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Ford Transit conversion to camper MKII
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Buford T Justice wrote: »or would that be a big no no?
You can but it's messy and no offence, DIY not Pro.
that sortov wiring gets messy fast and it's extremely difficult to troubleshoot after. Hence my bus bar suggestion.
Er..but you've 2 engine batteries!?
Best find out what they're for before we get too carried away.
I'd be inclined to use one smartbank and two relays if your ECU won't be upset by it, in order to know that you'll have to investigate why you have 2 batts.
If you want to "be lazy" run a third way from the Pronautic with a proviso to maybe use it for solar too in the future.
I'd have the engine battery -> local fuse -> long run to rear -> Engine Stud/Bus at House Distro
& House bus bar -> local distribution & fusing serving:- Isolating Disconnect fuseblock -> all loads
- Pronautic + Fuse
- Solar Charge Controller (later) + circuit breaker / fuse
- Inverter + Fuse + Isolator
- B2B + Fuse
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Buford T Justice wrote: »One for starting and one for the accessories in the van, lights etc... the rear battery is the starter. If I was so inclined I could remove the second battery and have it all powered by the starter battery
I think there's a lot more to it than that, anything official to confirm? Are they both the same voltage at all times when underway?
Here's a few similar I did earlier..these things take days...
Obviously not exactly what yer looking for. Every installation is different.
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Moved some things around....
There is a fuse at the seat base beside the starter battery.
I want to see if I can get a better bus bar for the power feed. What I plan to do is put the isolator from the battery feed to the bus bar, and have the b2b and pro-nautic feed into the bus bar. That way they can charge the battery and I can isolate the power into the van when I need to. I can also isolate the batter and use the pronautic as a power supply if it suits me.
Don't mind the terminals that are on the battery there - they're just there to run the lights for now
WRT to charging the starter batter from the pronautic. I have a split charge relay lying around that I no longer need. I was thinking I could put that between the pro-nautic and the input on the sterling. This will allow the charger to supply the battery when shore power is in, but when on the road the battery will be isolated from the pro-nautic.
Thoughts?0 -
Buford T Justice wrote: »Yes - Factory fit
Pardon my scepticism but it's highly suspicious Ford added 10kg of high tech lead, and split charge for such a whimsical reason. Vehicle manufacturers (especially Ford) don't spend money they don't have to.
It could be regen and the accessory battery is being deep-cycled with the engine battery on charge only.
Regen is a moving target, you have to record the system in normal operation (or rtfm) over the course of urban driving to ascertain what it's doing. Sticking a multi-meter onit once and saying she's right isn't thorough enough.
....if it is as you say then one battery/standard split charge is fine. If it's more sinister I can't make a recommendation until I know what it is and doing but it the absence of that the ProNautic outputs are isolated so you won't go wrong running one per battery (4mm² is loads, 6mm² if you want a sufficiency of overkill).
If you run the Charger outputs now you can intercept them and rearrange their functionality down the line from the house battery distribution.Buford T Justice wrote: »Moved some things around....
:pac: I often say amateurs get it right the second time...Pros do it 4 times!Buford T Justice wrote: »There is a fuse at the seat base beside the starter battery.
Good place for it, closer the battery the better. Terminal fuses are deadly...no holder required...they only work on threads though...and they can heat the battery if you're like me and push them to the limits. ....I've never met someone like me...most people can't pull 300A off a battery system...I'm sure they're out there though.Buford T Justice wrote: »I want to see if I can get a better bus bar for the power feed.
Buford T Justice wrote: »What I plan to do is put the isolator from the battery feed to the bus bar, and have the b2b and pro-nautic feed into the bus bar.
Engine battery (B2) to engine Battery bus.
B2 bus -> B2B in & ProNautic OutBuford T Justice wrote: »That way they can charge the battery and I can isolate the power into the van when I need to.
Both of those units are automatically self-isolatingBuford T Justice wrote: »
I can also isolate the batter and use the pronautic as a power supply if it suits me.
