No more flat batteries or warm fridges! Simple, expert tricks to take your 12v setup to the next level<\/p>\n
\u201cTHIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLE YOU\u2019RE GOING TO READ ALL YEAR\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Nothing sucks worse than that gut-wrenching feeling of pulling up to camp and realising your fridge hasn\u2019t been running for the last couple of hours. The little red light\u2019s blinking and the temp gauge is either off completely, or it\u2019s now reading 12\u00b0C. You open the fridge to be punched with the smell of off meat, so you try and drown your sorrows with a drink but they\u2019re all hotter than that last servo coffee you got on the way up. <\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re just starting out in the 4WD game or you\u2019ve been hitting the tracks for decades \u2013 12v problems affect absolutely everyone. Whether you\u2019ve DIY\u2019d your setup or paid the pros to do it properly, you\u2019re going to come across problems. Whether they\u2019re little inconveniences or trip-enders comes down to how prepared you are with both the knowledge and the tools you\u2019ve got, but thankfully it\u2019s actually way easier to fix 99% of electrical problems than most people would think. <\/p>\n
MOST POPULAR 12V TERMS EXPLAINED!<\/h3>\n
No-nonsense, spiel free explanations of the 12v terms you\u2019re going to come across<\/p>\n
AMP HOURS: A measurement of how many amps a battery can supply over a period of time. A 105Ah AGM battery that can safely be drained to 50% has say 50 amp-hours (Ah) of capacity. If a fridge draws an average of 3amps, then that battery can run the fridge for 50\/3=about 16.5 hours before it gets down to 50%.<\/p>\n
OPEN CIRCUIT: This is when there is a break in the electrical circuit that stops the power from flowing, such as a blown fuse.<\/p>\n
SHORT CIRCUIT: In 4WD terms, when a cable that supplies power prematurely comes in contact with an earth like the body, it is called a short circuit.<\/p>\n
DC\/DC CHARGER: Acts similar to a 240v battery charger that you\u2019d use to charge your batteries in the garage, except it is powered by 12v. Will typically include an isolator to only charge when it senses the vehicle is running, and often has an in-built solar regulator to allow charging by solar panels.<\/p>\n
VOLTAGE-SENSING RELAY: A basic relay that opens or closes depending on the voltage that is supplied to it. In a dual battery system, it works by opening when it senses enough voltage that it can tell the engine is running, allowing the auxiliary battery to connect to the charge system. When the vehicle is switched off, the relay closes, isolating the second battery and ensuring your fridge and lights can\u2019t draw off your crank battery\u2019s power. <\/p>\n
SERIES WIRING: A way of joining two batteries positive to negative to double the voltage of the batteries. Used in older 24v diesel motors to get 24v by connecting two 12v batteries. <\/p>\n
PARALLEL WIRING: A way of joining two or more batteries positive to positive and negative to negative, doubling the amp-hour capacity of the battery bank without changing its voltage. Two 105Ah 12v batteries connected in parallel essentially forms one giant 210Ah 12v battery \u2013 which is what you\u2019d want if you were powering a fridge or lights for a long time. <\/p>\n
VOLTAGE DROP: Refers to the amount of voltage that is lost through a circuit, typically by under-sized electrical components in a 4WD install. 2mm twin-core wiring run from a battery under the bonnet all the way to a fridge in the rear might read 14.4v at the battery end, but the fridge could possibly only be receiving 13v, tripping the low-voltage cut-out protection. <\/p>\n
\n The right way to install 12v gear, and how to avoid the most common mistakes 4WDers make.<\/p>\n
\u201cTHE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF 12V PROBLEMS CAN BE FIXED FOR $10!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
DOWN TO EARTH<\/h3>\n
Let\u2019s talk about this one first because it\u2019s so incredibly important. Without proper earthing, any 12v system is going to fail. Earthing completes the 12v circuit back through the body and the chassis and finally back to the battery. One of the biggest mistakes 4WDers make is not ensuring adequate earth connections are built into the system.<\/p>\n
The good news is the number one cause of 12v problems can be fixed for $10 by adding an extra earth to your vehicle. It\u2019s as simple as running cabling from your battery\u2019s negative post through to a good clean, unpainted earth point on the body. At the same time, remove the big earth lead that runs from the negative battery post to the side of the engine block, and use sand-paper to thoroughly clean the lugs and the earth points. If you\u2019re running batteries in the rear of the vehicle, don\u2019t rely on running earth cables all the way to the engine bay \u2013 add an extra earth to the chassis somewhere in the rear. You can never have too many earths!<\/p>\n
WHERE TO MOUNT YOUR CHARGER<\/h3>\n
Heat and dirt are the natural enemy of electrical components. Unfortunately, both are in abundance under the engine bay. If you install it under the bonnet near hot engine components, this can reduce the performance of the charger. If the charger has a temperature compensator built in, it will reduce the charge level to compensate for the heat. So when you mount your CTEK D250SA, make sure it is away from any heat source, like in the back of your 4WD.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say you can\u2019t run 12v equipment under the bonnet, just that you need to be aware of where it is positioned. Keep chargers away from hot exhaust manifolds and turbos, and up towards the rear of the engine bay if possible to protect from mud.<\/p>\n
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHARGER<\/h3>\n
