Electrical What is going on in this pic battery wise?

[nsfw]

Hi I just got a second hand expanda 2007 16.49.3.

Im just trying to work out what is going on here battery/charging wise.

It's got a setec st35-ll. The van is currently hooked up to 240v. It's got a 100ah agm battery in it also.

The light switch is marked with a sticker that says "water" on it but I suspect that is actually the battery switch. Is that right?

Also, what is the switch on the top right with the red led illuminated? When I flick it down the red light goes off.

Any help is much appreciated. Cheers!

 

[Drover]

Better picture would help......................
The large light switch could be battery, turn 240 off, turn light on, turn switch off, light goes off it's the battery switch, light stays on it's not.

Black Switch with light is a mystery you will have to turn it on and off to see what happens.

I would be fitting covers to those switches as they will get knocked on by brooms and feet, especially the HWS switch, stupid spot to have it............

Welcome to the mob and look around there's heaps to see.

 

[Johnanbev]

Better picture would help......................
The large light switch could be battery, turn 240 off, turn light on, turn switch off, light goes off it's the battery switch, light stays on it's not.

Black Switch with light is a mystery you will have to turn it on and off to see what happens.

I would be fitting covers to those switches as they will get knocked on by brooms and feet, especially the HWS switch, stupid spot to have it............

Welcome to the mob and look around there's heaps to see.

@nsfw, @Drover My van was built in October 2016, took delivery Nov 2016, Jayco installed the battery during build so it would be included in the tare mass. I have just recently had a detailed look at their workmanship, see pic below and spot the obvious fault.

I had a few spare minutes this afternoon (retirememnt is very busy) and made afew changes, second picture. The 2.5mm *Try posting a bit more so your post isn't boring* AC electric light paralelling wire has to be changed yet as it obviously will not conduct enough amperage for the anderson wiring.
P.S. I do know that the anderson system does not go through the shunt! tis is deliberate.
John

 

[Johnanbev]

@nsfw, @Drover My van was built in October 2016, took delivery Nov 2016, Jayco installed the battery during build so it would be included in the tare mass. I have just recently had a detailed look at their workmanship, see pic below and spot the obvious fault.

I had a few spare minutes this afternoon (retirememnt is very busy) and made afew changes, second picture. The 2.5mm *Try posting a bit more so your post isn't boring* AC electric light paralelling wire has to be changed yet as it obviously will not conduct enough amperage for the anderson wiring.
P.S. I do know that the anderson system does not go through the shunt! tis is deliberate.
JohnView attachment 50132 View attachment 50132


View attachment 50131

Bottom pic is Jayco, top two pics are after my go at it!
John

 

[Drover]

Thats a vast improvement but I don't think it's quite right yet..........a dedicated cable should run from one batteries POS to the other POS and the same with the NEG from one battery to the other, now power to the van or from solar panel NEG should all connect to one batteries NEG terminal and the POS from Van/solar from the other battery POS terminal which should leave you with a POS on one battery with only one cable connected and the same for the NEG on the other battery.......................does that sound right ????...I think so...........The current set up you wouldn't be drawing equally from either battery....

Also the cables connecting both batteries should be bigger than what is being used just to cut out any loss.

 

[Johnanbev]

Thats a vast improvement but I don't think it's quite right yet..........a dedicated cable should run from one batteries POS to the other POS and the same with the NEG from one battery to the other, now power to the van or from solar panel NEG should all connect to one batteries NEG terminal and the POS from Van/solar from the other battery POS terminal which should leave you with a POS on one battery with only one cable connected and the same for the NEG on the other battery.......................does that sound right ????...I think so...........The current set up you wouldn't be drawing equally from either battery....

Also the cables connecting both batteries should be bigger than what is being used just to cut out any loss.

@Drover That is the way I have configured it, the rat nest in the top two pics, which are the same as I hit the copy send button twice, show the paralell cable in the front, white thin cable, it connects pos to pos and neg to neg, the anderson cable pos is to the RH Batt. and neg to the LH Batt.
All the negs except the anderson cable go through the shunt, which I have moved from the LH Batt to the RH Batt.
The converter and solar go to the LH pos and the negs. to the shunt.Caravan feed is from LH pos and RH neg..
The bottom pic is the way Jayco had it, all the pos and neg atached to the LH Batt, with the lightweight cable for the paralell and the Anderson pos on the RH BAtt and neg on teh LH Batt. Don't think I need to change the Anderson feed.
I am going to install a 50 Amp paralell next week, that sshould fix the whole mess.
What say you?
John

 

[Drover]

Yep that should do it, though I was getting lost trying to track the wires, I would run the anderson from the same terminals as the rest but the NEG straight to the terminal not thru the shunt, otherwise you will upset the batteries/charging regime.........someone will provide a technical reason of why you shouldn't.
That original set up just shows that you have to check everything and not rely on any QC with these builds. If this sort of thing gets thru the Final build check, gets thru a pre-delivery check then why the hell would you entrust them to fix anything in warranty.........rant over.....

 

[Boots in Action]

Yep that should do it, though I was getting lost trying to track the wires, I would run the anderson from the same terminals as the rest but the NEG straight to the terminal not thru the shunt, otherwise you will upset the batteries/charging regime.........someone will provide a technical reason of why you shouldn't.
That original set up just shows that you have to check everything and not rely on any QC with these builds. If this sort of thing gets thru the Final build check, gets thru a pre-delivery check then why the hell would you entrust them to fix anything in warranty.........rant over.....

