L/Battery - go large or go lithium?
- Thread starter Chris1983
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- dc - dc charger victron vsr
Examples but maybe cheaper elsewhere:
Victron LB Isolator
or
Blue Sea LB Isolator
Switches for DC-DC or AMT , also available from Halfords for a couple of quid.
Isolator for solar panel
Box for solar isolator
I used Climbingvan (now NOHMA) and they were excellent. They have some fantastic information on their site too - well worth a read.
And quick q, on my diagram, presume the ignition live is the wire from the scr to the fuse box? And that is where switch will go.
Do these little rocker switches just get wired in line with spade connectors or do they also need grounding as they have a led? Again, bear with my Luddite level of knowledge.
I know these are REALLY basic questions
You need to identify the ignition wire with your multimeter to make sure you have the right one. It should be fuse at the end furthest from the DC-DC to protect the cable in case of a short. Sorry, I didn’t mean to link to LED switches, I’d just get simple non-led ones which go in-line with spade connectors. The switch then goes on the ignition wire to break that signal when you do not want the DC-DC running. You need to turn off the auto-sensing on the Orion otherwise it will run regardless of the switch position.
Make sure you read the Victron instructions carefully. You must follow the correct order when connecting things up and doing the initial setup.
Why would you want to manually disable the Orion? Have I missed something?
Someone said before to bite it off in chunks.
If it were me, after checking that the battery and Orion fit under the seat-bearing in mind you can move that little triple fuse block somewhere else if needs be, my order would be:-
Remove fuse in the wire from the SB to the split charge.
Disconnect leisure battery and remove.
Get 2 of your black earth cables with ring connector one end and bare wire the other and connect the ring connector ends to the earth terminal in the floor as shown in one of the pics above.
Connect the red cable from the SB to the Victron input and the other red cable to the Victron output.
Connect one of the black neg cables to each of the neg input/outputs on the Victron.
Connect the 12v switch wire that was previously on the SCR to the voltage sense connector on the Victron and that is it-job done.
Put in new LB where old LB was and connect the neg and the positives to the new LB
Insert new correct fuse into feed from SB and that’s it.
If I’ve missed anything then somebody please add any extra steps.
It’ll all run fine without a shunt and an isolator switch etc etc etc.
Then if you have more than a couple of wires going to the positive of the battery buy a little bus bar in a couple of weeks and add it to the system.
If you want a shunt then add that to the negs at the same time.
If you want an isolator switch then that can be added later.
Do the basics, get it in and running, take a breath and do any non-essential stuff later.
You’re just blowing your own mind. It’s literally moving a couple of wires, adding a couple of neg wires and swapping a battery and a fuse.
If it were me, after checking that the battery and Orion fit under the seat-bearing in mind you can move that little triple fuse block somewhere else if needs be, my order would be:-
Remove fuse in the wire from the SB to the split charge.
Disconnect leisure battery and remove.
Get 2 of your black earth cables with ring connector one end and bare wire the other and connect the ring connector ends to the earth terminal in the floor as shown in one of the pics above.
Connect the red cable from the SB to the Victron input and the other red cable to the Victron output.
Connect one of the black neg cables to each of the neg input/outputs on the Victron.
Connect the 12v switch wire that was previously on the SCR to the voltage sense connector on the Victron and that is it-job done.
Put in new LB where old LB was and connect the neg and the positives to the new LB
Insert new correct fuse into feed from SB and that’s it.
If I’ve missed anything then somebody please add any extra steps.
It’ll all run fine without a shunt and an isolator switch etc etc etc.
Then if you have more than a couple of wires going to the positive of the battery buy a little bus bar in a couple of weeks and add it to the system.
If you want a shunt then add that to the negs at the same time.
If you want an isolator switch then that can be added later.
Do the basics, get it in and running, take a breath and do any non-essential stuff later.
You’re just blowing your own mind. It’s literally moving a couple of wires, adding a couple of neg wires and swapping a battery and a fuse.
I have a clamp meter I bought and don’t know how to use, would this be easier than multimeter to identify the ignition wire?
Affordable clamp meters generally won't measure current at DC plus a reasonable current needs to be flowing to induce a reading in the clamp probe loop, the voltage probes are ideal on the meters voltage range as it is on the meters resistance ohms range for continuity checking on dead cables when trying to verify that they go where you think.
To prevent it charging the LB every time you start the van. If one is driving the van regularly but not using the LB for long periods it allows you to keep the LB at a decent storage voltage. Only valid for lithium and clearly depends on your usage.
I’d use a multimeter personally, or the multimeter part of your clamp meter if it has one. Also issues as mentioned by Stay Frosty.
So the following is what has landed from simply split charge website.
I understand the two red and two black big wires to left are for the DC to DC input/ output and for grounding to chassis.
The big fuses in my plan I presume are redundant as I am going to reuse the in situ wire and simply reduce fuses down to 50.
The thin gauge wire and all small bits I presume are for the Amt 12-2.
So my question is….what is the two thick red wires and one thing black wire with ring terminals for?
I understand the two red and two black big wires to left are for the DC to DC input/ output and for grounding to chassis.
The big fuses in my plan I presume are redundant as I am going to reuse the in situ wire and simply reduce fuses down to 50.
The thin gauge wire and all small bits I presume are for the Amt 12-2.
So my question is….what is the two thick red wires and one thing black wire with ring terminals for?
Oh, I think the red wires are for use with the fuses, got that. (So redundant in my (your) plan). But the extra black?
I think you’ve just confused yourself by buying something you don’t need and now you want to use all the pieces. Stick with the plan and wire in the dc-dc and swap the battery.
Also, if you fit those 2 basics and something isn’t working then you’ve only really got a couple of things to check.
Add in the ablemail and the other kit one item at a time because you don’t have the confidence to check the whole install if something isn’t working. Do it in small chunks and each time you add something you are starting from a known good. Less stress.
Forget the mains charger until the end. It’s only an issue if you plug in to EHU. So don’t plug into EHU.
With solar and that new battery you should last for days anyway.
Add in the ablemail and the other kit one item at a time because you don’t have the confidence to check the whole install if something isn’t working. Do it in small chunks and each time you add something you are starting from a known good. Less stress.
Forget the mains charger until the end. It’s only an issue if you plug in to EHU. So don’t plug into EHU.
With solar and that new battery you should last for days anyway.
Many thanks!
Was that a pre-made kit for something? The thin cables will be ok for the AMT once you have crimped the spade connectors that come with the AMT.
The 2 black cables will be ok for the Orion negatives but likely too long and much heavier duty than needed for a short run with an 18A charger.
The longer reds are not needed. The shorter are one from LB to midi fuse then other from there to isolator (if you are fitting one) or positive busbar. Battery post clamps are not needed.
I agree with Big Si. Keep it simple! However I would fit the AMT while you have the seat off as it only takes a few minutes and is 3 simple cables. It takes longer to change the mode on it than fit it. Check it’s all working before you refit the seat. Read and follow the instructions!
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