ZIG UNIT charging "car" battery while hooked up? (1 Viewer)

[hayabusabart]

Hi all. Newbie here. Not long purchased an old Elddis Autoking 570. Needed a fair bit of sorting out one of which was the old failed Zig unit which I have successfully replaced with a ZIG CF9 unit. Everything works fine.

The question is.. Does the ZIG unit charge the "car" battery while its hooked up to 240v?

I know that is maintains a charge to the leisure battery and provides 12v through the transformer but puzzled if its "topping up" the car battery too?

absolutely nothing mentioned in the fitting and use instructions I downloaded..

 

[Phill D]

hi and welcome.

i believe the unit is capable of that but it rather depends if you have the wirring in place.

extract from O'Leary motorhomes

Zig CF9 Charging System
Charging and Distribution System for Caravans, all Recreational Vehicles and Boats, with 230V and 12V outputs for refrigerator. Features: Automatic charging control, Mains battery charging up to 12 Amps, Charging from vehicle or boat generator, Mains to 12V conversion - up to 4.5 Amps continuous, Switched selection of source, car/boat or auxiliary battery, Multiple safety protection devices. Designed for use with 60Ah or greater leisure battery or batteries permanently in circuit. Full fitting and usage instructions supplied. Screw terminal connections at rear. Dimensions: Panel 293 x 105mm, Case 275 x 75 x 150 deep approx. Suitable trip box available in the Electrical System category. Please Note: It is strongly recommended that the refrigerator is wired to operate only while the engine is running. The use of a relay such as Zig RM12 is recommended.

 

[scotjimland]

Further to the previous post.. a wiring diagram showing the connection and wiring to charge the 'starter' battery


Broken Link Removed

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[Moodybrook]

A simpler diagram of Scot Jims, maybe easier to visualise.

http://www.motts.dsl.pipex.com/BRIDGING FUSE.htm

I have just installed this system but instead of the removable fuse I got from China a 12V autotrip switch, like an MCB.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/12v-circuit-breaker

Should I forget to switch it off before starting the veh engine, it should "trip". It then is a press button to reset.

 

[hayabusabart]

Further to the previous post.. a wiring diagram showing the connection and wiring to charge the 'starter' battery


Broken Link Removed

Brilliant! thanks for the useful info there.. will check vehicle / alternator wiring tomorrow.. if it ever stops raining

 

[hayabusabart]

Studying the circuit I can see that relays 1 & 2 allow 12v (from the alternator while on-the-move) direct to the leisure battery as well as the fridge, while the engine is running. Once engine is off they both automatically go open circuit (as shown in ScottJim's drawing).

I can see why now.. if left on then the fridge would drain the "starter" battery in a couple of hours

Brill I can see it now and how it all works from the alternator while travelling.. trouble is nothing yet has answered my original question which was..

Does the ZIG unit provide a charge to the "starter" battery when hooked up to 240vAC on site?

sorry for being a pain folks...

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[TheBig1]

on the control panel you will find a 3 position switch that selects Leisure battery, centre off or van battery. if you select van battery you will use power from the vehicle battery but while on electric hookup (plugged in) it will also charge at 4.5amps. likewise switch to leisure to charge and use the leisure battery. if the switch is in the middle off position neither battery gets charged

bear in mind that the zig chargers and panels were mainly designed for caravans, you may have a logo of a car for the vehicle battery and a caravan for the leisure battery

 

[hayabusabart]

I think I have just answered my own question.. the answer is a deffo NO

The bridging fuse (or the "trip" device as also suggested) allows the "starter" battery to "share" the charge input from any external source (240v hook up / solar panels input etc) via the ZIG unit .. while being laid up..

what do you reckon?

 

[Moodybrook]

Yup thats it .

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[Burky]

Hi just joined today reading through this page people have lots of information that I am trying to learn as I am looking to learn about all the electrics on a caravan ,Demountable and Camper Van for example: PC100 control System in kits Leisure battery and engine battery how the are wired and how they switch over
as this is my first post I hope someone will guild me. Burky

 

[DavidG58]

Hi just joined today reading through this page people have lots of information that I am trying to learn as I am looking to learn about all the electrics on a caravan ,Demountable and Camper Van for example: PC100 control System in kits Leisure battery and engine battery how the are wired and how they switch over
as this is my first post I hope someone will guild me. Burky

Hello Burky I tracked down your post you referred to in another thread

The problem is you opened an old unrelated thread hence the lack of replies

However it is also a huge question, nobody will actually have an answer without looking at how it has been wired, it is not a standard build that somebody else is likely to have seen before

 

[Emmit]

From a purely practical point of view, would it make any difference whether the automatic version of the fused circuit breaker was 20amp as opposed to Clives 'Self made' 10amp fused system. I have had this set up in mind for some time but baulked up to now.

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[Burky]

hi every one thanks for your response, as I am still trying to use these resources....and have picked up info from..
hayabusabart, Phill D, Scotjimland,Moodybrook and The Big 1 all Funster This is the kind of information I am after.
as I am new I don' now who will receive this (send ) Burky