Connecting a pump battery charger in an electric van

[AmethystCleaning]

Hi there,

My diesel van died and having looked into it, I've gone all electric with a Mercedes eVito. The van is great and I'm fitting it out for reach and wash, the problem I have is, how do I connect my pump battery recharger in the van? There isn't a traditional 12 volt battery under the bonnet, but there is access to a fuse box bus bar in the cab and I'm wondering if I can connect to that. Anyone done this already or anyone got any advice? Any help much appreciated.

Rob
Amethyst Cleaning.

 

[Part Timer]

Not a clue but I'd be very wary about warranties, so would be asking the Mercedes garage

 

[spruce]

Hi there,

My diesel van died and having looked into it, I've gone all electric with a Mercedes eVito. The van is great and I'm fitting it out for reach and wash, the problem I have is, how do I connect my pump battery recharger in the van? There isn't a traditional 12 volt battery under the bonnet, but there is access to a fuse box bus bar in the cab and I'm wondering if I can connect to that. Anyone done this already or anyone got any advice? Any help much appreciated.

Rob
Amethyst Cleaning.

As per @Part Timer .

Electric vehicles will run different voltage systems. I would imagine there will be a high voltage circuit to power the drive motors and a low voltage circuit to power vehicle accessories such as the headlights, wiper motor, radio, etc. The question is to find a power supply point that will carry enough power to recharge a leisure battery and all the other accessories without damaging the system. This is why you need M/B input.

Another point is that any 12v equipment will just need 12v. 12v on its own will not recharge a battery, so I would also expect you would need a battery to battery charger that will boost that 12v to 14.2v.

I would imagine your safest route is to bench charge your batteries every night. Then I might ask myself if there is a 12v power supply that I could run my pump directly from, so eliminating the need for a leisure battery. A Shurflo pump will draw a max of 9 amps, much less using a controller.

My first concern would be how you would secure your tank safely.

 

[Mattlekim]

Most electrical vehicles charge the 12v battery when the vehicle is been charged.

So I would check the fuse for the sigarette lighter. If the lighter has constent power you could add a fuse splitter in the lighter fuse and have one going off to the lighter and the other to your battery, then write it up with a switch so that when you chagrge your van at night you can flip the switch and have it effectively bench charge your battery too while keeping it in the van.

 

[Crystalalan]

Im looking at getting an e vito. Be interested to know how you are getting on with it.

 

[Pjj]

Hi there,

My diesel van died and having looked into it, I've gone all electric with a Mercedes eVito. The van is great and I'm fitting it out for reach and wash, the problem I have is, how do I connect my pump battery recharger in the van? There isn't a traditional 12 volt battery under the bonnet, but there is access to a fuse box bus bar in the cab and I'm wondering if I can connect to that. Anyone done this already or anyone got any advice? Any help much appreciated.

Rob
Amethyst Cleaning.

I would get advice from Mercedes before fitting any electrical on an electric vehicle as I expect they will say it will invalidate the vehicle warrantee. All our vans systems are totally independent to the vehicle wiring , so no cum backs if something does go wrong .

 

[ched999uk]

Definitely go through Merc as keeping the warranty valid might be very important in future years!

Most electric vehicles I have seen do have a 12v battery that powers most things other than the actual traction motors. This 12v battery is normally charged by the traction battery as it powers things like power steering, air con, battery cooling/heating, cab heater, heated seats & steering wheel, etc
The problem might be that the charging of the 12v battery might be determined by the measured power being pulled by the normal systems. So if you just piggy back off the 12v battery it might cause some unwanted results.

I might be inclined to look at the cigarette lighter socket as @Mattlekim suggested as that will have a fuse - check rating - and be monitored by the battery management system. In fact, maybe if it's just a single pump that could be powered off the cigarette lighter socket?

 

[Ian Sheppard]

Hi there,

My diesel van died and having looked into it, I've gone all electric with a Mercedes eVito. The van is great and I'm fitting it out for reach and wash, the problem I have is, how do I connect my pump battery recharger in the van? There isn't a traditional 12 volt battery under the bonnet, but there is access to a fuse box bus bar in the cab and I'm wondering if I can connect to that. Anyone done this already or anyone got any advice? Any help much appreciated.

Rob
Amethyst Cleaning.

Good Afternoon Rob.

Having just carried out some testing with our V16 Charging controller and Toyota Proace Fully electric. A Split charge relay will work in am electric vehicle in the same way it does with a Petrol/Diesel vehicle. The amount of charge that gets put back into the system leisure battery will vary based on the time the electric motor is running and the Vehicle management system.

