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Hi gents, been reading for a while but moving to wfp tomorrow (hopefully). Sorry to ask a question!

ECLM
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Banesthename

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Hello everyone, id like to start by saying that this site has been amazing for tips while building my wfp system, especially things like the guttering hopper to fill your di's. Amazing idea (and easy to pick up from wickes last minute!).

Again, im sorry to post a question for my first post, but im panicking.

Im going out tomorrow with the set up for the first time. Ive built it myself but its engineered to a high level. I have a new way of bolting a tank to the chassis in a vivaro ill share when i have more time next week.

Ive fitted a TCW controller with charging relay (v11?). Tested it yesterday. All working fine. Ive looked in the back today and noticed that the controllers still flashing CHG even though the ignition is off :(

All wiring is 100% correct, i believe. Im thinking it may be the terminal on the van battery ive picked. Has anyone had this issue? Ive tried searching with no luck.

I was advised by my neighbour (old and wise) that the larger cable would probably be to the starter motor. I had it on that originally but had the same issue. Tried it on the thicker one and its the same.

Am i right in thinking it shouldnt be saying CHG when the van isnt running?

Any advise would be great, im scared of having a flat van battery on my first day with my new kit :(.

Cheers

Chris

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Never be sorry for asking a question @Banesthename (second best Batty villain after Heath Ledgers Joker) and welcome to the forum.
You are over my head on the techy wiring stuff but hopefully @spruce or @AGlassAct should be along soon and they know a thing or two about wiring.

Welcome once again.
Click to expand...
Thanks buddy! Cheers for the support.

Its make or break for tomorrow, been grafting for 4 weeks to get to this point lol.

Fingers crossed someone can help me. Im unsure whats wrong!

 
Once the engine is switch off the 'join' or link between the leisure battery/aux battery should be separated. I don't know what colour wires your controller has for the charge relay side of things. Your manual you got with the pump will tell you. The charge indication should only be visible when the engine is running, so something isn't right IMHO. (But I don't know the controller.)

However, my first major concern is that you have used an industry standard earth wire (green and yellow) as the positive lead from the battery. This is never good practice tbh. (Brown = positive, blue = negative and green/yellow = earth/ground.) It looks as though you have used ordinary 3 core 230v electrical cable which also looks to thin for the job if its a standard leisure battery.

You need to go back to your manual and confirm you have wired the controller up using the correct wires. If you are using different colour wiring its easy to get mixed up.

If you can't solve the problem then you need to contact Ian Sheppard at Spring who make those controllers.

-

 
Once the engine is switch off the 'join' or link between the leisure battery/aux battery should be separated. I don't know what colour wires your controller has for the charge relay side of things. Your manual you got with the pump will tell you. The charge indication should only be visible when the engine is running, so something isn't right IMHO. (But I don't know the controller.)
However, my first major concern is that you have used an industry standard earth wire (green and yellow) as the positive lead from the battery. This is never good practice tbh. (Brown = positive, blue = negative and green/yellow = earth/ground.) It looks as though you have used ordinary 3 core 230v electrical cable which also looks to thin for the job if its a standard leisure battery.

You need to go back to your manual and confirm you have wired the controller up using the correct wires. If you are using different colour wiring its easy to get mixed up.

If you can't solve the problem then you need to contact Ian Sheppard at Spring who make those controllers.

-
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for the reply spruce. Its much appreciated.

I dont know if you can see on the pic but i put a piece of coloured shrink tubing on the cables so i know which is which. The earth cable has red on and the blue has black. It was literally to save me stripping another 6m's of outer cable off to get another brown out. I can change this, Ive used 1.5mm. The cables on the controller are all that i believe.

The pump has a blue and brown. Ran totally seperately in small copex.

The remaining cables left on the controller are black, red and orange. The orange, is the positive fused cable that runs to the earth cable i used. The red (ive used brown) runs to the lesuire battery positive. The black (ive used blue) runs to the lesuire battery negative. There is then a blue link (negative) between the two batteries. It should all be connected up as in the diagram. It all works connection wise, its just like it cant see that the ignition is off.

I can change the cabling for 2mm or something?

Ive added a picture of the controller cables. The connection block is housed in an ip box in the rear light pillar.

