![]() ![]() No Emergency Backup | A split charge relay doesn’t allow the starter battery and house batteries to be combined without adapting the wiring setup (more on that below). This can lead to voltage drops so charging the batteries becomes less efficient. Wear & Tear | The component contains moving parts so over time, these can wear. This could affect your warranty so check before going down this route.ĭepending on your vehicle, the alternator isn’t always easy to get to and can be a bit fiddly, making installation more tricky. Installation | Because a split charge relay is wired to the alternator, fitting involves tapping into the vehicle’s factory wiring. With less things to go wrong, they’re pretty reliable. Simple construction | Because it’s simple, a split charge relay doesn’t have many component parts. #Camper battery isolator relay wiring manual#Inexpensive | Split charge relays cost about the same as manual switches and about as easy to buy anywhere in the world too.Īutomatic | No need to worry about remembering to switch this device on and off. Or realise you forgot to switch it off when you attempt to start the engine 5 days later and it won’t start. You remember to switch it on at the end of a very long drive. Manual | Because it’s a manual switch, this method depends on you remembering to switch it on when you begin to drive and off when you park. This isn’t good for the health of a leisure battery bank but in the case of an emergency, it’s a good fallback option. Hook up Starter Battery Charging | With the camper connected to a campground’s hookup facility, keeping the manual switch on allows the starter battery to be recharged too.Ĭonvenient Emergency Backup | In the event of a flat starter battery, if necessary, switching on the isolator will allow you to start the engine from the leisure batteries. Simple & Robust | There’s often a tendency to favour more complex solutions but the simplicity of a manual switch means it’s less likely to fail.Īvailability of heavy duty switches isn’t a problem either so it doesn’t matter where in the world you travel, you can probably find a replacement easily. Inexpensive | Heavy duty manual switches are budget friendly Note Too | It’s best to charge lithium-ion batteries with a battery-to-battery charger, rather than a split charge relay, preferably one recommend by the battery manufacturers. If your vehicle has a smart alternator, you need a battery-to-battery charger instead of a split charge device. Once the starter battery is suitably charged, the output voltage drops to a level too low to charge the leisure battery. Their output voltage is controlled by the engine’s control unit. Note | Most modern Euro 5 and 6 vehicles have factory fitted “smart” alternators. What follows is an overview of how each device works, a basic wiring diagram for each, their pros and cons and recommended products. ![]() There are several methods and split charging devices to allow the vehicle’s alternator to charge the entire battery setup. If you rely solely on driving to charge the leisure batteries, with no solar or frequent hookup to bring them upto 100% charge, we recommend installing a battery to battery charger instead. Read our post on campervan batteries for more information but this basically means split charging methods won’t ever fully recharge the leisure batteries but will top them up to 80-85%. This means they only provide a bulk single charge to the battery. Otherwise you may not be able to start the van.Ī split charging system has no battery monitoring system in-built. Switched off, they isolate the starter battery from the leisure batteries so you don’t drain it with your campervan appliances.Switched on, they allow power to pass through the relay to charge the leisure batteries. ![]() Though they all work in a slightly different way, the basic principle is the same. There are different types of split charge methods which we’ll come on to below. ![]() A split charge relay is a device connecting the starter battery and the camper’s house batteries together. ![]()
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5/1/2024 07:39:23 am
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