the starter and leisure need to be same chemistry in this arrangement. AGM/AGM AGM/EFB EFB/EFB.

you will need to fit a smart dc-dc charger to do the job properly.

post some pics of what you have.
 
@Mark Salmon

you will fry that battery and boil it dry without fitting a smart dc-dc charger.

that battery is an old style "SLA deep cycle" - which has lesser performance than the EFB or AGM battery. (its not designed for stop start cars or vans)

the stop/start and regen from the T6 will put 15v across that battery.

post some pics of your split charge setup?


To use that battery you need to fit a DC-DC charger . . . .

see here: https://www.t6forum.com/threads/dc-dc-charger-for-leisure-battery-how-i-done-it.15066/

++++

1620580670709.png


1 x 130ah Leisure Battery

Deep Cycle

High Performance Calcium Technology

Wet Acid

(L)353mm x (W)175mm x (H)190mm

C5 - 80ah
C20 - 100ah
C100 - 130ah


++++

if you are having long term battery issues . . . look at fitting some dash solar to keep the batterys topped up while the van is sitting idel for long periods.



more on that here:




and here:


SOLAR:

 
Thanks for the reply. So if I bought a larger capacity agm battery I could swap it without the need of a smart charger?

The split charge system I have now is factory spec so I have no idea where it is. Probably buried in the dash somewhere?
 
Thanks for the reply. So if I bought a larger capacity agm battery I could swap it without the need of a smart charger?

The split charge system I have now is factory spec so I have no idea where it is. Probably buried in the dash somewhere?
If the battery is AGM then yes - As AGM / EFB is suitable for stop start.

up to the max size you can fit under the seat.

+++

the OEM split charge is normally under the seat bench . . .

and is a 80/100A Relay and a LARGE fuse . .

this was my setup from MY18 panel van.


1620582590308.png













1620582599038.png



here was my setup - OEM MY18 panel van









the 110ah XTREME battery is popular:




1620582735303.png



this is what it looks like under the drivers seat:

1620582762912.png




as seen here:



.
 
Thanks for the reply. So if I bought a larger capacity agm battery I could swap it without the need of a smart charger?

The split charge system I have now is factory spec so I have no idea where it is. Probably buried in the dash somewhere?
The oem split charge and smart alternator (assuming that's what you have) do some rather unpleasant things to your leisure battery. Inter alia your battery will usually be charged to about 80%. If your budget stretches you'll most likely be far better off with a smaller battery that is fully charged by a decent b2b charger.

But to answer your question: if you have the same chemistry starter and leisure batteries (and preferably from the same manufacturer) that should work.
 
Okay I think it's starting to make sense.

So when the van is running the battery's (starter and aux) are effectively connected in parallel hence why they need to be the same chemistry?
And would then in theory need to be the same size, age and ideally manufacturer?

By using a b2b charger or DC DC charger I can then use whatever leisure battery I want as the two batteries are then charged separately?

So the oem leisure battery isn't really a great set up although it does save me some effort of running the cables.

Basically what I am trying to achieve is I would like to have the odd night away in the van and charge my ebike from the leisure battery. It would only be 1 charge cycle per evening spent and would most likely be lots of driving in between so I think a 110ah battery should be fine.
 
Okay I think it's starting to make sense.

So when the van is running the battery's (starter and aux) are effectively connected in parallel hence why they need to be the same chemistry?
And would then in theory need to be the same size, age and ideally manufacturer?

By using a b2b charger or DC DC charger I can then use whatever leisure battery I want as the two batteries are then charged separately?

So the oem leisure battery isn't really a great set up although it does save me some effort of running the cables.

Basically what I am trying to achieve is I would like to have the odd night away in the van and charge my ebike from the leisure battery. It would only be 1 charge cycle per evening spent and would most likely be lots of driving in between so I think a 110ah battery should be fine.
Yep... thats basically it.


=)
 
Have a look at the dc-dc charger thead.

Look at the 20A plus versions, which would be best for a 110ah leisure battery.

The CTEK and Renogy are popular.

As are the victron orion and Redarc unit.

Look for one with a solar input if you want to add some mobile solar at a later date.
 
So when the van is running the battery's (starter and aux) are effectively connected in parallel hence why they need to be the same chemistry?
And would then in theory need to be the same size, age and ideally manufacturer?
Yes, but even then still a sub-optimal solution.

By using a b2b charger or DC DC charger I can then use whatever leisure battery I want as the two batteries are then charged separately?
Yes, provided the chemistry is supported by that B2B device.

So the oem leisure battery isn't really a great set up although it does save me some effort of running the cables.
Yes.

Basically what I am trying to achieve is I would like to have the odd night away in the van and charge my ebike from the leisure battery. It would only be 1 charge cycle per evening spent and would most likely be lots of driving in between so I think a 110ah battery should be fine.
Perhaps post your bike's battery size and the charger you use. Might be helpful for someone to run the numbers for you?
 
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