Campervan Newbie, Electric system.

R

RyanBe

New Member
Hi everyone!

Bought my first camper a few weeks back (69 reg)

Been lurking on the form for a few weeks now and seen so many useful threads from tyre pressures, to insurance companies etc.

I'm not very hands on and my knowledge of the electrics is basically zero.

What I have learnt is that I think my van may need a DC DC Charger?

Here are all pictures which I think may help!

My questions/thoughts:

1) Worryingly the control panel shows the vehicle battery status as basically dead. The van starts up fine and I have had no issues, perhaps I need to get a multimeter out and check the actual battery and the status is just an error?

2) When driving along both the battery status flash blue which I assume mean its charging? Although the leisure battery has never really got past this indication so perhaps its just a split charge system which isn't suitable for my van? Hence my DC DC charger comment above.

3) There seems to be a little solar charger in the front windscreen but whether this actually would do much?

Appreciate any advice and thoughts? Thank you!
20240202_111825.jpg20240202_111927.jpg20240202_112001.jpg20240202_112005.jpg20240202_111850.jpg
 
Welcome @RyanBe

The most important question at this point is what generation is your base van and does it have a smart alternator (i.e. does it have a start/stop system)

Pictures of the starter battery and associated wiring will also help folks get a complete picture.

Did the converter not hand over any manuals or wiring diagrams?
 
@roadtripper Thank you for your reply!

Its a T30 Highline - it does have the start/stop. As I say done some research on this forum which is how I have managed to learn that split chargers aren't suitable which I assume I may have?

Will get a picture of starter battery soon!

It was a private sale so didn't get anything like that unfortunately!
 
Also can you get a clear picture of this, it looks like the back of some circuit board rebated into a unit.

Is it perhaps the control panel in the other pictures?

20240202_111927.jpg
 
Where is the solar charger connected to is the question.

That looks more like the small panels sometimes used to try and counteract the small drain on the starter battery from the sleeping van electronics, so I would expect a connection either plugged into a 12v socket or possibly piggybacked of a fuse in a fuse box.

If it's permanently wired let's hope it has a blocking diode, otherwise it may be draining what it put in back out over night...
 
roadtripper said:
Where is the solar charger connected to is the question.

That looks more like the small panels sometimes used to try and counteract the small drain on the starter battery from the sleeping van electronics, so I would expect a connection either plugged into a 12v socket or possibly piggybacked of a fuse in a fuse box.

If it's permanently wired let's hope it has a blocking diode, otherwise it may be draining what it put in back out over night...
Click to expand...
Solar panel wires go into the battery under the seat? Happy to unplug this if its very little benefit.

Just wanted to know opinions before I took it somewhere for them to fit a DC DC charger (if required) and maybe a proper solar panel for the roof.
 
roadtripper said:
Welcome @RyanBe

The most important question at this point is what generation is your base van and does it have a smart alternator (i.e. does it have a start/stop system)

Pictures of the starter battery and associated wiring will also help folks get a complete picture.

Did the converter not hand over any manuals or wiring diagrams?
Click to expand...
20240206_113922.jpg20240206_113933.jpg

Do these help @roadtripper
 
Yes, but maybe not in a good way.

2 things of immediate concern:

1. That heavy red cable looks like it is putting a lot of strain on the reasonably delicate wires to the shunt on the negative battery terminal. You need to sort that as if the BCM can't monitor the battery a number of things go wrong.

2. There appears to be no fuse in that run. If, as it appears, that run goes through the firewall infused then that's quite dangerous. Any wear on that wire and short to the van body (which is negative remember) will cause a very large current to flow until the heat melts the cable, boils the battery or starts a fire, maybe all three.

We need to find the other end of that cable. If it's not fused at the other end and you have a split charge relay then you are also at risk of the leisure battery shorting too. A fire in the engine bay is one thing, one under your seat very much another.

What are the crocodile clips on the leisure battery, the solar panel? If so get that removed and out of the way, it's not going to help much and you need to figure out the rest of the system.

Then you need to trace the red cable from the leisure battery. It looks like an underseat install so I'd expect the run from the starter to appear under one of the seats alongside the van wiring loom
 
roadtripper said:
Yes, but maybe not in a good way.

2 things of immediate concern:

1. That heavy red cable looks like it is putting a lot of strain on the reasonably delicate wires to the shunt on the negative battery terminal. You need to sort that as if the BCM can't monitor the battery a number of things go wrong.

2. There appears to be no fuse in that run. If, as it appears, that run goes through the firewall infused then that's quite dangerous. Any wear on that wire and short to the van body (which is negative remember) will cause a very large current to flow until the heat melts the cable, boils the battery or starts a fire, maybe all three.

We need to find the other end of that cable. If it's not fused at the other end and you have a split charge relay then you are also at risk of the leisure battery shorting too. A fire in the engine bay is one thing, one under your seat very much another.

What are the crocodile clips on the leisure battery, the solar panel? If so get that removed and out of the way, it's not going to help much and you need to figure out the rest of the system.

Then you need to trace the red cable from the leisure battery. It looks like an underseat install so I'd expect the run from the starter to appear under one of the seats alongside the van wiring loom
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, I do appreciate it!

Well sounds all very dangerous ha!

I am pretty sure that big red wire just goes straight to the leisure battery. I guess my initial thoughts of there being a split charger is correct then?

Sounds like my best course of action would be to take it somewhere to get a DC DC charger installed? Assume they will remove the big red wire and do it properly?


Yes you are right crocodile clips go to that little solar at the front.
 
Your system is based around the Sargent EC155 - if there is not an external split charge relay hopefully the feed from the starter battery goes to that, and then a different feed goes to the leisure battery.

If everything is wired correctly then when the EC155 gets an ignition signal it should engage it's internal split charge relay.

You really need to find out where those wires are and if (hopefully where) they are fused.

If that wire genuinely goes straight to the leisure battery than things are very wrong indeed, you don't have a leisure battery you have two miss matched starter batteries in a bank which will be doing all sorts of weird stuff the vans battery monitoring.
 
roadtripper said:
Your system is based around the Sargent EC155 - if there is not an external split charge relay hopefully the feed from the starter battery goes to that, and then a different feed goes to the leisure battery.

If everything is wired correctly then when the EC155 gets an ignition signal it should engage it's internal split charge relay.

You really need to find out where those wires are and if (hopefully where) they are fused.

If that wire genuinely goes straight to the leisure battery than things are very wrong indeed, you don't have a leisure battery you have two miss matched starter batteries in a bank which will be doing all sorts of weird stuff the vans battery monitoring.
Click to expand...
Thanks!

I'll have a look into it all, times like these I wish I was more hands on / into electrics.

But being an Accountant its like asking someone to do their accounts & tax, they probably wouldnt have a clue!
 
I am of no use, but if you find somewhere NW to do solar install, please let on, as I am on lookout!
 
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