DC to DC charger question

[markopolo]

The charge lamp / 14.6V issue is puzzling. It's not that high of an automotive voltage IMO and I'd would have assumed that it's within what that vintage Ford is OK with. I could be wrong though. I wonder if the integration of the Intellitec "Single Disconnect Battery Control Center" could cause it? I could imagine that device triggering a voltage warning. I don't fully understand the level of integration between the BCC & Ford electronics and if it could light the lamp though.........

BCC.JPG

Is the 420Ah house battery capacity original to the coach or a modification by you?

I'd be very tempted to leave the "Single Disconnect Battery Control Center" in place so as to retain all of the advanced features such as auxiliary start and ignition power switching (maybe radio on & step disable etc.) Resale of the RV is a consideration.

Lower wattage DC_DC in Parallel maybe? The amp load output of the alternator wouldn't necessarily be increased as the higher voltage line would be what dominates I'd assume ............... Thoughts?

[eric1514]

A related question:

If my solar panels are supplying 15 amps to the house batteries at 14.6v and the alternator is supplying 5 amps at 13.4v, are the alternator amps really helping to charge the house batteries? Am I going to see 20amps going to the batteries or are the alternator amps mostly ignored because of the lower voltage?

TIA, Eric

[eric1514]

Originally Posted by markopolo

The charge lamp / 14.6V issue is puzzling. It's not that high of an automotive voltage IMO and I'd would have assumed that it's within what that vintage Ford is OK with. I could be wrong though. I wonder if the integration of the Intellitec "Single Disconnect Battery Control Center" could cause it? I could imagine that device triggering a voltage warning. I don't fully understand the level of integration between the BCC & Ford electronics and if it could light the lamp though.........

Attachment 11851

Is the 420Ah house battery capacity original to the coach or a modification by you?

I'd be very tempted to leave the "Single Disconnect Battery Control Center" in place so as to retain all of the advanced features such as auxiliary start and ignition power switching (maybe radio on & step disable etc.) Resale of the RV is a consideration.

Lower wattage DC_DC in Parallel maybe? The amp load output of the alternator wouldn't necessarily be increased as the higher voltage line would be what dominates I'd assume ............... Thoughts?

The 420ah is me.

What I think is happening is that the 14.6v in and of itself is not too high. Rather, I think the PCM which is controlling everything is telling the alternator to supply a certain voltage to the starting battery but it's reading a different voltage than requested because of the solar setup and is throwing a fault because it thinks the alternator or the voltage regulator is not working.

[eric1514]

Originally Posted by markopolo

The charge lamp / 14.6V issue is puzzling. It's not that high of an automotive voltage IMO and I'd would have assumed that it's within what that vintage Ford is OK with. I could be wrong though. I wonder if the integration of the Intellitec "Single Disconnect Battery Control Center" could cause it? I could imagine that device triggering a voltage warning. I don't fully understand the level of integration between the BCC & Ford electronics and if it could light the lamp though.........

Attachment 11851

Is the 420Ah house battery capacity original to the coach or a modification by you?

I'd be very tempted to leave the "Single Disconnect Battery Control Center" in place so as to retain all of the advanced features such as auxiliary start and ignition power switching (maybe radio on & step disable etc.) Resale of the RV is a consideration.

Lower wattage DC_DC in Parallel maybe? The amp load output of the alternator wouldn't necessarily be increased as the higher voltage line would be what dominates I'd assume ............... Thoughts?

I think it would be very easy to just replace the bottom canister in your picture with a b2b charger and leave everything else intact.

[markopolo]

Just thought a bit more about it. Parallel wouldn't work.... creates a loop

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Just thought a bit more about it. Parallel wouldn't work.... creates a loop

I was also thinking of ways the bypass i suggested wouldn't work and if it was automatic charge relay from the battery side it would turn on when the B to B came on. That means a bypass would need to be manual or controlled by the engine running to close it. I think you could probably use a relay with the the ignition interrupt in put.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by @Michael

That's what I did. A Victron B2B to charge the house battery from the chassis, and and a trik-l/amp-l start to charge the chassis battery from the house. They are wired back-to-back.

Did you use a trik-l-start + amp-l-start or just an amp-l-start?

House battery --> trik-l-start --> chassis battery --> B2B --> House battery .............

How did you avoid a loop? Manual switch(es)? Amp-l-start's higher on/off voltage trigger? Victron's on voltage?

[@Michael]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Did you use a trik-l-start + amp-l-start or just an amp-l-start?

House battery --> trik-l-start --> chassis battery --> B2B --> House battery .............

How did you avoid a loop? Manual switch(es)? Amp-l-start's higher on/off voltage trigger? Victron's on voltage?

An Amp-l-start back to back with a Victron Orion Smart B2B. Wired directly, no manual switches. The trigger voltages on the two devices don't overlap, so there is no loop.


House battery --> amp-l-start --> chassis battery --> B2B --> House batte