Is there any issue with using the alternator light feed to switch the split charging relay I have?
Im wondering if there is any side effect?
Cheers,
Wayne.
Im wondering if there is any side effect?
Cheers,
Wayne.
Split Charging Relay feed from alternator?
Catch22
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
Joined
·
19,199 Posts
Some of the cheaper ones use the alternator warning light instead of a VSR.Rich. said:
Joined
·
2,612 Posts
Yep, if you haven't already bought this kit i'd highly recommend looking at a VSR instead, charging the aux battery when the main is full is a much better idea than charging both batteries the second the engine is running.
Another question is what age is your truck? 2010+ get a smart alternator which makes things a little more complicated.
Another question is what age is your truck? 2010+ get a smart alternator which makes things a little more complicated.
Its an 06 outlaw and I have bought the kit. However its easy enough to add a VSR to the kit that will switch the high load relay supplied.
Would any of you guys know if I can use a 120ah secondary battery when the starter battery is only 75ah? Ive been told that the secondary battery will never reach full charge if its a higher capacity than the starter battery.
Would any of you guys know if I can use a 120ah secondary battery when the starter battery is only 75ah? Ive been told that the secondary battery will never reach full charge if its a higher capacity than the starter battery.
Joined
·
2,729 Posts
It should make no difference. It's the battery voltage that switches a VSR, and the voltage reflects its level of charge.Catch22 said:
I would think though, that the main truck battery gets charged in preference, but if this is failing, it may never (or rarely) get switched out of the charging circuit so that the second battery can get some charge. It depends also on the split charge unit you have and how it is set up.
Depending on how much current a battery can take when charging, and what the alternator can supply, a higher capacity battery might take longer to get fully charged.
Joined
·
2,729 Posts
I would also test your main battery.AzE_B said:
Unless that that is able to quickly get to the necessary voltage to trip the VSR, it may be that the second battery rarely gets topped up enough.
But it does depend on the type of split charger you have and how it is configured.
Joined
·
2,612 Posts
A split charge system needs to be configured to how you drive the truck. A VSR is great for longer regular longer journeys, but often wont allow much charge to the aux battery. A basic kit with a alternator/ignition live triggered relay is better for this, but will tend to neglect the main battery as the battery with the lowest voltage (usually the aux battery) will tent to pull most of the alternators current, until both battery voltages are equal, then it will float charge the pair.
For these reasons i went with a National Luna system, that once it detects the main battery charging (batt voltage above 13v) starts a 5 minute timer before making the solenoid and allowing the aux battery to charge. This gives me the best of both worlds. 3 years on and my Odyssey main battery is still at a higher capacity than it left the factory, although my aux battery is dead, this has nothing to do with the charging system, just that its reached its max amount of cycles.
As for miss matched batteries, my Odyssey main battery is i belive 85Ah, my Trojan deep cycle aux battery is 130Ah, both are fully charged according the National Luna's voltage guage after a good drive.
Rich
For these reasons i went with a National Luna system, that once it detects the main battery charging (batt voltage above 13v) starts a 5 minute timer before making the solenoid and allowing the aux battery to charge. This gives me the best of both worlds. 3 years on and my Odyssey main battery is still at a higher capacity than it left the factory, although my aux battery is dead, this has nothing to do with the charging system, just that its reached its max amount of cycles.
As for miss matched batteries, my Odyssey main battery is i belive 85Ah, my Trojan deep cycle aux battery is 130Ah, both are fully charged according the National Luna's voltage guage after a good drive.
Rich
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
