It is now a whole year since I started work on the van and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. I have finished my electrical scematic (see below) and I was confident enough to make a start on tackling the bulk of the electrics this week. The diagram shows how the system will work: The batteries are charged from a battery charger when main electricity is available, and by the engine when it is running. The 12v equipment is run straight from the batteries through a fusebox and the 230v stuff can be switched between a consumer unit or an inverter depending on whether mains electricity is available. Simple, right?
I had a couple of days free from my day job so I managed to progress quite far with fitting all the electric gear. It looks a bit messy in such a confined space but I think everything so far is set up well and pretty secure.
I had a couple of days free from my day job so I managed to progress quite far with fitting all the electric gear. It looks a bit messy in such a confined space but I think everything so far is set up well and pretty secure.
The cable from the leisure batteries has been connected to a 100A relay which will supply power from the alternator. This is then attached to the batteries via another 80A midi fuse. The relay is triggered by a 30A smartcom unit which detects the current from the vehicle battery and only allows the relay to charge the leisure batteries when the vehicle battery is fully topped up.
The power coming from the leisure batteries goes to an isolator switch which will then go to the fuse box. This allows me to turn all the power on and off in one go. Another isolator switch is fitted to the 400W inverter unit. The inverter produces a mains voltage from the 12v it receives from the leisure batteries. As a result though, it is very inefficient and will drain the batteries quickly (it produces 400w no matter what, if anything, is plugged in). This switch allows me to turn the inverter on and off as required.
As well as the isolator switches, I wanted to be able to check the condition of the leisure batteries without lifting the front passenger seats. I therefore cut a section out of the frame and fitted a display gauge in place with caphead bolts.
In retrospect, I would have bought a more accurate digital display rather than a simple green-to-red scale.
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