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Blasting batteries with solar wow All that power


Colin1325

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Hi all thanx dor all your help in previous posts ,,,, I got Solar working got so much power I’ll have to find a use for it,,??? Under my drivers seat just found 2 not 1 batteries so shame to wate all that extra power how can / do I go about charging both of those batteries as well ..... phew
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I don’t think you’ve ever said what make and model of motorhome you own (though I understand that it is 2002 vintage).

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/ALL-FORUM-MEMBERS-PLEASE-READ/47195/

 

If the two batteries beneath your motorhome’s driver’s-seat are both ‘leiisure batteries’, it’s reasonable to assume that they are already parallel-connected together and, if you’ve connected your solar-panel system to one of those batteries, the system will (probably) now be charging both batteries.

 

But if your motorhome happened to be Ford Transit-based and had Ford’s unusual ‘starter + auxiliary’ battery arrangement that had both of those batteries housed beneath the driver’s seat, that could complicate matters.

 

(As you’ve only now realised that there are two batteries beneath the driver’s-seat, if the electrolyte of either of those batteries can be topped up, before you blast them with solar power I suggest you check their electrolyte-level.)

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Derek Uzzell - 2019-07-17 9:07 AM

 

I don’t think you’ve ever said what make and model of motorhome you own (though I understand that it is 2002 vintage).

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/ALL-FORUM-MEMBERS-PLEASE-READ/47195/

 

If the two batteries beneath your motorhome’s driver’s-seat are both ‘leiisure batteries’, it’s reasonable to assume that they are already parallel-connected together and, if you’ve connected your solar-panel system to one of those batteries, the system will (probably) now be charging both batteries.

 

But if your motorhome happened to be Ford Transit-based and had Ford’s unusual ‘starter + auxiliary’ battery arrangement that had both of those batteries housed beneath the driver’s seat, that could complicate matters.

 

(As you’ve only now realised that there are two batteries beneath the driver’s-seat, if the electrolyte of either of those batteries can be topped up, before you blast them with solar power I suggest you check their electrolyte-level.)

Hi we have 2002 ford buccaneer comadore 23000 on the clock

I have 2 leisure batteries under the bed which are being charged by th newly installed solar power ,,,the 2 under the driver,s seat are starting batteries I take it ...just wondered can I charge these 2 batteries also with the solar power colin

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I fitted one of these to ours (bought via Roadpro);

 

https://votronic.de/index.php/en/products2/solar-technology/charging-controllers/standard-version-mpp/mpp-350-duo-dig

 

It has connections to trickle charge the starter battery and also to feed the AES fridge on 12 volt when it senses there is plenty of power available. It runs the fridge for about 30 minutes, before then recharging the habitation batteries. I frequently find our fridge is running off the solar panels instead of gas on a sunny day, when not on mains hook up.

The only downside is that if we have the sat TV on when the device puts power into the fridge, the sat TV assumes the engine has come on and folds the dish down! But its not often we're watching TV on a sunny day.

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Colin

 

When the Herald motorhome manufacturer went bust, the Herald name was purchased by Explorer Group that continued to build ‘Heralds’ based on the Ford Transit Mk 5 until Year 2000. This was when the Transit Mk 6 was introduced and it was understood that Explorer Group would build motorhomes on that chassis under the “Compass” brand-name, with the models named “Commodore” and “Caravel”. However, when these designs appeared, they bore the “Buccaneer” badge.

 

It’s well known (and has been discussed here) that the Transit Mk 7 (that was introduced in 2006) could have two batteries as standard under the drivers-seat, with one battery dedicated to powering auxiliaries and the other maintaining its charge-state for starting the vehicle. I’m not sure, though, whether this arrangement was offered on Transit Mk 6 vehicles (like yours).

