Devon sunrise split charger not working

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937carrera
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

I'm not at a computer now so it'll be difficult with only my phone. From the photo I am pretty sure it had a diagram of a switch with terminals 30 and 87 shown. Terminal 30 is live supply, terminal 87 is switched high current supply to the appliance.

If you look underneath the relay where the pins are the terminal numbers should be shown. Each number has a specified use according to DIN.

It'll help me get my head around what is there, alongside the narrative above
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

Ok so as you look at it
back is 87
Right is 30
Left is 85
Front is 86

Not sure if this picture of the top helps


Image



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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

Back 87 12 volts from the leisure bat
Right 30 is is yellow wire to fridge getting 12 volts from leisure batt
Left 85 is 14 volts from alternator
Front 86 earth




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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

Seems a bit strange, let me write it down what I have understood and maybe it will make more sense:

Image

The relay has a low current side

Terminal 85, should carry 12v when the engine is running, thin yellow wire with red protector at 9'o clock position in picture, you say this is from the alternator, but it seems to go to the switch for the fridge. Does the green wire on the other side of the switch come from the alternator ?

Terminal 86, should be earth for the coil inside the relay, black wire at 12 o'clock position. Goes to earth and provides earth route for the 3 panel switches, I assume these illuminate when on.

Next the switched or high current side

Terminal 30, should provide high current to provide a circuit for the appliance, heavy yellow wire at 3 o'clock position. Goes to fuse and then you say to the fridge

Terminal 87, should carry high current to the appliance or leisure battery, thick red cable at 6 o'clock position. Connected direct to the leisure battery.

**************

So, a few thoughts

If the relay is a split power relay, then the red wire should be on terminal 87, not 30
Nowhere in the above descriptions is there mention of a charging feed coming either from the starter battery or the alternator. So how is the leisure battery going to charge ??
The only way I can see this working is if the alternator provides a direct connection to the fridge, which then branches to the control panel and the "fridge" switch is actually a switch which allows the relay coil to engage and provide a circuit to charge the battery.

Is the fridge permanently on when the engine is running ?
What happens to leisure battery voltage when you move the fridge switch.

Can you work your way through what I have understood above and let me know where I have got it right or wrong. Seems a bit unusual to me, not having a relevant wiring diagram doesn't help
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

ChrisTriple wrote: The yellow wire on the left if 14.4 volts from the switch that’s fed from the alternator

The yellow wire on the right goes to the fridge but it only gives the feed from the leisure bat ( I’m sure this is wrong

And the black as you say is earth

Just gone back and re-read this bit.

Looks like standard fridge relay wiring with the yellow wire from the switch carrying the low current side to terminal 85, black wire for terminal 86 earth, fridge (thick yellow) should be connected to terminal 87, not 30 and terminal 30 should be connected to the starter battery, unless a separate split charge system is installed in which case it can be connected to either starter or leisure battery.

Does that make sense to you ?
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

Ok starting from the beginning....

We buy van with as far as I’m aware a split Charging system ad the leisure battery is always on charge when the engine is running.

Back in 2015 I strip the van for restoration...

A year later I refit everything no sight of a relay anyway...charging of the leisure battery continues...

Some time later the charging seems to be getting erratic and has finally stopped now...

Only other relay I can see is in the engine bay.... I believe this is for the towing hitch

What you’ve said makes sense but I just can’t find anything else that might be the charging system.

The wires on the relay in the Devon fuse box have never been taken off....

I’ll get a new relay on my way home later and see what happens and I’ll also check out the one in the engine bay



Thanks for your help so far, very much appreciated
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

ChrisTriple wrote: Only other relay I can see is in the engine bay.... I believe this is for the towing hitch

Always good going back to the beginning.

Traditionally, you don't need a relay for straightforward towing, you simply need to provide wiring from each of the light circuits to the 7 way electrical connection plug. However if the towing being done is a caravan then you may also want to charge the leisure battery /run a fridge in the caravan by use of a 13 pin socket combined with a split charge relay.

Perhaps the output from this has been used to charge the leisure battery instead of connecting to the 13S socket ?
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

I’ll collect a new relay on my way home later and check out the “towing” relay.
I know that It has a connection to the leisure battery
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

I think that's your answer then - the towing split charge relay or the wiring to it has failed. The "erratic" nature would lead me to check the wiring first as it sounds like an intermittent connection, either of the high current wire, or the low current switching wires. Could be as simple as a dirty earth.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the fridge relay, though to my mind terminals 30 and 87 are connected the wrong way round on the relay.
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

Soon as I get home I’ll check it out and report back. Thanks
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

Ok nailed it!!! :ok

That pesky relay in the engine bay had a bad earth.

Everything seems to work fine now

I’ve wired up the relay in Devon fues box as was as t seemed to work ok

Is it worth switching the wires around to see if it’s any difference?

Thanks for all your help

13.6 volts drop along the length of the van. Any way I can increase this?


Cheers

Chris :ok
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

ChrisTriple wrote:Ok nailed it!!! :ok

That pesky relay in the engine bay had a bad earth.


Fantastic :D ........... and now you know how the wiring in your van works too. Well done for having a multimeter.

ChrisTriple wrote:
Is it worth switching the wires around to see if it’s any difference?


It won't make any practical difference, except it will be wired as it is supposed to be with the battery feed on the switch, and the appliance connected to the switched pole

ChrisTriple wrote: 13.6 volts drop along the length of the van. Any way I can increase this?

Can you explain what you are measuring, and why you want to increase the voltage drop ( you don't). Voltage drop will also depend on what is switched on, but I'll guarantee it isn't 13.6v. Have a look at my posting in http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=163741 for some comparative readings I took.

I didn't know how a split charge system worked until I had a problem on a truck. More complicated, 24V relay sensing alternator running triggering 12V split charge relay connected to combined mains consumer unit / 12V charger & distribution system. No wiring diagram and all wires the same colours. I had to work it out for myself so these van's aren't complicated by comparison, unless someones been doing something non standard / mucking about with it.
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

All I’m measuring is the 14.4 at the alternator and the 13.6ish at the leisure battery now it’s charging.

I guess all I want to know is, is the 13 odd volts enough to change the leisure battery?

Just re-read.... I meant how can I increase the 13.6 volt I’m getting not increase the drop
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by 937carrera »

OK, so 0.8 volts drop.

13.6 volts is a bit marginal for fully charging a battery. What was the reading for the starter battery and were any 12V appliances including the fridge switched on ?
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Re: Devon sunrise split charger not working

Post by ChrisTriple »

Nothing turned on. 13.9 volts on the starter bat
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