Second battery install info needed

[cocomillion]

Hello all.

Im new to the forum and posting for the first time.

A friend has a 2003 belingo right had drive van and wishes to install a second battery.

He has brought all the parts (i think)

Id like to know where do we run the power cables to the engine bay from?

Is there a opening in the firewall?

secondly has any one eles done this install if so any advice appreciated

Where did you decide the battery is placed? We were thinking behind the passengers seat or under it.

Many thanks

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[Peter Guy]

If your fitting the battery in the cab I hope its a gel battery for safety, you will also need to vent out the gases, the picasso setup would be good for you to follow although the battey is under passenger seat with a vent pipe running down and out.

[cocomillion]

If your fitting the battery in the cab I hope its a gel battery for safety, you will also need to vent out the gases, the picasso setup would be good for you to follow although the battey is under passenger seat with a vent pipe running down and out.

Thanks for the info. The battery he is going to use is a deep cycle agm battery . I read that this battery is ideal for internal mounting as it dosnt give off any gases.


Do you have a link for the picaso setup?
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[Peter Guy]

sorry no link, i may have missled you with my reply, what i meant was the picasso main battery is under the seat, there is a battery box in the floor pan, and the cables run through the floor into the engine bay.

[cocomillion]

sorry no link, i may have missled you with my reply, what i meant was the picasso main battery is under the seat, there is a battery box in the floor pan, and the cables run through the floor into the engine bay.

Kool. I will check out if the belingo my mate has the picasso setup. Hopefully it will as that will make life alot easier.

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[ghost123uk]

He has brought all the parts (i think)

secondly has any one else done this install if so any advice appreciated

Hi, there, I am new here but if you need any info on this subject I can help, though not with Berlingo specific stuff as I don't own one yet (but will soon). Done this many times on VW camper vans for mates in the club.

Re the kit of parts, is it a voltage sensing "automatic" split charge relay (hopefully) or the type triggered off the alternator charging light wire?

Secondly, I am guessing you are doing this so as to run camping accessories?
If "yes", please let "us" know what you will be running (there is a good reason for asking).

Thirdly, and sorry if you already know this, but don't think that the term "Deep cycle" means that battery can withstand deep discharging. Any battery using that chemistry will be damaged if you let it fall anything much below about 11.5 Volts. You can buy a device to protect your new battery from that. Details if required.

[cocomillion]

He has brought all the parts (i think)

secondly has any one else done this install if so any advice appreciated

Hi, there, I am new here but if you need any info on this subject I can help, though not with Berlingo specific stuff as I don't own one yet (but will soon). Done this many times on VW camper vans for mates in the club.

Re the kit of parts, is it a voltage sensing "automatic" split charge relay (hopefully) or the type triggered off the alternator charging light wire?

Secondly, I am guessing you are doing this so as to run camping accessories?
If "yes", please let "us" know what you will be running (there is a good reason for asking).

Thirdly, and sorry if you already know this, but don't think that the term "Deep cycle" means that battery can withstand deep discharging. Any battery using that chemistry will be damaged if you let it fall anything much below about 11.5 Volts. You can buy a device to protect your new battery from that. Details if required.

Hi,

Thanks for the input!

Iv done some basic research in terms of the second battery.

The below is a parts list

25mm 170 ams cable (Positive and the same spec for Neg)
Durite 12v 140A Dual twin battery Voltage Sensitive split charge relay
Deep cycle agm battery

And other misc parts such a:
Battery clamps
Cable rings
Mega fuse holder 100amp
Spiral tube

May also need
Battery tray with brackets
Rubber grommets


The second battery will help power:
Cool box x1
Hotbox x1
19inch monitor x1
Small fridge (at a later time) x1
And prob a couple of additions over time (noting large and consuming)

thanks

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[ghost123uk]

OK, a couple of points,

imho, there is a bit of overkill on the cable spec. The most current you will ever see down the live (& earth) cables is around 40 Amps, and only then foe a few seconds. This is not current from the alternator by the way. Reason = if, by accident, your leisure battery has been run pretty flat ( v bad for it btw), when the relay cuts in, the leisure battery will suck a lot of Amps from the main battery (because of the voltage difference). After just a few seconds, the voltage difference will have stabilised to a large degree and then the current drops. The alternator then "sees" the average voltage of the two batteries and the charging current is set by that value. In my experience (quite a lot of) it very quickly settles down to around 10 Amps, and slowly drops down from that as the batteries charge up.

However, the only issue with the overkill on the cables is the added difficulty of routing and terminating them.

Now to the items you intend to run off it.
A cool box / hot box on average draws about 7 Amps That is about the same as leaving your headlights on. This will cause your battery to run down to it's safe cut off voltage in only about 8.5 hours (note, a battery of this chemistry should not be run down more than about 50% of it's capacity). In the world of camper vans, using a cool / hot box off a battery is therefore considered not practicable (fine when driving however, for obvious reasons). Also note, a cool box can take a couple of hours to reach "cool".

19" monitor will be ok (likely about 2 or 3 Amps.

If you intend to get a fridge to run off it, you will need a "compressor" fridge. They are quite dear and make a "whirring" noise that can be a pain in the dead of night.

Laptops, phone charging, LED lights etc are no problem.

Don't forget to add a multi fuse block, summat like Ebay item number 270987861298 to feed the auxiliary devices via a fuse.

If you need any more info, just ask

[miccheck1516]

i have a split charge system in my van for powering 12v usb sockets and cigarette lighters, all powered by a leisure battery under the pssenger seat

I have a 6 x fuse block mounted in my van that leads into the rear at various places for the sockets... I bought a 5metre ready made kit, was only about 60 quid and made everything really easy, had it all installed with a voltage sensing relay in an hour or two.

[cocomillion]

OK, a couple of points,

imho, there is a bit of overkill on the cable spec. The most current you will ever see down the live (& earth) cables is around 40 Amps, and only then foe a few seconds. This is not current from the alternator by the way. Reason = if, by accident, your leisure battery has been run pretty flat ( v bad for it btw), when the relay cuts in, the leisure battery will suck a lot of Amps from the main battery (because of the voltage difference). After just a few seconds, the voltage difference will have stabilised to a large degree and then the current drops. The alternator then "sees" the average voltage of the two batteries and the charging current is set by that value. In my experience (quite a lot of) it very quickly settles down to around 10 Amps, and slowly drops down from that as the batteries charge up.

However, the only issue with the overkill on the cables is the added difficulty of routing and terminating them.

Now to the items you intend to run off it.
A cool box / hot box on average draws about 7 Amps That is about the same as leaving your headlights on. This will cause your battery to run down to it's safe cut off voltage in only about 8.5 hours (note, a battery of this chemistry should not be run down more than about 50% of it's capacity). In the world of camper vans, using a cool / hot box off a battery is therefore considered not practicable (fine when driving however, for obvious reasons). Also note, a cool box can take a couple of hours to reach "cool".

19" monitor will be ok (likely about 2 or 3 Amps.

If you intend to get a fridge to run off it, you will need a "compressor" fridge. They are quite dear and make a "whirring" noise that can be a pain in the dead of night.

Laptops, phone charging, LED lights etc are no problem.

Don't forget to add a multi fuse block, summat like Ebay item number 270987861298 to feed the auxiliary devices via a fuse.

If you need any more info, just ask

Nice one for the info. The van is a food van so won't be left more than a hour before its started.

At present the battery dies out after around 30 min if the van been turned off hence the reason for a second battery.

We will make a start on the install at some point in the near future. Will ask for more info around than.

Peace

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