 

It’s possible that your motorhome has the ‘starter + auxiliary’ battery set-up, in which case there MAY be implications regarding how you connect to your solar-panel system. Alternatively, your motorhome may have had a single starter-battery to begin and the second battery was added by a previous owner. In the latter case, there should be no obvious problems connecting the batteries to the solar system.

 

 

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Derek Uzzell - 2019-07-18 3:10 PM

 

Colin

 

When the Herald motorhome manufacturer went bust, the Herald name was purchased by Explorer Group that continued to build ‘Heralds’ based on the Ford Transit Mk 5 until Year 2000. This was when the Transit Mk 6 was introduced and it was understood that Explorer Group would build motorhomes on that chassis under the “Compass” brand-name, with the models named “Commodore” and “Caravel”. However, when these designs appeared, they bore the “Buccaneer” badge.

 

It’s well known (and has been discussed here) that the Transit Mk 7 (that was introduced in 2006) could have two batteries as standard under the drivers-seat, with one battery dedicated to powering auxiliaries and the other maintaining its charge-state for starting the vehicle. I’m not sure, though, whether this arrangement was offered on Transit Mk 6 vehicles (like yours).

 

It’s possible that your motorhome has the ‘starter + auxiliary’ battery set-up, in which case there MAY be implications regarding how you connect to your solar-panel system. Alternatively, your motorhome may have had a single starter-battery to begin and the second battery was added by a previous owner. In the latter case, there should be no obvious problems connecting the batteries to the solar system.

 

hi not sure but I know that the one s under my seat are only showing 12.2 and previous owner told me that he had fitted a new starter battery a mate I know has said the same as u regards one for staring the other for auxiliary
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I’ve browsed through the Ford Transit Forum and ‘received wisdom’ seems to be that the starter + auxiliary battery arangement was fitted to Mk 7 Transits (normally those having rear-wheel drive and the 2.4litre motor).

 

The advice is that, when the ignition is OFF, the starter and auxiliary batteries are separated by a split-charge relay so that equipment like interior lights, radio, etc. can be powered from the auxiliary battery without the starter-battery being discharged and eventually being unable to start the vehicle’s engine. When the ignition is ON and the vehicle’s engine is running, the starter and auxiliary batteries both get charged by the vehicle’s alternator.

 

It’s also said on that forum that MK 6 Transits (like yours) could also have two batteries as standard under the driver’s-seat. But those batteries were just parallel-connected together to provide increased capacity in the same way that your two leisure-batteries are parallel-connected.

 

I would have thought it would be easy enough to identify which ‘2 battery’ system your motorhome has, provided that one knew what the two different systems looked like, but I can’t help with that.

 

An ‘at rest’ 12.2V voltage reading indicates a a 50% charge-state, so both of your under-seat batteries would benefit from being charged.

 

I’m a mite wary of your comment that the previous owner told you that he had fitted a new starter-battery, as this might suggest that the vehicle has the starter + auxiliary battery set-up. If it had 2 connected batteries acting as a single starter-battery, I would have thought both would have been replaced simultaneously. On the other hand, there’s no knowing what motorhome owners get up to...

 

Can you ask the previous owner what the two batteries do?

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  • 3 weeks later...
HI THANX FOR YOUR REPLY BACK THEN ... so is it possible i can get a charge from the solar panels tnto the 2 batteries phototonic suggested ,,,,trickle charger DC-to-DC battery charger,,,??? i have no idea but am keen to do something from your comms i believe that u have some ..a lot... of understanding about the issue i have since asked photonic if they sell such a beast ... any comms appreci. colin oh will i have to check that the 2 batteries under drive seat are connected as 0ne colin
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Colin1325 - 2019-07-16 11:41 PM

 

Hi all thanx dor all your help in previous posts ,,,, I got Solar working got so much power I’ll have to find a use for it,,??? Under my drivers seat just found 2 not 1 batteries so shame to wate all that extra power how can / do I go about charging both of those batteries as well ..... phew

++

 

http://www.motts.org/BRIDGING%20FUSE.htm

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