Battery charging

[briwy]

Getting a problem with the starter battery going flat after about a week of non use.
The only thing I can find that might be draining it is the little bulb round the ignition switch which is permantley on so this is now out.
The van is fitted with a Zig unit which charges the leisure battery on hookup but not the starter battery.
I'm not that impressed with the Zig unit and have got a Willinton kit to fit.
What I want to do is to get the starter battery on charge when on hook up.
The only idea I have at present is to use a cheap Lidl Cytek type charger connected into the mains and permantley connected to the starter battery. The only snag with this is that I want it out of the way and these chargers need to have the mode set before charging starts.
Does anyone know of a trickle charger that will do the job automatically?

[dandemann8]

How old is your SB I leave my Ctek on recon for 24 hrs if not using the Bongo as I also notice it drains when not in use, but I'm thinking of replacing as it appears to be the original battery

[helen&tony]

Hi
I haven't checked for current drain, but last year, in winter, the battery went flat when not in use....frankly, I think it had seen its' day as it was 3 years old, and an unknown make...and HIGHLY overpriced...I had an Exide battery put in about 6 weeks or so back, and what a difference...cost about 140.00 GBP for a 720CCA 100amp battery...now everything works as it should.
It's worth noting, that the charging system often shows signs of being inadequate if the battery is poor, as the alternator can't put out the requisite charge if the battery isn't taking it...SO...before it was charging at just over 13 volts, and only just maintaining that with lights on, but now there's an instant 14.2 / 14.1 on starting, and 13.8 / 13.9 on a run with lights and wipers...
Cheers
Helen

[Simon Jones]

Just a thought, are you sure the bulb stays on permanently? On mine it stays on after the van is locked, but does go off after a while, although I've never had the inclination to hand around to time it. I've got a Zig CF8 and it is a pretty crude piece of kit. I think if you set it to 'touring' is effectively connects the batteries in parallel so it should charge both at once (which is used for charging the LB when you're driving), but equally, it will mean that you are also running them down together. The Willinton kit will solve your spit charge problem when driving providing you leave the switch in the 'on site' position.

Here's an idea to think about: find a suitable battery charger (a bit more beefy than a trickle charger) and use this on the main battery. The charging voltage should in theory be high enough to trigger the split charge relay such that it also keeps the LB topped up. You would never have to worry about not being able to start in the mornings as the starter battery always gets priority.

My project for the spring is to fit a Waeco twin battery charger that kicks out something like 25A so while on hookup, you would effectively be running the conversion directly from the mains via a transformer.

[MountainGoat]

I had the same problem which I am now inclined to think is happening because I occassionally forget to turn off the fridge properly and the fridge seems to be directly connected to the leisure battery instead of through the PMS unit which I would have throught.

Got around the problem by inserting a cut off switch and leaving the key to it in the drivers footwell when the Bongo is laid up. This way I never forget to put it back. Cheap and effective. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Battery-Disco ... 53e72e4dbb

Tony

[dandemann8]

I use one of these Ctek unit's...........

http://www.powersuppliesonline.co.uk/mu ... arger.html

and I only paid £40 for it off Ebay brand spanking new

Works for me, Willinton kit fitted so just select supply when on hookup and hey presto keeps both SB and LB charged

[briwy]

Thanks for the replies.
Battery is new, came with the van, fresh import in May but it's some noname unknown thing. Not sure how good it is either as I've just checked it with the hydrometer and the SG is well down. I'll leave it on the beefy charger for few hours and see if it's any better. If it's still low I'll chuck it and get a new good one. I had a new leisure battery as well but that was duff and got it replaced under warranty so battery age doesn't necessarily mean it's OK.
The bulb does stay on all time on mine, or did. I know where the ignition switch is by now.

Simon, I agree about the Zig being crude. Yes, the Touring setting does seem to switch them into parallel as I well know after stupidly leaving it set like that in France and having both batteries go flat. That's really why I've got the Willinton kit and then I will disconnect the starter battery from the Zig and just leave the Zig set for hookup.
I have thought about getting into the Zig and rewiring it so that it charges the starter battery as well on hookup. Should be fairly easy to do and put a big diode in to ensure that the starter battery can't feed back into the Zig.
The Waeco twin charger sounds a good idea as well . Might go that way and dump the Zig and make another cupboard there. Space always handy in the Bongo.