Electric vehicles do have a 12V Battery and your Mercedes will have one somewhere ( It night be under the drivers seat for example) Electric Vehicles need a 12v Battery to run the lights, Radio, Air con Ect It is also used to Switch an Isolator between the vehicles 12v electrics and the Main motor battery pack. This isolator ensures that the Vehicle systems are protected while the Main Battery pack is being charged which could be at a higher voltage.

The Vehicle 12V DC battery is then charged via an Inverter and is charged by the main Battery pack while the motor is running in the same way an Alternator charges on a Petrol/Diesel vehicle. Range is likely to be affected when your charging two 12v batteries so something to be aware off.

The rest vehicle we used was a 75KWH Proace which uses the same base as the Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot Electric.

As above just be aware that the Split relay may not put back all the current used each day as this can vary and Range mat be reduced in the vehicle as two batteries are being charged while the motor is running. As now depending on how much travelling is done a Occasional Bench chage of your system leisure battery once a week or so would be a good idea to keep it in good condition

Cheers
Ian Sheppard

 

[AmethystCleaning]

Good Afternoon Rob.

Having just carried out some testing with our V16 Charging controller and Toyota Proace Fully electric. A Split charge relay will work in am electric vehicle in the same way it does with a Petrol/Diesel vehicle. The amount of charge that gets put back into the system leisure battery will vary based on the time the electric motor is running and the Vehicle management system.

Electric vehicles do have a 12V Battery and your Mercedes will have one somewhere ( It night be under the drivers seat for example) Electric Vehicles need a 12v Battery to run the lights, Radio, Air con Ect It is also used to Switch an Isolator between the vehicles 12v electrics and the Main motor battery pack. This isolator ensures that the Vehicle systems are protected while the Main Battery pack is being charged which could be at a higher voltage.

The Vehicle 12V DC battery is then charged via an Inverter and is charged by the main Battery pack while the motor is running in the same way an Alternator charges on a Petrol/Diesel vehicle. Range is likely to be affected when your charging two 12v batteries so something to be aware off.

The rest vehicle we used was a 75KWH Proace which uses the same base as the Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot Electric.

As above just be aware that the Split relay may not put back all the current used each day as this can vary and Range mat be reduced in the vehicle as two batteries are being charged while the motor is running. As now depending on how much travelling is done a Occasional Bench chage of your system leisure battery once a week or so would be a good idea to keep it in good condition

Cheers
Ian Sheppard

Thats great, many thanks for the advice.

 

[AmethystCleaning]

Good Afternoon Rob.

Having just carried out some testing with our V16 Charging controller and Toyota Proace Fully electric. A Split charge relay will work in am electric vehicle in the same way it does with a Petrol/Diesel vehicle. The amount of charge that gets put back into the system leisure battery will vary based on the time the electric motor is running and the Vehicle management system.

Electric vehicles do have a 12V Battery and your Mercedes will have one somewhere ( It night be under the drivers seat for example) Electric Vehicles need a 12v Battery to run the lights, Radio, Air con Ect It is also used to Switch an Isolator between the vehicles 12v electrics and the Main motor battery pack. This isolator ensures that the Vehicle systems are protected while the Main Battery pack is being charged which could be at a higher voltage.

The Vehicle 12V DC battery is then charged via an Inverter and is charged by the main Battery pack while the motor is running in the same way an Alternator charges on a Petrol/Diesel vehicle. Range is likely to be affected when your charging two 12v batteries so something to be aware off.

The rest vehicle we used was a 75KWH Proace which uses the same base as the Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot Electric.

As above just be aware that the Split relay may not put back all the current used each day as this can vary and Range mat be reduced in the vehicle as two batteries are being charged while the motor is running. As now depending on how much travelling is done a Occasional Bench chage of your system leisure battery once a week or so would be a good idea to keep it in good condition

Cheers
Ian Sheppard

Great stuff, thanks for the input.

 

[AmethystCleaning]

Thanks all for the input, a trip to Mercedes Benz it is then!

 

[Crystalalan]

Hi there,

My diesel van died and having looked into it, I've gone all electric with a Mercedes eVito. The van is great and I'm fitting it out for reach and wash, the problem I have is, how do I connect my pump battery recharger in the van? There isn't a traditional 12 volt battery under the bonnet, but there is access to a fuse box bus bar in the cab and I'm wondering if I can connect to that. Anyone done this already or anyone got any advice? Any help much appreciated.

Rob
Amethyst Cleaning.

Just wondering how you are getting on with your E Vito. Any regrets? What range is it capable of between charges?

