Roof angle

[2into1]

Is it possible that somehow the solar charger tricks the relay into believing the leisure battery is full?

When I installed solar on my T4, the mains charger would cycle on and off every couple of seconds when the sun was shining. (the plugged-in symbol on the overhead display would disappear then reappear). At night or poor light, all was normal. I suspected the charger was being tricked by the higher voltage from the solar panel and would cut itself off. Why it would come back on after a few seconds was less clear.
I ended up fitting a cut out switch between my solar and the leisure batt, as I fear such frequent cycling on and off would harm the charger. I only put the solar into action when parked up without hook up.

If your theory is right, then driving at night should see your leisure battery given a big boost by the alternator, but not during daytime driving.

 

[andyinluton]

Would it be possible to swap the starter & leisure battery over to charge the leisure battery up fully with the alternator? If it was starting from 100% full again whilst the solar panel may not keep up with the discharge it may do a couple of days.

I had to do this with our motorhome when the leisure charger stopped working in france. Fortunately the battery connections were the same on both, just a pain to have to take the passenger seat out to do it.

 

[bigmac77]

Would be easier to buy a hook up lead and fully charge whilst on a campsite.

 

[CALI FATE]

Would be easier to buy a hook up lead and fully charge whilst on a campsite.

OMGawd Bigmac are you having a laugh .......... this thread just keeps going - this fella wants to live off grid and wont use a EHU - he is pointing his roof towards mecca to get max sunshine on his panels -

 

[westfalia]

Would it be possible to swap the starter & leisure battery over to charge the leisure battery up fully with the alternator?

Would that work ?
I thought the measure batteries were a Gel type and the starter one not.
I´d like to know the difference.

 

[Meoncoast]

OMGawd Bigmac are you having a laugh .......... this thread just keeps going - this fella wants to live off grid and wont use a EHU - he is pointing his roof towards mecca to get max sunshine on his panels -

I would have given up my now and bought a wind turbine

 

[Amarillo]

OMGawd Bigmac are you having a laugh .......... this thread just keeps going - this fella wants to live off grid and wont use a EHU - he is pointing his roof towards mecca to get max sunshine on his panels -

I've got news for you @CALI FATE - just 5 minutes ago I hooked up with a borrowed lead for the first time since 5 June.

BTW Mecca is in the east. I look for the pole star and aim for that so the roof is pointing south.

Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[kave]

Another issue here is that when these kinds of batteries get flat they loose some of their capacity. To get most life out of them they should be kept as fully charged as possible. So flattening them twice can already made some damage to your second battery.

And now you can have another problem if you never hooked it up, the switch connected between hook up and charger can be default to off. Its located under the panel on the ledt side of the rear, next to the multiflex.

 

[bigmac77]

OMGawd Bigmac are you having a laugh .......... this thread just keeps going - this fella wants to live off grid and wont use a EHU - he is pointing his roof towards mecca to get max sunshine on his panels -

Only until he sorts out his solar or alternator problems. I think I'd rather have the power especially at this time of year and no worries about rationing supply.

 

[CALI FATE]

I've got news for you @CALI FATE - just 5 minutes ago I hooked up with a borrowed lead for the first time since 5 June.

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ahh congrats fella - you wont look back

 

[CALI FATE]

If god had wanted us to live off solar power he wouldnt have given us the outside socket

 

[Amarillo]

When I installed solar on my T4, the mains charger would cycle on and off every couple of seconds when the sun was shining. (the plugged-in symbol on the overhead display would disappear then reappear). At night or poor light, all was normal. I suspected the charger was being tricked by the higher voltage from the solar panel and would cut itself off. Why it would come back on after a few seconds was less clear.
I ended up fitting a cut out switch between my solar and the leisure batt, as I fear such frequent cycling on and off would harm the charger. I only put the solar into action when parked up without hook up.

If your theory is right, then driving at night should see your leisure battery given a big boost by the alternator, but not during daytime driving.

I have been having thoughts along the same lines. However, the alternator charge doesn't cut in and out - it started for a few minutes this morning when I first turned on the engine, charged the leisure battery to ~60% (3 bars), then stopped. I left the engine running for about 2 hours, checking the charge regularly, and only the panels were charging.

If this is the case, without a switch, I'd need to start the engine at night to get a full charge.


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[Amarillo]

Another issue here is that when these kinds of batteries get flat they loose some of their capacity. To get most life out of them they should be kept as fully charged as possible. So flattening them twice can already made some damage to your second battery.

