Leisure Battery options using existing electrics

[Jonboy123]

Hello everyone. 

My name is Jon Haile and this is my first post on this Forum. I have recently embarked on converting a 2002 Citroen Berlingo Forte multi-space into a compact camper. 

The vehicle was originally used for disabled access and has a dual winch system (See pictures) this would have been used to pull a wheelchair up the ramp and into the car. The electrics for the winch has the normal red and black cables and appears to be controlled by a switch in the back (I have not seen the winch in use).

I am flirting with the idea of installing a leisure battery in the back and wondered if the connections for the winch would be ok to use for the electrical set up. Does anyone know how the electrics are set up?

There are red and black cables ready to go so just need to know if these could be part or my leisure battery set up rather than running another cable from the starter battery to the second battery/relay.

Thanks in advance.

Jon

PS, Apologies for the pictures. I had to reduce the size to get them on.

[Gravity]

You could put a multimeter on the leads, and check the voltage both with the ignition off and with it on.

That would give you a starting point.

Gravity

[Jonboy123]

You could put a multimeter on the leads, and check the voltage both with the ignition off and with it on.

That would give you a starting point.

Gravity

[cancunia]

Sorry, am not an expert in this stuff but am interested from a personal perspective.
I seem to remember reading on here somewhere that there's a thing for switching the leisure battery and / or the various items that use the battery automatically on & off. It's to do with charging the leisure battery & not draining the main battery.
My guess is that if you can find some installation guides for that, it'll show you how to wire up the leisure battery.
You'll also need to understand how the winch wiring is currently connected, perhaps via a fused link to the main battery.

[Gravity]

As Cancunia says.

To charge your leisure battery as you drive, you'll need to wire in a split charge relay that switches from one to the other. You can get automatic relays from caravan or camping stores.

Check out Ebay under 'Leisure battery relay' -  or Google 'leisure battery wiring', for example.

Gravity

[Jonboy123]

Thanks for your replies. I have seen the setup for the switch relay. When the car is driven it charges both the starter and leisure battery and when the engine is off the relay clicks in and you just use the power from the leisure battery. This setup is all done with additional/direct cables from the starter battery.

I need to understand if the winch wires will provide the same power link and charge as a direct cable.

I'm getting a multimeter tomorrow so will test the power. I'll report back with my findings and progress.

Thanks again all.

[Gravity]

I need to understand if the winch wires will provide the same power link and charge as a direct cable.

The wires that power the winch may be permanently live, as they might have needed power for a wheelchair even when the engine was not running. Even if they are only live while the engine runs, you could charge your leisure battery from them as you drive. But this would not give you a proper split charge system.

As I see it - and I am not an auto electrician - to use these wires with your leisure battery you would need to insert a switch to completely isolate the leisure battery from the car circuit when parked with the engine off. This would need to be done whether your existing wires are permanently live or not, so that you do not risk draining your car battery. Then you could separately run power to whatever leisure gear you wanted.

Not exactly a split charge system, but it should work, and make use of your existing live feed. Hopefully, someone with more knowledge than me can come up with better ideas here.

Gravity

[Tomcat3]

I am not sure they are winches in your motor I have similar setup in my wav. What they look like are anchor straps to attach to the front of the chair when it has been pushed in then you attach a type of ratchet to the rear. The front pair on mine work by first pressing a switch to turn the system on this allows the straps to spool out so you can attach to the chair, you then take up the slack and turn the system off. This locks the front straps and you attach the rear straps and tension then the chair cannot go back or forward. I'm only pointing this out as the cable may not be as heavy rating as it may not be powering winches just a locking mechanism.

[Jonboy123]

Thanks for that information Tomcat.

So after testing with a multimeter there is current through the cables when the switch in the back is turned on but this is not dependent on the engine being on.

I tested both times and only got the reading when using the switch.

I know that if the switch is accidentally left on the main battery will drain, however, I'm still unsure if adding a secondary/leisure battery to the existing wires via a switch charge relay would work....

Suppose it will just have to be trial and error lol.

[Tomcat3]

Thats the same type of setup on mine, no need to have the engine on the switch in the back is a permanent live. When the switch is on the anchors can be pulled out then turn the switch off and it locks the anchors.