Upgrading the Factory Leisure Battery set up (+ additions)!

[roadtripper]

As to changing the cable I think 16mm2 would be preferred, but if you plan on running at 30A charge most of the time arguably that's what your existing system has been doing and I assume no signs of any heating issues?

If you wanted to regularly charge at the full 50A I'd be much more inclined to run a 16mm2 while you have everything in bits anyway.

 

[Ads_Essex]

You have to account for the loses in DC-DC conversion so I'd normally expect the manufacturer to specify a higher input fuse than 60A for a 50A charger.

I'd suggest running it at 30A (in software/settings) for general use and only using 50A when fast charging is really critical, it's a lot kinder on everything if you don't need it charged RIGHT NOW.

As to changing the cable I think 16mm2 would be preferred, but if you plan on running at 30A charge most of the time arguably that's what your existing system has been doing and I assume no signs of any heating issues?

If you wanted to regularly charge at the full 50A I'd be much more inclined to run a 16mm2 while you have everything in bits anyway.

The SA3 terminal is vacant so I may be better off running a 16mm cable now. Does mean getting that poxy e-box cover off again though

 

[roadtripper]

One of the advantages of the 6.1 electrics is that additional blade fuse box on top.

But then I suspect that bites you back when you have to juggle a fresh battery in

 

[kyleotis]

This is my current set up in my 2018 Caravelle, a mess of wires of a Factory specced Eberspacher Auxiliary air heater and 2nd battery, plus a few extras fitted by the previous owner, all under the passenger seat:

View attachment 226583


This is the wiring diagram as it sits:
View attachment 226584

I've got the standard split charge relay, and the 75Ah AGM battery feeding 3x 12v USB ports and the air heater, from factory. It's also feeding an Anderson connector, basic battery monitor, and 12v socket on a passenger seat board:
View attachment 226585

And a 12v socket and dual USB socket on the drivers seat board:
View attachment 226589


Also under the driver's seat is a 240v consumer unit with hook up lead under the bonnet, going to a Victron IP22 12/15 1 output charger and a 3 pin plug under the driver's seat.

As it is, with the limitations of the SCR, my 75Ah AGM battery only has 22.5Ah of usable capacity.

I'm currently building a kitchen pod which will have in it, a CRX50 fridge, plus some LED lights, a couple of USB ports and a submersible pump for water.

So, I want to upgrade my current set up slightly - mainly getting some proper battery monitoring via a Victron BMV-712, and as they seem to be short on stock until march I'll probably try and pick up the new Victron XS 50a B2B charger.

Also adding (moving) the Anderson connector on the passenger side to the drivers side so I can use that as a single connection for my kitchen pod.

This would mean I'd have a whole 37.5ah of battery capacity at my disposal!! And, crucially, I'd be in a much better place to be able to upgrade to a LiFePO4 battery and/or add solar in the future.

I'm aiming to be able to go away for 2-3 nights and I'd like to have a fridge and lights/water for that time. I know I'll need either solar or a bigger battery to really do this properly without having to drive, however I'll be driving a bit on a normal 2 or 3 day trip so should be ok for now.

So, proposed set up is below:

View attachment 226597


The main changes are a master 150a Megafuse and isolator switch on the LB.

Positive connections all going to a Busbar under the passenger seat.

DC-DC Victron charger in place of the SCR
Victron BMV-712

Factory fuse box etc tidied up under the passenger seat so that if (when) I upgrade to a LiFePO4 battery I'll just be able to slot a seatbase battery in! Yeah, ok... maybe not quite that easy!

Then under the driver's seat:
Fusebox for all the auxiliary non factory stuff, so the USB, 2x 12v sockets and the Anderson connector.
A negative Busbar for the above auxiliary stuff, and the battery charger.

I'm probably missing some fuses, bearing in mind the longest run of any wiring will be between the front seat bases.

And I'll need to check on what size wires I need, hopefully I'll only need 3 sizes: big beefy boy for the negative battery connection to the BMV712 shunt and to the chassis ground, and the same size for the Megafuse and isolator to bus bar. Then some 60a rated stuff for the DC-DC charger and Anderson connector, then 20a rated stuff for everything else.

Hi TallPaul, thank you so much for your thread. It has really helped me a lot.
I also have a VW factory fitted auxilliary battery in my T6 4Motion and am wanting to replace the VW SplitChargeRelay with my DC to DC from Atempower.
Is it correct that in my photo below the black block that has 100 written on it is the SCR and the black wire coming out of it is for the ignition signal and the thin brown wire is earth/negative.
Thank you.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Hi TallPaul, thank you so much for your thread. It has really helped me a lot.
I also have a VW factory fitted auxilliary battery in my T6 4Motion and am wanting to replace the VW SplitChargeRelay with my DC to DC from Atempower.
Is it correct that in my photo below the black block that has 100 written on it is the SCR and the black wire coming out of it is for the ignition signal and the thin brown wire is earth/negative.
Thank you.

View attachment 265845

Correct!

The brown earth will go back to the earth stud in the seat base. I use the black signal wire into the remote port of my Orion XS 50, works perfectly.