T6.1 Black Box on battery?

[Jet]

T6.1 On the battery positive cable there appears to be a black distribution box (or perhaps a fuse box), with two smaller cables already attached and two or three empty terminals marked 200 amp. I need to connect my Clayton via a 60 amp fuse and it would be neat and tidy if I could use one of these empty terminals, run a wire to a 60 amp fuse then onto the Clayton LPS. Just wondering if this is feasible or perhaps the Black DB is in fact a shunt or similar maybe to allow the ECU to monitor battery draw perhaps?

 

[Jet]

 

[Dellmassive]

Yes you can do that.... But the spare van fuse is 200A.

So you need to down fuse the supply to 60A.

Just add in a 60A midi fuse off the 200A spare terminal.

 

[Jet]

Yes you can do that.... But the spare van fuse is 200A.

So you need to down fuse the supply to 60A.

Just add in a 60A midi fuse off the 200A spare terminal.

Excellent thanks! I have a 60 amp mega fuse in a holder, I'll use that. So is that a fuse box, shunt or just a DB?

 

[Dellmassive]

its a fuse box . . .

they made it out of pressed metal to create strip link fuses..

the fuse link rating is stamped on the metal. (yellow)

400A
200A spare (green)
100A
100A
200A spare (green)
200A spare (green)

if you lift the middle black platic bit you will see the fuse links.

its connected direct to the starter battery, the power flows via the red arrow.





....



so you can use any of the spare ports to take a starter battery feed - all 200A.

and use the to feed a downrated MIDI fuse - say 60A

...


its a great feature of the T6.1, and saves numerous cables being connected to the battery terminal. . .

 

[Dellmassive]

we was adding our own starter battery MIDI fuse bix before VW added the feature.


it makes for a much neater, simpler power install.

Battery Chargers - How I Did It -

Battery Chargers - How I Did It - So its that time of year again, cold, rainy. . . . . . . flat battery =[ This time we look at Battery Chargers. Our vans will most likely come with a AGM style starter battery, for this type of battery we need a "Smart Charger" . . . . but what does this...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Sasquatch]

^^^ that's pretty neat, I can see why VW stole the idea.

 

[roadtripper]

Well it is until you see the price of the customer replacement plate fuse...

Overall it's much easier to add to that fusebox than the one underneath the battery, but I think I'd treat it much more as a distribution point and fuse things as if they were not fused so just treating the plate fuse as a last ditch safety device.

Also remember to have enough slack and route cables so you can lift it back out of the way if you need to replace the battery.

 

[Dellmassive]

^^^ that's pretty neat, I can see why VW stole the idea.

yes,

but i do like the VW offering.

id maybe like to get a T6.1 one and add it to the vans.

the only problem with the T61 OEM is no Chassis/ground. - though i supposed they don't need one.

but the headlight bracket is a good ground - with good metal-metal-bolt I've tested it with 1000w / 100A inverter load with no issues or heating up.


..........


with mine i have the quick disconnects for the EHU external chargers,

the battery monitors,

50A SB50 Andersons power feeds.

plus the 80A DC-DC charger feed to the drivers seat base.


+++++


that one has been in the van since 2018 - i think its about time i redone it.


when i get the van back that is. . . .


.

 

[Gsixty]

the only problem with the T61 OEM is no Chassis/ground. - though i supposed they don't need one.

but the headlight bracket is a good ground - with good metal-metal-bolt I've tested it with 1000w / 100A inverter load with no issues or heating up.

Out of interest, does the T6 have an OEM chassis/ground that VW removed on the T6.1?

 

[roadtripper]

Out of interest, does the T6 have an OEM chassis/ground that VW removed on the T6.1?

AFAIK they pretty much have the same official grounding points in the chassis, @Dellmassive point is if you regard the 6.1 plate fuse as ideal for those adding aftermarket electrics it would have been even more ideal if it had a ground terminal as part of its design.

 

[Doggydoctor]

yes,

but i do like the VW offering.

id maybe like to get a T6.1 one and add it to the vans.

the only problem with the T61 OEM is no Chassis/ground. - though i supposed they don't need one.

but the headlight bracket is a good ground - with good metal-metal-bolt I've tested it with 1000w / 100A inverter load with no issues or heating up.


..........


with mine i have the quick disconnects for the EHU external chargers,

the battery monitors,

50A SB50 Andersons power feeds.

plus the 80A DC-DC charger feed to the drivers seat base.


+++++


that one has been in the van since 2018 - i think its about time i redone it.


when i get the van back that is. . . .

its a fuse box . . .

they made it out of pressed metal to create strip link fuses..

the fuse link rating is stamped on the metal. (yellow)

400A
200A spare (green)
100A
100A
200A spare (green)
200A spare (green)

if you lift the middle black platic bit you will see the fuse links.

its connected direct to the starter battery, the power flows via the red arrow.


View attachment 260092


....



so you can use any of the spare ports to take a starter battery feed - all 200A.

and use the to feed a downrated MIDI fuse - say 60A

...


its a great feature of the T6.1, and saves numerous cables being connected to the battery terminal. . .

On mine, the feed to the factory fitted leisure battery is connected to the 2nd terminal.. At least that’s what I think as I accidentally shorted it to the seat frame and that 200A appears to have blown. I have read other people mentioned it is wire 3 in the fuse box underneath the battery, but that fuse was fine. Was quoted £81 for a replacement. Expensive mistake.

