Setec?
- Thread starter Rodneyaf
- Start date
black cover, open the small fuse door, take out the small silver screw, then the cover clips off carefully, its tight.
underneath are four screws in each corner holding the unit in, worth disconnecting all power 12 and 240 before hand.
And ronem makes a good point. thats what i will be doing, when i get the time.
underneath are four screws in each corner holding the unit in, worth disconnecting all power 12 and 240 before hand.
And ronem makes a good point. thats what i will be doing, when i get the time.
Thanks Rohan that is what I needed, I plan to run heavier cables for the input. So if understand this right, the screw inside the fuse panel is removed and then the whole black cover will pull away from under the seat. Is it only held in by clips after the screw is removed?
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after small screw removed , the cover clips off the structural metal frame of the unit that is held in by four screws under the cover.
i used a fine blade straight screw driver to assist the un clipping carefully. the local jayco dealer tells me he has sold a few covers, because people break them, mainly because they don't remove the small screw first. "don't forget turn off power and 12 volt".
i used a fine blade straight screw driver to assist the un clipping carefully. the local jayco dealer tells me he has sold a few covers, because people break them, mainly because they don't remove the small screw first. "don't forget turn off power and 12 volt".
@Rodneyaf
Have a look in this thread for how to remove the setec. If you intend on running much heavier than 6mm cable I would run it direct to the battery (through a fuse) as the setec terminals don't leave much room for large cable to be used.
Have a look in this thread for how to remove the setec. If you intend on running much heavier than 6mm cable I would run it direct to the battery (through a fuse) as the setec terminals don't leave much room for large cable to be used.
it will give a better result for two reasons
1 you can run a heavier cable, something like 6b&s which would be very difficult to connect to the setec.
2 the setec has a diode in the aux circuit (used to block a reverse flow back to the vehicle) which will introduce a voltage drop of around .6v . This can be a problem for many of today's vehicles that run smart alternators as they often charge at a lower voltage to start with.
If you are currently just running it all through a small 7pin plug then you are on the right track looking to fit something a bit heavier. The pins on a 7pin were never really meant to handle the loads that a van can sometimes draw.
I would consider doing what @ROnEM has said first as it will be an easy change, and may be all you need. Are you going to run a heavier cable for the anderson plug on the vehicle.
1 you can run a heavier cable, something like 6b&s which would be very difficult to connect to the setec.
2 the setec has a diode in the aux circuit (used to block a reverse flow back to the vehicle) which will introduce a voltage drop of around .6v . This can be a problem for many of today's vehicles that run smart alternators as they often charge at a lower voltage to start with.
If you are currently just running it all through a small 7pin plug then you are on the right track looking to fit something a bit heavier. The pins on a 7pin were never really meant to handle the loads that a van can sometimes draw.
I would consider doing what @ROnEM has said first as it will be an easy change, and may be all you need. Are you going to run a heavier cable for the anderson plug on the vehicle.
The Anderson plug on the car already has a heavy cable used and I was going to match that on the van.
There no power going to the 7 pin on the car at the moment.
The power running to the battery now can stay right? I assume that's how the battery will charge while hooked up to 240?
There no power going to the 7 pin on the car at the moment.
The power running to the battery now can stay right? I assume that's how the battery will charge while hooked up to 240?
That would give you the best result....if you are keen to run new cabling in the van. If you are not a heavy power user you may not need to go to the trouble though.
OK then the anderson is definitely the way to go
If you are going fit an anderson plug and run new wiring directly to the van battery then you may still need to connect the wire that is in the van 7pin to that as well. The reason for this is your fridge will probably be connected to that and the diode in the setec will stop power from getting back to it. if you like i can draw up a few simple diagrams of the more common hook ups.
So if I gt this right, you are saying to,
1 disconnect the positive and the earth from the vans 7 pin.
2 Run heavier wires on an Anderson plug directly to the battery.
3 Connect the wires I removed from the vans 7 pin to the anderson plug as well.
Have I got it yet?
1 disconnect the positive and the earth from the vans 7 pin.
2 Run heavier wires on an Anderson plug directly to the battery.
3 Connect the wires I removed from the vans 7 pin to the anderson plug as well.
Have I got it yet?
do not disconnect the earth it stays where it is now. the positive will only need to be moved if you find your fridge no longer gets 12v. You could also try and find where the fridge gets it feed and move it to the battery instead and then just leave the 7pin as is.
Yes if you want to have the full benefit of the heavier Anderson connection on your vehicle.
Yes you may need to for the fridge as above. But only the positive wire.
Edit: When i thought on this further there is a problem in hooking the original positive wire in the 7 pin to the anderson connector. The anderson plug could supply a lot more current than this wire was meant to take so if the original wire was to short out it could melt or worse. you will need to fit an inline fuse to this wire as it comes out of the anderson plug to be safe. If possible you would be best to just leave the 7pin as it is now and try to wire the fridge up as shown in my next post. Sorry if it is all gettin a bit confusing now...
