Battery Master: Can I use the solar output 12v wires rather than the relay?

[Kannon Fodda]

Autotrail V-Line has it's wiring scattered all around the PVC: Motor battery front passenger well, fuses behind driver's floor, Sargent EC176 PSU Controller thingy under the rear offside bench seat and leisure battery under the rear nearside bench seat. Then there is a solar controller in the offside overhead rear internal storage locker along with a rocker switch so you can select solar charging of the leisure or motor battery.

The Vanbitz Battery Master instructions say to find the split charge relay (I assume that is part of the Sagent EC176) and make connections at the relay. Without dismantling a lot of stuff, around and under the bench seat I'm not going to get at the connections into that PSU Controller.

Autotrail's wiring diagram, in their handbook, unhelpfully labelled for their Tribute PVC rather than v-line and with an EC155 PSU, shows the 12v solar output controller output wiring go through the PSU. I can get at the solar controller and the leisure/motor switch fairly easily. I can easily identify and get to the Brown/Blue trace (leisure battery positive), Brown/Green trace (motor battery positive) and White / orange trace (common negative) in that space. I can use some of the connections of the manual solar leisure or motor switching for an easy solution. I could even remove that switch as once the Battery Master is fitted I'd just leave the solar on the leisure all the time with the Battery Master trickle charging the motor from the leisure so I'll never worry about forgetting to flick the switching again?

Any reason why I can't mount the Battery Master next to the solar controller? A quick check and I seem to be getting the green LED on the Battery Master showing (everything is I believe more or less fully charges as it's all been sat idle for weeks on solar and the only drain would be the alarm. The only thing I have noted is that as I temporarily pushed the Battery Master connections into place, it triggered the cab radio to start up.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

You just need to run one wire to earth and one to the positive on the starter battery and connect to your leisure battery. Job done. No switching required all automatic once the leisure natts are charged the battery master will allow a trickle charge to the starter.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Thanks removing the need for the solar switching will be a real bonus.

Running new wires between the two batteries is the simplest electrical solution. But doing so in my PVC would be a real PITA trying to find a route under flooring or behind different panels since the motor and leisure batteries are at either end of the vehicle. That's why I'm trying to find an easy accessible place to break into the existing wiring circuits. The solar controller, despite being remote from a lot of other stuff, seems a likely spot. I'm just wanting to know of any reason why I shouldn't put the Battery Master so far away from either the batteries or the split charge relay PSU Sargent controller thingy.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

I just clipped mine to the wiring harness under the van that ran from my leisure controller to the starter battery. Easy to follow, used thin plastic ties. Used existing holes/grommets.