Rant warranted with that mess!!!

 

[Boots in Action]

Yep that should do it, though I was getting lost trying to track the wires, I would run the anderson from the same terminals as the rest but the NEG straight to the terminal not thru the shunt, otherwise you will upset the batteries/charging regime.........someone will provide a technical reason of why you shouldn't.
That original set up just shows that you have to check everything and not rely on any QC with these builds. If this sort of thing gets thru the Final build check, gets thru a pre-delivery check then why the hell would you entrust them to fix anything in warranty.........rant over.....

@Drover , is the shunt on the neg line to increase resistance/limit voltage to/from all accessories when battery is being charged???
@mikerezny , can you spread some light on this set up??? Fortunately, I do not have to worry about things like this with my simple little Penguin. All my outputs for accessories are through separately fused circuits and all those are additionally protected by a 20 amp fuse between battery and fuse distribution box.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

@Drover , is the shunt on the neg line to increase resistance/limit voltage to/from all accessories when battery is being charged???
@mikerezny , can you spread some light on this set up??? Fortunately, I do not have to worry about things like this with my simple little Penguin. All my outputs for accessories are through separately fused circuits and all those are additionally protected by a 20 amp fuse between battery and fuse distribution box.

The shunt is used to allow the drifter control panel to measure the current going into and out of the batteries.

All load and supply should pass through it to ensure the drifter is showing the correct current

 

[Boots in Action]

The shunt is used to allow the drifter control panel to measure the current going into and out of the batteries.

All load and supply should pass through it to ensure the drifter is showing the correct current

Thanks @Bellbirdweb for that info. So it is really the shunt to work the ammeter and show current flow in real time, and nothing more.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Thanks @Bellbirdweb for that info. So it is really the shunt to work the ammeter and show current flow in real time, and nothing more.

Yep, the shunt allows the current flowing through it to be measured

 

[nsfw]

Better picture would help......................
The large light switch could be battery, turn 240 off, turn light on, turn switch off, light goes off it's the battery switch, light stays on it's not.

Black Switch with light is a mystery you will have to turn it on and off to see what happens.

I would be fitting covers to those switches as they will get knocked on by brooms and feet, especially the HWS switch, stupid spot to have it............

Welcome to the mob and look around there's heaps to see.

Thanks mate. It's our first expanda after wanting one for years, the three little tackers should fit in a little better than our last van (1986 Jayco pop top).

I can't get the lights to stay on at all without the 240v connected so I can't really say if that light switch is the battery on/off or if the battery is dead from the previous owner (or other problem for that matter).

The little black switch with the red led I can't see it doing anything in either the on or off position.

I'll look into all these things as time permits.

 

[Drover]

I don't have anything other than a digital voltmeter in the van to show what happening, I was thinking if you connect the Anderson direct to terminal then if you use it for a portable panel it's a direct connection, less loss or if running a compressor off it no chance of a hot spot..........................

 

[Johnanbev]

I don't have anything other than a digital voltmeter in the van to show what happening, I was thinking if you connect the Anderson direct to terminal then if you use it for a portable panel it's a direct connection, less loss or if running a compressor off it no chance of a hot spot..........................

Agreed, just no input through the drifter panel.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I don't have anything other than a digital voltmeter in the van to show what happening, I was thinking if you connect the Anderson direct to terminal then if you use it for a portable panel it's a direct connection, less loss or if running a compressor off it no chance of a hot spot..........................

I run my solar through the shunt, but the Anderson connects directly to the battery, so if I do plug a portable panel in the drifter won't know about it.

Probably unlikely I'll ever need to as I've never run out of solar with the 2x120w on the roof

 

[Drover]

I wasn't thinking so much about the Drifter but if you plug something like a compressor into the Anderson they draw such a heap of juice the shunt would probably cause a bit of resistance.....................

 

[Drover]

Thanks mate. It's our first expanda after wanting one for years, the three little tackers should fit in a little better than our last van (1986 Jayco pop top).

I can't get the lights to stay on at all without the 240v connected so I can't really say if that light switch is the battery on/off or if the battery is dead from the previous owner (or other problem for that matter).

The little black switch with the red led I can't see it doing anything in either the on or off position.

I'll look into all these things as time permits.

Gee, sorry @nsfw I missed your post while we slightly wandered off the OP, sounds like you need a multimeter to track down things, the mystery switch could be many things fan for fridge is one thought. As for the battery there should be a fuse in the line near battery or it could be like my old Panda and the wire had fell out from the back of the switch if you do start looking around unplug the 240 before you do.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I wasn't thinking so much about the Drifter but if you plug something like a compressor into the Anderson they draw such a heap of juice the shunt would probably cause a bit of resistance.....................

Ahh, yeah I agree with that. If you are pulling a big load via the Anderson it would be best for a direct connection as well.

 

[Dobbie]

I wasn't thinking so much about the Drifter but if you plug something like a compressor into the Anderson they draw such a heap of juice the shunt would probably cause a bit of resistance.....................

and it blows the inline fuse ......I know....I did it this morning

There's so much sun in central Qld at the moment I decided I needed to use some of my battery power and put some air into the tyres. Batteries are up to 13.4 every morning by 10am with 240w of solar......and it's hot every day!

Fortunately I carried a spare fuse.

We're now using the Projecta system for all power and the battery gauge seems to reflect any solar contribution easily. I wasn't aware the drifter ignored solar input.

Re @nsfw question....could the switch be for something like an inverter which might have been installed previously, then removed?