 

[Doggydoctor]

On mine, the feed to the factory fitted leisure battery is connected to the 2nd terminal.. At least that’s what I think as I accidentally shorted it to the seat frame and that 200A appears to have blown. I have read other people mentioned it is wire 3 in the fuse box underneath the battery, but that fuse was fine. Was quoted £81 for a replacement. Expensive mistake.

I just realised that instead of spending £81, I can just use one of the free 200A terminals on the fuse plate. Just did it and everything is working fine again. In case anyone wants to know: the part original part number for the fuse plate 7LA.937.629 has been superseded by new part number 7LA.937.548.

 

[PJ134]

Should that fuse box on the battery on all 6.1s? We have a T6.1 registered late October 21, startline with business pack, Revolution Noah conversion. Ours doesn’t have that and I’m wondering now if they removed it for some reason when they converted it. Also the battery is a lead acid rather than an AGM, which I would have thought should be fitted as it’s a stop start. Or doesn’t it matter?
Cheers

 

[Salty Spuds]

Also the battery is a lead acid rather than an AGM,

AGM is lead acid

 

[PJ134]

Thanks Salty, but if they are the same thing why are they different? Advanced Glass Mat batteries I’m assuming are better for stop start applications, or not? Our Mini daily driver is St/St and has AGM. My point/question did my van have originally have/should have had traditional LA battery or AGM battery? I’m trying to ascertain whether the converter did an hatchet job on a brand new van to sell it to the previous owner before we bought it, considering the connection box thingy isn’t on ours.
Thanks

 

[Drive Wayne]

Thanks Salty, but if they are the same thing why are they different? Advanced Glass Mat batteries I’m assuming are better for stop start applications, or not? Our Mini daily driver is St/St and has AGM. My point/question did my van have originally have/should have had traditional LA battery or AGM battery? I’m trying to ascertain whether the converter did an hatchet job on a brand new van to sell it to the previous owner before we bought it, considering the connection box thingy isn’t on ours.
Thanks

I'm wondering if it is a Startline thing, my 20 plate 6.1 is the same spec as yours, with the business pack, and it too doesn't have the 'connection box thingy' on top of the starter battery. It originally had a 70Ah EFB battery (just to throw some more letters into the mix), the beauty of no junction box on top means it is considribbly easier to pop in a new posher Bosch 95Ah to stave off starter battery anxiety which I was suffering with the original. It would be interesting to hear from other such poverty van owners as to the presence of such a fusebox on our lower spec vans...

 

[Salty Spuds]

Thanks Salty, but if they are the same thing why are they different? Advanced Glass Mat batteries I’m assuming are better for stop start applications, or not? Our Mini daily driver is St/St and has AGM. My point/question did my van have originally have/should have had traditional LA battery or AGM battery? I’m trying to ascertain whether the converter did an hatchet job on a brand new van to sell it to the previous owner before we bought it, considering the connection box thingy isn’t on ours.
Thanks

"Lead Acid" is the chemistry used to produce the voltage & store the power. AGM/SLA/Flooded Cell/EFB/Calcium/Spiral Cell/Gel/ Maintenance Free etc. are ALL Lead Acid batteries. They all use the same basic chemistry of Lead & Sulphuric acid. AGM et al. are just variations on how they are constructed. An AGM battery has the electrolyte (Sulphuric Acid) soaked into a glass fibre mat that sits between the plates, rather than as a liquid in a cell. The differences in construction can lead to slight variations in internal resistance, which accounts for the different charging profiles offered on higher end smart chargers, but at the end of the day, it's still a lead acid battery.

When you say "Traditional LA Battery" I assume you mean the old school flooded cell type that you topped up with distilled water? I'm 99% sure that your van certainly wouldn't have had one of these fitted from the factory, they went out with the arc & are now only found in specialist applications either as traction batteries or in marine applications.

Do you have a photo of the battery in question?

A little light reading:-

Lead-acid battery - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[PJ134]

Like you say Wayne, probably a pauper T6.1 arrangement. No battery box thingy, and an EFB+ rather than an AGM.
Apologies to Salty for my clumsy description of a non AGM battery, but thanks for enlightening me on the finer details of the many different types of LA batteries.
I’ll probably do what you suggest Wayne, and upgrade to an AGM eventually, as I invested in a battery monitor as suggested by Dellmassive and others and it’s showing a slight decrease in capacity almost every day just sat on the drive.
Cheers guys

 

[Drive Wayne]

Like you say Wayne, probably a pauper T6.1 arrangement. No battery box thingy, and an EFB+ rather than an AGM.
Apologies to Salty for my clumsy description of a non AGM battery, but thanks for enlightening me on the finer details of the many different types of LA batteries.
I’ll probably do what you suggest Wayne, and upgrade to an AGM eventually, as I invested in a battery monitor as suggested by Dellmassive and others and it’s showing a slight decrease in capacity almost every day just sat on the drive.
Cheers guys

View attachment 261670

That is the same as my original battery, it lasted 3 years, I still have it in my garage using it as a wheel chock for my spare wheels, it's good for that! I swapped it out for a Bosch S5 A13 95Ah which is physically the largest that will go in there. Youll need to code it in with Carista or similar. Any future battery anxiety has been negated with an Ablemail AMT12-2 battery trickle charger which takes a very small amount of juice from my solar powered Lithium LifePo4 Leisure Battery and throws it at the starter battery. It keeps the starter battery at a minimum of 12.3 volts regardless of the length of time the van sits on the drive.