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You will find there are a lot of different ways to get power through to the van. I show a few of the more common ways bellow but these are by no means the only way it can be done. I show the others here for reference only but the single anderson hook up is what you are looking at. I have also made an edit to my previous post on a possible issue with connecting the original 7pin wire to the anderson.
The first picture shows the two ways that are very common in a standard Jayco wire up. The top diagram is most often seen when a smaller fridge is fitted. The fridge gets it's power before the setec then power goes through the diode in the setec to the battery. The diode will block power coming coming back from the van battery. Unfortunately it will also cause a voltage drop of up to .6v . It is common to see this used with a 7pin trailer plug.
The bottom diagram is used if you have a larger fridge installed. It calls for a double run of suitable cable to be run from the vehicle. One for the fridge and one to charge the battery. This attempts to minimise voltage drop by spreading the load between the two cables and at the same time still use wires that will fit in a 12pin plug. You will need to run an earth cable that can handle both loads as well and you will still get the voltage drop through the diode. You will notice no fuse is shown in the fridge wire, as this is a dedicated line to the fridge a suitably sized fuse on the vehicle is all that is needed.
The next picture shows a common single hook up using anderson connectors instead of the trailer connector. Anderson connectors come in a range of sizes, 50 amp is most common for van use. These connectors will allow you to use much heavier cable (6 b&s ) which will give less voltage drop and supply a larger current. In this diagram the setec has been by-passed and the cable connects directly to the battery. This removes the voltage drop caused by the diode but means the fridge will be connected directly to the battery as well. This could allow the fridge to flatten the battery if left turned on 12v when the van is parked. To help prevent this you can fit a low voltage cutout relay or a movement cutout relay.You should also be aware that this provides a direct connection between your van battery and your vehicle. If your Vehicle Anderson plug is live all the time the van could drain the vehicle battery as well when the engine is off.
The next diagram shows the use of a dc-dc charger(a ctek in this case but there are many others available) While it will work there are a couple of things to consider. First you will have the voltage drop from the setec diode, while not world ending it will reduce the efectivness of the ctek. Lets face it the main reason for fitting a dc-dc charger is to maximise the charge to your battery so you don't want anything in the way if it can be avoided. The other issue is the fridge will be using a portion of your 20A available from the ctek. Even a small fridge will probably use near to 10A and while the fridge will certainly enjoy the extra volts available to it, it could impact on the ctek's ability to charge your battery. if the battery was very flat it may take a lot longer to recharge. If you have a large fridge it will be even worse.
The last picture shows two diagrams of the ctek in use while by-passing the setec. the top diagram is very similar to the previous one except we have now avoided the voltage drop from the diode. However We could still run into problems if a large fridge is used. In the bottom diagram the fridge takes it's power from the input side of the ctek and leaves the ctek's full 20A available to the battery. Note that the fridge will have direct access to the vehicle battery so you would need to have some form of isolation for when the vehicle is switched off. like the motion switch shown or maybe a relay fitted in the vehicle that goes off with the ignition.
The other thing we have learned in this thread is that the ctek unit (and some other voltage sensing devices) may not be a happy camper when it comes to some modern smart alternators. Add the extra bit of voltage drop you will get running back to your van and you may well need to use the Hack that ctek have provided to make it work. The ctek will need to see 13.1v before it will kick in and will then drop out if the supply drops below 12.8v . I think there may be a lot of people out there with the D250 fitted that may be in for a rude shock if it is ever called on to supply the full 20A.
The first picture shows the two ways that are very common in a standard Jayco wire up. The top diagram is most often seen when a smaller fridge is fitted. The fridge gets it's power before the setec then power goes through the diode in the setec to the battery. The diode will block power coming coming back from the van battery. Unfortunately it will also cause a voltage drop of up to .6v . It is common to see this used with a 7pin trailer plug.
The bottom diagram is used if you have a larger fridge installed. It calls for a double run of suitable cable to be run from the vehicle. One for the fridge and one to charge the battery. This attempts to minimise voltage drop by spreading the load between the two cables and at the same time still use wires that will fit in a 12pin plug. You will need to run an earth cable that can handle both loads as well and you will still get the voltage drop through the diode. You will notice no fuse is shown in the fridge wire, as this is a dedicated line to the fridge a suitably sized fuse on the vehicle is all that is needed.
