Max charge through Cig socket

[Nigel W]

I have read the previous posts on charging but I can’t find a definitive answer to this question......what is the safest maximum charger I can use to charge the vehicle battery via the internal cig socket?
I have been using a small solar panel but now the winter nights are here it isn’t really working.
My intention is to buy a charger and have decided to get a Noco but do I get the 5amp or 10amp? @Dellmassive

NOCO GENIUS10UK, 10-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V And 12V Battery Charging Units, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, And Battery Desulfator With Temperature Compensation: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

NOCO GENIUS10UK, 10-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V And 12V Battery Charging Units, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, And Battery Desulfator With Temperature Compensation: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[rover220]

10amp OK but it will get warm over longer periods if battery goes low.

 

[Phil_G]

You wont get a definitive answer cos there isnt one
Cig sockets are a notoriously poor design and cheap plugs are even worse. If it makes a good contact 10A is feasible but often the connection is bad and the junction can get hot enough to melt the plug or fuse surround - take a plug to bits and you will see, the current travels through a weak coil spring, crappy bits of bent tin and a chinese cartridge fuse, all just touching with the tiniest bit of pressure from the spring to maintain good contact. If you rely on your van as your daily then personally I'd fit a real charging socket.
For a continuous maintenance (float) charge, ie to overcome self-discharge, you dont need anywhere near 5 or 10A.
/JMHO
Phil

 

[RayF]

If you want to connect a mains charger, if it were me I would just use a 2 or 3 stage battery charger from somewhere like Halfords and connect it directly onto the battery.

 

[DXX]

They are a truely sh(t concept and personally I wouldn’t leave one unattended. As Phil_G pointed out quality varies but it’s rarely good.

 

[Nigel W]

You wont get a definitive answer cos there isnt one
Cig sockets are a notoriously poor design and cheap plugs are even worse. If it makes a good contact 10A is feasible but often the connection is bad and the junction can get hot enough to melt the plug or fuse surround - take a plug to bits and you will see, the current travels through a weak coil spring, crappy bits of bent tin and a chinese cartridge fuse, all just touching with the tiniest bit of pressure from the spring to maintain good contact. If you rely on your van as your daily then personally I'd fit a real charging socket.
For a continuous maintenance (float) charge, ie to overcome self-discharge, you dont need anywhere near 5 or 10A.
/JMHO
Phil

I was going to use one of these adapters on the charger, unfortunately the camper will now not move for many months now.

NOCO GC003 X-Connect 12V Dual-Size Male Plug Accessory For NOCO Genius Smart Battery Chargers: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

Buy NOCO GC003 X-Connect 12V Dual-Size Male Plug Accessory For NOCO Genius Smart Battery Chargers at Amazon UK. Free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[sparkzer]

The standby losses of the battery whilst the van is parked up when not in use should be very small (we are talking milliamps). All the charger will need to do is replenish these standby losses. it will not need to whack in 10A even if that is what the charger is rated at (it would only do that if the battery was flat). Assuming you start with the battery charged to a reasonable level (basically, put it on charge after you have been for a drive) any low current trickle charger will keep it topped up. I personally use a little Ctek unit for one of my other vehicles (the van gets sufficient charge from solar for me) OptiMate are also good units.

 

[Nigel W]

The standby losses of the battery whilst the van is parked up when not in use should be very small (we are talking milliamps). All the charger will need to do is replenish these standby losses. it will not need to whack in 10A even if that is what the charger is rated at (it would only do that if the battery was flat). Assuming you start with the battery charged to a reasonable level (basically, put it on charge after you have been for a drive) any low current trickle charger will keep it topped up. I personally use a little Ctek unit for one of my other vehicles (the van gets sufficient charge from solar for me) OptiMate are also good units.

Thanks, my thinking was that if I am going to buy a charger than get a decent one so it can be used for other tasks such as the lawn tractor battery etc. I appreciate it is overkill for battery maintenance but for just a few quid more over a little charger I would get something more versatile . Also the vehicle battery is linked to the leisure battery via a Sterling bat to bat charger and when I put the vehicle on charge it does kick in and charges the leisure as well. So it’s actually charging two batteries.
I only intend to use this charger whilst camper is mothballed.
I do tend to ‘overthink’ these things so please feel free to tell me if I am being a numpty!

 

[Ads_Essex]

If you want to connect a mains charger, if it were me I would just use a 2 or 3 stage battery charger from somewhere like Halfords and connect it directly onto the battery.

Would this not upset the PMS? I understand it that charging charging via the cigarette socket means that current flows through the shunt, so the van knows exactly his much charge is in the battery.

 

[Nigel W]

Would this not upset the PMS? I understand it that charging charging via the cigarette socket means that current flows through the shunt, so the van knows exactly his much charge is in the battery.

Only upsets the PMS if you connect the charger to both the battery terminals, I understand that you must only connect one directly to the battery and the other goes to an earthing point. But the cig lighter, for me, is the easier option and hence my question.

 

[RayF]

Would this not upset the PMS? I understand it that charging charging via the cigarette socket means that current flows through the shunt, so the van knows exactly his much charge is in the battery.

Not sure what the PMS is?

 

[Nigel W]

Not sure what the PMS is?

There have been several threads on this subject which I have found eye opening, in a nutshell there is a ‘computer’ fitted to one of the battery terminals which measures voltage in/out, keeps the battery at 80%, controls the smart alternator and regenerate charging etc. If anything else is connected to both terminals it causes problems as it bye passes the system. It is worth checking nothing has been connected and if so correcting. Hope this helps and if I can find the thread I will try to add a link.

 

[RayF]

There have been several threads on this subject which I have found eye opening, in a nutshell there is a ‘computer’ fitted to one of the battery terminals which measures voltage in/out, keeps the battery at 80%, controls the alternator and regenerate charging etc. If anything else is connected to both terminals it causes problems as it bye passes the system. It is worth checking nothing has been connected and if so correcting. Hope this helps and if I can find the thread I will try to add a link.

That’s very useful to know, thanks for explaining. I‘d heard the charging from the starter battery to the leisure battery while travelling needed a dc-dc charger and Bodans, who will be doing my conversion, have a custom made Sterling unit to allow just that. As an aside, when I had my last caravan that had a solar panel on the roof, the leisure battery was always fully charged all year round.

 

[Nigel W]

That’s very useful to know, thanks for explaining. I‘d heard the charging from the starter battery to the leisure battery while travelling needed a dc-dc charger and Bodans, who will be doing my conversion, have a custom made Sterling unit to allow just that. As an aside, when I had my last caravan that had a solar panel on the roof, the leisure battery was always fully charged all year round.

When you get your camper look at the vehicle battery to make sure Bodans haven’t connected the Sterling to both terminals on the vehicle battery (the chances are they will!) if they have then it needs correcting.
I didn’t bother with a big solar panel as we are mainly on a mains hook up when away but just need something to keep batteries topped up over the winter months whilst mothballed.

found the link. Starter Battery Wiring - VW Disagreement

 

[RayF]

When you get your camper look at the vehicle battery to make sure Bodans haven’t connected the Sterling to both terminals on the vehicle battery (the chances are they will!) if they have then it needs correcting.
I didn’t bother with a big solar panel as we are mainly on a mains hook up when away but just need something to keep batteries topped up over the winter months whilst mothballed.

found the link. Starter Battery Wiring - VW Disagreement

Thank you for that. I understand about shunts as I’ve installed them on my boats battery system but I wasn’t aware shunts were being used in automotive systems.