 

[Yogi1872]

I'd take the others advice about not doing anything before you speak to them, I'd guess if you add a device using power from the supply that wasn't merc factory fitted then youl have a big bill if anything goes wrong. No point spending all that money on a van to then not go through the correct channels to make sure your covered if it goes wrong.

 

[Edward Baskerville]

Hi guys just seen this post thought give you some general info in regards to electric van.

I'm currently running a toyota proace all electric 50kw battery 142mile range.

Mine is split relayed to two leisure batteries in the back powering two electric reels with controllers, also 2 pumps with controllers.

So far no issues, had the van since October. I've noticed on full charge depending on temp etc I'm getting between 125-136 miles at the minute before I set off for the day. Not had any issues with batteries at the back.

Saying that I'm only using 1 reel at the minute. For me personally I'm charging once every week and half. I think there not for everyone though. I only do between 4-5k miles a year as my work is very local. The guys at streamline fitted mine. Always worth shout to give them call see if they have done a merc?

 

[Pjj]

Hi guys just seen this post thought give you some general info in regards to electric van.

I'm currently running a toyota proace all electric 50kw battery 142mile range.

Mine is split relayed to two leisure batteries in the back powering two electric reels with controllers, also 2 pumps with controllers.

So far no issues, had the van since October. I've noticed on full charge depending on temp etc I'm getting between 125-136 miles at the minute before I set off for the day. Not had any issues with batteries at the back.

Saying that I'm only using 1 reel at the minute. For me personally I'm charging once every week and half. I think there not for everyone though. I only do between 4-5k miles a year as my work is very local. The guys at streamline fitted mine. Always worth shout to give them call see if they have done a merc?

So have you got your system running off the vehicle batteries then ? How does a split charge relay work on an electric vehicle to charge your leisure batteries ? Are Toyota aware of this and happy about it ? When I spoke to them they said no way would they warranty it if we did this so we bought a diesel one ??, and everything is separate to the vehicle electrics . What size tank do you have in the van ? Sorry for all the questions but am interested as I looked at this and found it was a non starter but always happy to learn from others experiences as things change .

 

[David K]

Hi there,

My diesel van died and having looked into it, I've gone all electric with a Mercedes eVito. The van is great and I'm fitting it out for reach and wash, the problem I have is, how do I connect my pump battery recharger in the van? There isn't a traditional 12 volt battery under the bonnet, but there is access to a fuse box bus bar in the cab and I'm wondering if I can connect to that. Anyone done this already or anyone got any advice? Any help much appreciated.

Rob
Amethyst Cleaning.

Just Dont mess with it! Charge your battery at home , these E cars are a Pandora box

 

[Ian Sheppard]

So have you got your system running off the vehicle batteries then ? How does a split charge relay work on an electric vehicle to charge your leisure batteries ? Are Toyota aware of this and happy about it ? When I spoke to them they said no way would they warranty it if we did this so we bought a diesel one ??, and everything is separate to the vehicle electrics . What size tank do you have in the van ? Sorry for all the questions but am interested as I looked at this and found it was a non starter but always happy to learn from others experiences as things change .

I ran a test last august using a Toyota Hiace 75w using the V16C. Electric vehicles stil have a standard 12V vehicle battery under the bonnet as this is needed to power lights Ect. It also is used to switch an isolator relay so when the motor is off the Battery pack is isolated. When the motor is running teh vehicle battery is charged via an inverter. What we did find is that the vehicle battery is charged to approx 85% of capacity ( approx 15 minutes after starting the motor) and which point charging amps drop. The leisure battery continued to be charged via the V16C just at a lower ampage until the motor was switched off. The long term life of the battery pack might be affected to a degree which is probably why Toyota made the comments they did

Interestingly I also tested the latest Euro6.2D ( On vehicles registered form January 2022) and saw a similar patten. The vehicle batteries are now charged to 85%.

 

[Edward Baskerville]

So have you got your system running off the vehicle batteries then ? How does a split charge relay work on an electric vehicle to charge your leisure batteries ? Are Toyota aware of this and happy about it ? When I spoke to them they said no way would they warranty it if we did this so we bought a diesel one ??, and everything is separate to the vehicle electrics . What size tank do you have in the van ? Sorry for all the questions but am interested as I looked at this and found it was a non starter but always happy to learn from others experiences as things change .

Sorry only just seen this post reply. Yes so I asked them and they were happy for me to do it. The batteries are split relayed from the 12v battery at the front not the main batteries that run the van.

Also streamline apparently are licensed stellantis group installer.. which toyota are apart of. I suppose when it comes to service if anything goes wrong it will most likely be the 12v battery at the front that will fail over time..