Our solar charges our 3-8D house batteries in the absence of shore power or generator charging thru the inverter/charger or alternator charging. How are chassis batteries charged in the absence of shore, generator or alternator charging? Our inverter does not appear to be involved in charging other than when connected to shore or generator power.
If the Boost switch is on will solar charge chassis battery in the absence of shore, generator or alternator charging?
Thanks
Randy
Trik l Start
Amp l Start
Xantrax echo charger
I don't think they are all that reliable - so I have two Trips k L starts
a small number of solar charge controllers can charge two separate battery banks as well
Tim Fiedler
Sure Start Soft Start (http://www.gen-pro.biz)
TCER Direct (http://www.tcerdirect.com) generator-gas-prod (http://www.generatorgasproducts.com) 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro
Charge from solar cab be distributed via your isolator, connect the power to the center post. Of course you'll have the losses from it to deal with as well.
Or get a second zero voltage drop isolator like these Victron Argofet Battery Isolator (https://baymarinesupply.com/argo-fet-battery-isolator.html) and use it to distribute charge with almost no losses..
Yes, but I would not do that as a long term permanent solution. Reply number one has better options for you. Here is a way to wire one of them in the photo.
Thank you Dan for the picture, and Tim, why do you have two Trik L Start units, is one a spare or do you have them hooked up differently than the previous diagram?
Found this link usefull:
TRIK-L-START (http://www.beamalarm.com/Documents/trik-l-start.html)
I also notice the 5 amp Trik L Start appears only available at the mfg LSL Products / LSLProducts.com - Problem-Solving Gear & Gadgets (https://www.lslproducts.net/) and not available at some big retailers like Amazon and LSL Products TLS-OEM 5 Amp Starting Battery Charger (https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Ultra-Trik-L-Start-p/tls-oem.htm)
LSL Products AMP-L-START 15 Amp Starting Battery Charger (https://www.rvupgradestore.com/15-Amp-Starting-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-p/amp-l-start.htm)
For my needs the 5 amp, Trik L Start, unit will be more than adequate, if I add one. I just am not sure I need a combiner at all other than the FT manual switch at the drivers seat I have now. To avoid any parasitic draw, I am programmed to disconnect the ground switch I installed at the engine chassis battery I installed to protect their life. I also continually monitor both banks of batteries for their voltage.
no, I have two hooked up exactly as in the diagram
they are $55 a piece. they are my primary battery charger when in storage, and I can leave the coach unattended for 1-2 months at times. Unlikely both will fail, so one always working.
I also have a batteryminder 1500 across all three of the chassis batteries - legacy from pre-solar days when I was generally plugged in when in storage
Xantrax echo charger failed with Green LED on and cost me two sets of chassis batteries before I figured it out - Trik L Start good, but some have not had great longevity - so i went with two - and 1180 watts of solar on roof
Originally had half that amount of Solar and the first charge controller could charge two banks off the solar array - current larger one could not, so this was the low cost and easy solution for charging chassis batteries off solar AND having redundancy - didn't want $500 worth of batteries getting replaced (AGAIN!) because a $60 electric device failed.
Tim Fiedler
Sure Start Soft Start (http://www.gen-pro.biz)
TCER Direct (http://www.tcerdirect.com) generator-gas-prod (http://www.generatorgasproducts.com) 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro
Don't leave the boost switch on to solar charge your batteries. That's not what is was intended to do. It uses quite a bit of juice and gets hot while switched on and while it's rated continous duty, prolonged use/abuse is probably what causes so many solenoids to fail. The amount of juice the solenoid uses will mean fewer useable watts out of your solar. I just plug my jumper in and relax.
We have conventional batteries for the engine and AGMs for the coach. The jumper keeps both voltages perfect.
A latching solenoid could be installed as they don't use any juice while in operation. Foretravel's VW headlight latching relay for the water pump is an example of a latching relay. For a better explanation, see: http://www.omron-ap.com/service_support/FAQ/FAQ02822/index.asp
Pierce
I connected a very small solar panel that is designed for battery maintenance on my chassis batteries. I measured the voltage in full sun and was surprised that it is 20.1 volts. Will this damage my batteries. I am sure the amperage is very low. The solar panel is about 12" x 9".
Did you measure the voltage when it was connected to the batteries? Open circuit voltages are usually quite a bit higher than voltage under some load. My 24 volt panels can read close to 40 volts until you actually hook them up.
Roger, I will check again under load. Thanks
Ken,
You want your chassis batteries to be between 12.8 (fully charged, but charger not on) to a max of about 14 2 (short term/bulk charge rate). Float in the 13.2 range is best. You may need a controller if voltage is not in this range.
How is this different than the ignition solenoid which is always on when the key is on? Same type solenoid. I have never seen anything wrong with leaving the boost switch on except eventually the light bulb will burn out.
Help..
I purchased an old 1985 Oshkosh V917 chassis. I'm finding out about the issues at hand. It has 2 battery's for the chassis and 2 battery's for the living quarters.
Today I rolled under looking up and I find a battery box for two battery's that is empty. Another box over by the holding tanks. The ground cable was still present. The holding tank had 4 wires with 2 not connected. I'm wondering when new how many battery's did this unit have and what did they service? I hope someone can help me.
Also the solenoid on the chassis battery's is very hot to touch all the time. I'm just a shade tree mechanic but I think the solenoid is only to start the engine. This thing has some funny stuff going on the previous owner did some shoddy work.
Everything is fine as long as I ensure all circuits are OFF. That battery issue is where I need to start.
Hope someone can help.
Philip
Unless a special order the 85 oskosh v917 chassis had one 8d battery for the house and one 8d battery for the chassis. They were both under the floor as you step into the coach. So it looks like someone did some creative adding batteries. Looks like time to trace out where the wires are going. The boost solenoid was located under the floor where you step into the coach on the frame rail. The starter so0lenoid that sent power to the starter and its solenoid was mounted on the inside of the frame rail if I remember correctly on the passenger side of the vehicle. I don't remember which side of the coach the starter is on but the solenoid I mentioned is on the frame rail closest to the starter.