The next picture shows a common single hook up using anderson connectors instead of the trailer connector. Anderson connectors come in a range of sizes, 50 amp is most common for van use. These connectors will allow you to use much heavier cable (6 b&s ) which will give less voltage drop and supply a larger current. In this diagram the setec has been by-passed and the cable connects directly to the battery. This removes the voltage drop caused by the diode but means the fridge will be connected directly to the battery as well. This could allow the fridge to flatten the battery if left turned on 12v when the van is parked. To help prevent this you can fit a low voltage cutout relay or a movement cutout relay.You should also be aware that this provides a direct connection between your van battery and your vehicle. If your Vehicle Anderson plug is live all the time the van could drain the vehicle battery as well when the engine is off.
The next diagram shows the use of a dc-dc charger(a ctek in this case but there are many others available) While it will work there are a couple of things to consider. First you will have the voltage drop from the setec diode, while not world ending it will reduce the efectivness of the ctek. Lets face it the main reason for fitting a dc-dc charger is to maximise the charge to your battery so you don't want anything in the way if it can be avoided. The other issue is the fridge will be using a portion of your 20A available from the ctek. Even a small fridge will probably use near to 10A and while the fridge will certainly enjoy the extra volts available to it, it could impact on the ctek's ability to charge your battery. if the battery was very flat it may take a lot longer to recharge. If you have a large fridge it will be even worse.
The last picture shows two diagrams of the ctek in use while by-passing the setec. the top diagram is very similar to the previous one except we have now avoided the voltage drop from the diode. However We could still run into problems if a large fridge is used. In the bottom diagram the fridge takes it's power from the input side of the ctek and leaves the ctek's full 20A available to the battery. Note that the fridge will have direct access to the vehicle battery so you would need to have some form of isolation for when the vehicle is switched off. like the motion switch shown or maybe a relay fitted in the vehicle that goes off with the ignition.
The other thing we have learned in this thread is that the ctek unit (and some other voltage sensing devices) may not be a happy camper when it comes to some modern smart alternators. Add the extra bit of voltage drop you will get running back to your van and you may well need to use the Hack that ctek have provided to make it work. The ctek will need to see 13.1v before it will kick in and will then drop out if the supply drops below 12.8v . I think there may be a lot of people out there with the D250 fitted that may be in for a rude shock if it is ever called on to supply the full 20A.
Hi Rodneyaf,
Plenty of people have given you some advise on the Anderson plug. I will tackle your other part of the problem, getting into the Setec unit, particularly the top so you can access the spare positions and replace the existing wires.. When I got my 17.56.1 I was surprised to find the Setec completely enclosed in a wooden box.. my previous Swan did not have this, so access was easy. I also found out that you could slide the unit out the front.. however after looking at this decided that is a pain to access.. so what I did was the following;
Accessing the wooden box under the seat, I removed my battery then removed the rear vent from the Setec unit. Then with a cordless screw driver with a light, reached into the inside the Setec and removed every screw I could find holding the wooden box in place. ( this was a little interesting to reach as it is a tight space to work in) There is also some screw on the outside of the box that need to be removed. Once I was able to move the box from its position (you need to work it along the cables that pass through a hole) I took to the lid with a rubber hammer until it comes off. It is only held in place with small nails. I then reassembled the box in place, minus the lid, around the Setec unit. As for the lid, I removed all the nails, and now it sits very nicely in place on top. I now have easy access to the top of the Setec unit any time, with out the mucking around pulling it out the front.
Some photos to help with the word description
I hope this helps.
Cheers
Daz
Plenty of people have given you some advise on the Anderson plug. I will tackle your other part of the problem, getting into the Setec unit, particularly the top so you can access the spare positions and replace the existing wires.. When I got my 17.56.1 I was surprised to find the Setec completely enclosed in a wooden box.. my previous Swan did not have this, so access was easy. I also found out that you could slide the unit out the front.. however after looking at this decided that is a pain to access.. so what I did was the following;
Accessing the wooden box under the seat, I removed my battery then removed the rear vent from the Setec unit. Then with a cordless screw driver with a light, reached into the inside the Setec and removed every screw I could find holding the wooden box in place. ( this was a little interesting to reach as it is a tight space to work in) There is also some screw on the outside of the box that need to be removed. Once I was able to move the box from its position (you need to work it along the cables that pass through a hole) I took to the lid with a rubber hammer until it comes off. It is only held in place with small nails. I then reassembled the box in place, minus the lid, around the Setec unit. As for the lid, I removed all the nails, and now it sits very nicely in place on top. I now have easy access to the top of the Setec unit any time, with out the mucking around pulling it out the front.
Some photos to help with the word description
I hope this helps.
Cheers
Daz
You will still need to have a fuse or circuit breaker fitted where your new wire connects to the van battery (as shown in the diagram in my previous post). The size of this fuse and the fuse fitted in your vehicle will be determined by the most vulnerable part of the circuit they are meant to protect. In your case this will be the cable from the 7 pin plug.
