renault holdsworth romance - help wtd fitting Leisure battery?

[Guest S Taylor]

Hi! Does anyone out there know how best we should fit an extra battery to our campervan? It's a 1989 Renault Trafi 1.7 pop-top Romance Holdsworth model with one battery in the engine compartment. We have something called a ZIG unit in the back, don't even know what this is yet! We also have electrics to the towbar. Can some knowledgeable soul please get in touch and give us the benefit of some of your infinite wisdom on how we go from here, also anyone who also has one of these pretty good little starter vans, do get in touch and share your expertise on the van if you have time and will! It will be very much appreciated, and we will owe you a favour for life... :-)

[Guest Frank Gordon]

Regarding obtaining information on your vehicle, there are two motorhome clubs that you might consider: 1. Holdsworth Owners Club (Secretary: K Way, 16 Cherrytree Rd, Seaview, Isle of Wight, PO34 5JF tel: 01983 613657 email: kerrywall@nettletone657.fsnet.co.uk) 2. Renault Trafic Motorhome Register (Frank Todd, 12 Ingleton Rd, Brrokfield, Preston, PR2 6UJ web: www.rtmr.org) The complexity of adding a leisure-battery will depend on the 12V system currently fitted. Under the bonnet, I would anticipate you would need to fit a split-charge relay and related wiring to permit the vehicle's alternator to charge both batteries while the vehicle is being driven. You would also need to modify the wiring relating to the 12V control-panel so that the new leisure-battery provides it with 12V power instead of the present engine-battery. (UK motorcaravanners sometimes refer to a 12V control-panel as a zig-unit, rather like people tend to use the word "hoover" for a vacuum-cleaner. "Zig" is actually the trade-name of a small UK company that, historically, made many such control-panels. Using zig-unit in this way can be confusing as it's sometimes impossible to know if the term is being applied generically to any old control-panel or whether the control-panel in question has really been manufactured by "Zig". However, given that your Holdsworth is 1989 vintage, it's quite likely that its zig-unit is, in fact, a "Zig"-unit. Here endeth the lesson!) Has your Holdsworth got a battery-charger/transformer that can be connected to a camp-site 230V hook-up point? If so, then you would probably want to modify the charger's output wiring so that the leisure-battery can be charged via the mains. My infinite wisdom tells me that by far the best way forward would be for you to invest £15-odd in John Wickersham's recently revised "The Motorcaravan Manual" (Haynes Publishing). This contains a chapter on electrical systems including sample wiring-diagrams: also chapters on gas-systems, water-systems, fridges, toilets, etc. etc. Every motorcaravanner - novice or expert - should own a copy of this book.