And now you can have another problem if you never hooked it up, the switch connected between hook up and charger can be default to off. Its located under the panel on the ledt side of the rear, next to the multiflex.

Only once has it discharged to zero bars, and even then there was sufficient charge for LED lights and the charger display. Hookup works fine.

We are now writing a shopping list for tomorrow:
Hookup cable
240v kettle
Vacuum cleaner
Deep fat fryer
Teas maid
Coffee machine
Microwave oven
Trouser press
...


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[2into1]

However, the alternator charge doesn't cut in and out

I still think the issues may be related.....
Some specific level of voltage is reached and detected by the split charge system and it decides to stop charging from the engine.
Only way to check us to disconnect the solar although I'm aware that may loose your ability to measure what's going on.

 

[bigmac77]

Only once has it discharged to zero bars, and even then there was sufficient charge for LED lights and the charger display. Hookup works fine.

We are now writing a shopping list for tomorrow:
Hookup cable
240v kettle
Vacuum cleaner
Deep fat fryer
Teas maid
Coffee machine
Microwave oven
Trouser press
...


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

65" tv

 

[Bellcrew]

Only once has it discharged to zero bars, and even then there was sufficient charge for LED lights and the charger display. Hookup works fine.

We are now writing a shopping list for tomorrow:
Hookup cable
240v kettle
Vacuum cleaner
Deep fat fryer
Teas maid
Coffee machine
Microwave oven
Trouser press
...


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

And an Eriba to put it all in?

 

[Joker 1299]

Deep fat fryer? Seriously? In a confined space with two small boys and a dog? Please be careful.

 

[Amarillo]

Deep fat fryer? Seriously? In a confined space with two small boys and a dog? Please be careful.

Here we are, travelling around Europe, with some of the finest cuisine known to mankind - but we don't want our boys to miss out on traditional English foods. Without a deep fat fryer they will miss the delights of turkey twizzlers and potato smilies.


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[Amarillo]

I still think the issues may be related.....
Some specific level of voltage is reached and detected by the split charge system and it decides to stop charging from the engine.
Only way to check us to disconnect the solar although I'm aware that may loose your ability to measure what's going on.

I think that is exactly right. The charge from the panels tricks the split charge system into believing that near full charge is reached at ~60% charge.

And I think it is possible to disconnect the panels without disconnecting the solar charger to test.

When I collected the solar panel kit from Roger, he told me that the engine alone doesn't give a good quality charge to the leisure battery, and that the panels will top up the battery keeping it in tip top condition. He may well be right for summer use with long days and a high sun. Possibly not for winter use with short days, a low sun and a high demand for lighting.


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[bigmac77]

Here we are, travelling around Europe, with some of the finest cuisine known to mankind - but we don't want our boys to miss out on traditional English foods. Without a deep fat fryer they will miss the delights of turkey twizzlers and potato smilies.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

Fried egg and chips every day far better than that foreign muck.

 

[jts46]

Bigmac meal, pizza, moules frites

 

[Loz]

The split charge relay is just a relay, no voltage sensing involved.

However the alternator may think all batteries are charged if it sees the 14.7 volts from the panels. Can you switch the solar off next time you drive it?

 

[Amarillo]

The split charge relay is just a relay, no voltage sensing involved.

However the alternator may think all batteries are charged if it sees the 14.7 volts from the panels. Can you switch the solar off next time you drive it?

It seems likely that the fix will be to either fit a switch between panels and charger or between the charger and leisure battery, and have that switch off when wanting a good battery charge from the alternator.

I'm on hookup now. When I unplug in the morning the solar charger should be showing 5 solid bars for the battery. If not, the solar charger, without current from the panels, is somehow tricking the hookup charging system into believing the leisure battery is full.


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[Loz]

I don’t think onboard charger will mind, it will keep supplying a float charge.

I looked into this recently and my plan is to replace the split charge relay with a more sophisticated charge controller that has a solar panel input. This will transfer a full charge to the leisure batteries and not allow flow back when the alternator is idle. Plus the solar can then charge the leisure batteries first and the cranking battery once the leisure side is full.

Units like the Ring one will replace the split charge relay and have a solar input.

 

[Amarillo]

Hookup overnight - battery showing 4 bars (~70-90% charge). Either the battery will no longer charge to full capacity, or something is preventing it from charging to full capacity.

It's thickly overcast today, so no likelihood of solar topping up the battery.


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