Tony, yes our fridge is also wired direct in to to the LB. I've put a switch with an LED in the cicuit now so that we can make sure it's off properly

Dandeman, does the Cytek unit still need to have a button pressed to operate it? Can't tell from the website if it does or not.

Brian

[MountainGoat]

I have got two of these as well and use them occassionaly. But it is a bit of a problem using them if your Bongo is parked out in the street. You could be sued if someone says that they tripped over the cable not to mention the local scrotes having a go at fiddling with it.

Tony

[dandemann8]

Thanks for the replies.
Battery is new, came with the van, fresh import in May but it's some noname unknown thing. Not sure how good it is either as I've just checked it with the hydrometer and the SG is well down. I'll leave it on the beefy charger for few hours and see if it's any better. If it's still low I'll chuck it and get a new good one. I had a new leisure battery as well but that was duff and got it replaced under warranty so battery age doesn't necessarily mean it's OK.
The bulb does stay on all time on mine, or did. I know where the ignition switch is by now.

Simon, I agree about the Zig being crude. Yes, the Touring setting does seem to switch them into parallel as I well know after stupidly leaving it set like that in France and having both batteries go flat. That's really why I've got the Willinton kit and then I will disconnect the starter battery from the Zig and just leave the Zig set for hookup.
I have thought about getting into the Zig and rewiring it so that it charges the starter battery as well on hookup. Should be fairly easy to do and put a big diode in to ensure that the starter battery can't feed back into the Zig.
The Waeco twin charger sounds a good idea as well . Might go that way and dump the Zig and make another cupboard there. Space always handy in the Bongo.

Tony, yes our fridge is also wired direct in to to the LB. I've put a switch with an LED in the cicuit now so that we can make sure it's off properly

Dandeman, does the Cytek unit still need to have a button pressed to operate it? Can't tell from the website if it does or not.

Brian

Yes there is a mode button that requires setting to the desired mode

[Jaws]

Fit the Willinton kit and disconnect the Starter battery from the Zig unit altogether or put a switch on that link which you will always leave off except for emergencies!

This way your Starter battery will always be charged first whilst the engine is running and not be discharged on site. On hook up you will be charging the LB primarily. Can't recall if Willinton relay is two way sensing, but if it is then SB will charge from hook up once LB is fully charged. That's roughly my set up although I didn't use the Willinton.

Wish I had!

Jon

[g8dhe]

To be honest the ZIG units above the Marque 1 seem to be overkill for a Bongo or small van, fine for a Caravan where you are more dependent on the battery/hook-up.
The Marque 1 allows you to charge or use either battery or have only the hook-up, but does not put the two batteries in parallel at any time.

[Simon Jones]

Just taken a pic of the Waeco twin charger I bought for the van. It puts out 45A, so that should be enough to run a whole herd of Bongos

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j221/ ... AG0391.jpg

Sorry, can figure out how to edit the image size down in iPad version of PhotoBucket, so had to use a link

[mikexgough]

I hard wired and fixed inside my conversion a Lidl Ctek alike......wired to the LB and I just select the mode and it charges both LB & SB in 18 hrs...via the willinton set up... works for me...

[briwy]

Found a possible solution. I know solar panels have been discussed before but these are on offer at Maplins at the moment for £12.99 which seems a good price. 12v 2.4w with good sunlight.





I'll see how it performs before wiring it in properly.

Incidentally, I tried checking the output with my all singing dancing digital meter and got nothing. Thought the panel was faulty but hen tried again with my old non digital meter and all working fine.

[dave_aber]

Can't recall if Willinton relay is two way sensing, but if it is then SB will charge from hook up once LB is fully charged. That's roughly my set up although I didn't use the Willinton.

Wish I had!

Jon

The Willinton isn't 2-way sensing. So, if you plug in the hook-up (charger wired to L/B) it will just charge the L/B.

However, as I discovered touring Europe, if you re-start the engine with the hook-up already connected, the Willinton relay will close. Once you stop the engine, the charger voltage from the L/B will be fed back to the sense terminal on the Willinton, and it will 'think' the engine is still running, so both batteries get charged.

Also works if you get the hook up lead plugged in really quickly after running the engine, as the S/B voltage takes a wee while to drop below the Willinton trigger voltage.

So in this sense, the hook-up voltage acts as a hold-on for the willinton relay.