The chassis battery - and the solenoid - won't be part of the equation unless you're running the engine. Long story short, you need to make sure your 12V house system is functioning properly in order for the on-board generator to start. All of your 12V systems (furnace(s), fridge, lights, water pump, etc.) work off the batteries the converter keeps the batteries charged when you have 110V power (whether from shore or the on-board generator). These older converters also need a good battery in the loop in order to work properly. Older converters (I'd guess mid-1990s and earlier) did not have "smart" charging algorithms and would routinely bake your house batteries if plugged in for long periods of time. You'll also have a converter that charges your house batteries when your RV is plugged into shore power (it will be plugged into a standard receptacle somewhere in the rig). The solenoid allows you to draw from the house batteries to crank the engine in an emergency, but the isolator will prevent the opposite from happening (i.e., you can't power the house with the chassis battery). If your rig is configured like mine, the generator starter gets its power from the house battery bank. My rig has both a 3-pole solenoid mounted by the alternator and a diode-type isolator mounted just above my radiator. In addition to the charge solenoid, there is also probably an isolator that will connect the 2 battery banks together when the alternator is producing voltage but isolates your chassis (truck) battery from the house when it's not running. I suspect none of us would recommend a simple solenoid approach.Did the 12V system ever work? Why did you replace the solenoid? There are arguments for either ACR or B2B approaches, both with their own trade-offs. I wired my ACR directly to the van battery and and external fuse, so the CCPs remain unused. A B2B can also limit charging current, so the CCP fuse wouldn't be a problem. Some folks here go for a more expensive battery-to-battery converter (B2B unit) approach to avoid this. Mixing two battery technologies is frowned upon because you may not be able to adequately or properly charge the house battery, and thus shorten battery life. Like what type of house battery you'll be using. You would probably want an external properly sized fuse or breaker in line with your solenoid/relay.Īs you proceed, there are a few other considerations as well. If the house is fairly discharged, you may end up popping the CCP internal fuse, which is under the seat and a pain to replace. One thing I'd caution about, no matter which approach you use, is using a single CCP point as the van side battery connection (as is the case if you only have a single van battery). Which, IMO, would be a silly wheel reinvention. The solenoid approach can't handle any of that, unless you use it as the core of a homemade ACR. ACRs also protect against transients affecting the house system, like when the starter is actually engaged. They also provide undervoltage and overvoltage protection, so the ACR won't connect the banks if one bank is severely discharged (less than about 9.5V) or there's some sort of high voltage fault (over about 16 V). ACRs don't require ignition sense lines, they only engage if one of the batteries is above 13 volts. In addition to intelligently knowing when it's OK to connect the two battery banks, the installation is far simpler. Some folks use the Blue Sea ACR: _ExplainedĬlick to expand.I'm going to echo what DaveInSeattle says.ĪCRs are specifically designed for this scenario. This company can also provide phone support for their kits. Selecting the correct kit depends on knowing the type and capacity of your house bank and starter batteries. This kit uses the Victron series ACR (Automatic charging relay). Here are links to kits that you can install yourself with a wiring diagram and instructions. If electrical work is to unfamiliar to you, most cities have local upfitters, companies that do work on work vehicles, who can install the correct device for you. For example, if your house bank is depleted and you turn the ignition on, it will start to drain your starter battery, Your voltage will drop, and you might be unable to start the vehicle. I’m curious how you decided that a simple solenoid connected to the ignition signal was the best approach for charging the house bank? I can think of a number of scenarios where this will cause problems.
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