Dual battery systems aren\u2019t all built alike. DC\/DC chargers like the D250SA from CTEK are \u2018smart\u2019 chargers that can intelligently charge the battery the way it needs to prolong battery life. They can also protect the battery by monitoring temperatures and adjusting charging levels to prevent over-charging, and can include a solar regulator to let you charge batteries either via the alternator or a solar panel.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019ve got the best system in the world, if you don\u2019t drive it enough. Your alternator can only put out so much output, so the longer you drain your batteries, the more time you need to recharge them.<\/p>\n
Most alternators will put out somewhere between 60 and 100amps. That doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re putting that many amps into the battery, though. When the vehicle\u2019s running a large portion of the alternator\u2019s output is taken up by the vehicle\u2019s electrical system, the ignition system, the headlights, the stereo, the heater\/air conditioning system and the like. That means the rate your battery charges at isn\u2019t an exact science. A safe rule of thumb to recharge a single auxiliary battery after a night running the fridge is about three hours to ensure complete recharging.<\/p>\n
\u201cONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES 4WDERS MAKE IS POOR EARTHING\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
THE REAL DEAL WITH SMART ALTERNATORS
\nPLUS AN EASY, CHEAP SOLUTION ANYONE CAN INSTALL!<\/h3>\nYou might have heard about the term \u2018smart\u2019 alternators. Basically, these are alternators that don\u2019t always provide the full level of output but rather vary their output depending on battery levels and load requirements. The general idea is that if the alternator doesn\u2019t have to work at full capacity the whole time, it\u2019ll save (very small) amounts of fuel by reducing load on the engine. The problem for 4WDers is that it means the alternator won\u2019t always produce enough charge to properly charge an auxiliary battery.<\/p>\n
LOW-GRADE GEAR<\/h3>\n
There\u2019s nothing more frustrating than completing a 12v install and having it not work properly. The problem comes down to using lower-grade gear throughout the system.<\/p>\n
The biggest mistake 4WDers make when they install their 12v system is using low-grade plugs, terminals and connectors, plus under-sized wiring, especially from the battery to the charger. Reliability in off-road environments is crucial, but this can be sacrificed with cheap parts that won\u2019t stand up to vibrations, dust, heat and water.<\/p>\n
The simple message here is don\u2019t cut corners. There\u2019s no point trying to save a few bucks on cabling if it compromises the rest of your $500 system \u2013 which brings us to our next point, calculating wiring requirements.<\/p>\n
CALCULATING CABLING REQUIREMENTS<\/h3>\n
The cabling that you use in your 12v installs can make or break your setup. Voltage drop is one of the single biggest causes of batteries that won\u2019t charge properly and fridges that continually blink that error light. If your cabling is too small, it simply won\u2019t be able to carry the power required through it. The good news is that there are ways to calculate the cabling you need. It\u2019s also always much better to over-estimate your power needs and run bigger cabling rather than under-sized stuff. Here\u2019s a quick guide for the most common installs.<\/p>\n
\n
\n INSTALLATION<\/td>\n APPROX. CABLE LENGTH<\/td>\n SIZE CABLING<\/td>\n<\/th>\n \n Under-bonnet battery charger, connecting two batteries on either side of the engine bay<\/td>\n 3m<\/td>\n 16mm2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10-position fuse block mounted just off auxiliary battery<\/td>\n 0.5m<\/td>\n 4mm2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fridge in rear of vehicle, powered by auxiliary battery in front of vehicle<\/td>\n 6m<\/td>\n 6mm2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n DC\/DC Charger mounted in rear of vehicle, connected to crank battery in engine bay\/td><\/p>\n 6m<\/td>\n 25mm2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n Remember \u2013 if in doubt, it\u2019s always better to run over-sized cable than undersized stuff!<\/p>\n
GET THE MOST FROM YOUR SOLAR SETUP<\/h3>\n
Solar power has taken off in a massive way in the last couple of years, letting 4WDers camp for longer without having to drive to recharge batteries.<\/p>\n
To get the most from your solar setup, first you need to make sure the regulator is big enough, There are two main types of regulators used \u2013 Pulse Width Modulation or PWM and Maximum Power Point Tracker or MPPT. A PWM type cuts down the input voltage to the charge voltage and \u2018burns\u2019 off excess voltage. An MPPT type regulator like the Adventure Kings MPPT Regulator uses all the available voltage to insure the most amount of current is getting to the batteries. It does this by monitoring the power and voltage from the panels and adjusts panel voltage for maximum power accordingly. In general, an MPPT type regulator will improve the amount of power extracted from your panels by up to 30%.<\/p>\n
ARE YOU RUNNING THE WRONG BATTERY?<\/h3>\n
The most common batteries for 4WDers are still Wet Cell and AGMs, like the Adventure Kings AGM Battery. Wet Cell (Calcium), AGM, Gel, Lead Crystal and Lead Carbon are all Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries with the major component being Lead. Most conventional smart chargers can charge these types of batteries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No more flat batteries or warm fridges! Simple, expert tricks to take your 12v setup to the next level SIMPLE 12V TRICKS ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND \u201cTHIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLE YOU\u2019RE GOING TO READ ALL YEAR\u201d Nothing sucks worse than that gut-wrenching feeling of pulling up to camp and realising your fridge hasn\u2019t been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123456,"featured_media":122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5528,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions\/5528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}