Also attached a picture of the instructions. Does it need to be on the alternator or something? If so why do they say to connect it to the battery?

It definitely wasnt doing this yesterday when i tested it. None of this CHG flashing.

Any more ideas? Sorry to be a pain. It was all going so well... Probably wont be running tomorrow at this rate :(

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Ive just turned the water on before turning the controller on and its stopped. No idea why. Im running some water through. Ill see what happens after.

 
My controller flashes CHG after the ignition is turned off. I'm not technical but I presume it's a current still flowing. It does go off after a while though.

 
i have a vivaro mate,its one of the easiest to wire up but it looks like you have a newer model than mine,personally i would have a thicker wire/cable coming from the battery coupled with a 30 amp fuse just after the terminal and one before the leisure battery,the spring controller suggests its not getting a charge so that maybe your problem-it should cut off at 11.5 volts,

just check with a multi meter your getting 14 volts or higher from that cable with the engine running,and at the end where it connects to the controller-before the fuse

also,and its something so simple but can give loads of issues buzz out or check every single earth you can and read the ohms to check resistance

i think your problem is a simple one but just needs thinking about thats all

 
ok.. looks like the pic u have wired it to the postive and neautral ??? that controller is the same on as my old one

has built in charger ...

wire the black and red into the leisure battery u have

wire the orange on to the + on your van battery

you have it in the right place

why is there a wire to the - terminal on the van??

also from experience it u will lost voltage from the batteries unless u change to a thicker cable . @spruce was the one who advised me to rewire mine using a heavier cable

after you turn the van off .. the controller shud flash chg for bout a minute then stop ...does that make sense ?

 
ok.. looks like the pic u have wired it to the postive and neautral ??? that controller is the same on as my old one
has built in charger ...

wire the black and red into the leisure battery u have

wire the orange on to the + on your van battery

you have it in the right place

why is there a wire to the - terminal on the van??

also from experience it u will lost voltage from the batteries unless u change to a thicker cable . @spruce was the one who advised me to rewire mine using a heavier cable

after you turn the van off .. the controller shud flash chg for bout a minute then stop ...does that make sense ?
Click to expand...
 
after you turn the van off .. the controller shud flash chg for bout a minute then stop ...does that make sense

 


Peter is right on this. I was thinking about this whilst we had visitors for dinner/tea tonight. It will take some time for both batteries to equalise. The van battery and the leisure battery equalise at different rates. After I switch my van off the batteries aren't separated immediately as they are voltage sensing. My leisure battery has a combo voltage/amp gauge wired in. Mostly there is a small current that dissipates between the van battery and the leisure battery. It is usually around 3 to 5 watts and it can show for less than a minute or can continue for more than 5 minutes. In my case current travels from the starter battery to the leisure battery, so in effect the leisure battery is still receiving a tiny charge.

If it switches off after time then as @peter rogers says its normal with voltage sensing (Intelligent) relays. I'm sure this will solve your 'problem.'

I did notice the red and black shrink sleeving on the terminal so will 'let you off' this time. /emoticons/smile.png Electricians will do it with Brown and black cabling but I've never seen them do it with earth cable. They also usually wrap some of the correct colour insulation tape around the cable rather than shrink sleeving. Anyway its just a technicality. I would probably wrap some red insulation tape around it so there is no question if anyone other than yourself has to work on it.

I would certainly use thicker cabling as voltage drop would be higher on thinner cable.

-

 
Cheers for the replies gents.

The neg on the van battery is as the diagram. Its says it needs a link to the lesuire battery. It has been stopping saying it after a bit. So maybe it is ok? It was saying it while working as well earlier though.

Also i came to it, turned on and it was just saying 99. Did it lose it calibration or something?

Im starting to think i shouldnt have bothered!

I'll have to re-cable it then. What shall i use, 2mm? Was a right pita pulling it all through copex on my own. Im an ex cabler believe it or not, so ive been quite anal around routing and containment.

 
I have not read any of them were u connect to the - on van battery ... U are usurping a leisure battery also ?

There is 5 leads from controller. 2. To the battery leisure and 2 to the pump... 1 to the van battery

 

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