Better to not isolate chargers. It can damage solar controllers and usually, you want the chargers to have independent isolators for servicing. For storage and troubleshooting you usually want chargers on and loads off.
The ProNautic will act as a power supply regardless. It has load compensation. The feature just means that if you take the battery out of the van then the 12v can still work from mains.Buford T Justice wrote: »
Don't mind the terminals that are on the battery there - they're just there to run the lights for now
Seen worse as a permanent fixing. :pac:Buford T Justice wrote: »
WRT to charging the starter battery from the pronautic. I have a split charge relay lying around that I no longer need. I was thinking I could put that between the pro-nautic and the input on the sterling.
This will allow the charger to supply the battery when shore power is in, but when on the road the battery will be isolated from the pro-nautic.
The 3 outputs on that charger are isolated. You're making it complicated.Buford T Justice wrote: »
Thoughts?
I've always wondered why Sterling made the Out the first stud and In the second.
Looks like a c0ck-up they decided nobody'd notice.
Put a screw through the cable tie mounts, the sticky back is just for placement.
Why did you fuse the ground? What size is the fuse?
I don't like yer battery terminals.
I don't like yer battery isolator either. I use contactors or albright EDs
The stud on the side of the pronautic is an earth (green) not a ground (black).
No harm in what you've done...in fact, it's correct to earth the ground but you're confusing the function of the conductor and your ground bus ought to be connected to the earth bus and the inverter neutralised with it's own earth leakage protection making it TN-S.
Why is there a terminal strip under the ProNautic?
You can use the one on the fuse block.
You need a set of these for the big loads:
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Sir Liamalot wrote: »Pardon my scepticism but it's highly suspicious Ford added 10kg of high tech lead, and split charge for such a whimsical reason. Vehicle manufacturers (especially Ford) don't spend money they don't have to.
https://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=135949
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/ford-transit-under-cab-seat-twin-batteries.215433/post-3769064
This is what I know. I don't know any other reason for it.The 3 outputs on that charger are isolated. You're making it complicated.
One output to go to the house battery, another to the starter battery
already ahead of you on that one :pac::pac::pac:
Put a screw through the cable tie mounts, the sticky back is just for placement.
Because you said to. 30AWhy did you fuse the ground? What size is the fuse?
I don't like yer battery terminals.
They're better alright
Why is there a terminal strip under the ProNautic?
You can use the one on the fuse block.
Just a negative bus bar, that's all0 -
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More done.
I have the isolator fitted & new bus bars, one for + and one for -
Power comes from the Starter battery to the in on the b2b, via an 80A fuse. Out from the b2b routes through an 80A fuse to the battery.
I have no suitable heavy bus bar for this, so it's easy to have all together on the terminal clamp. Stud clamps have been ordered.
Power goes to the isolator from the battery and then via 40A fuse and then to the bus bar.
Output 1 from the ProNautic goes to the + on the battery. Output 2 from the ProNautic goes via split charge relay to charge the starter battery.
I have noticed that when I plug in shore power, the split charge relay is energised and I was getting 15v at the starter battery. However when I plugged shore power out, the relay stayed energised even after a while. I undid the link from the b2b and it disconnected before I left (It didn't reconnect when I put it back on). I'm surprised by this. I would've thought that the voltage from the ProNautic would've disappeared and therefore disconnected the relay.
I wonder is there a need for the SCR at all, given that the outputs from the proNautic are isolated. I may be able to go directly to it.
One remaining job is to add a feed to the b2b to indicate the engine running. There's a wire in the dash behind the glove box that I can take and run it to the battery box, and use the cables there to run back to the b2b
Didn't realise the lighting was so poor, but here' the battery monitor
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So that wire under the dash didn't work, gave no reading out of it if the van was running or now. Moving on, I decided to use the cigarette lighter in the drivers dash. Someone had already butchered it to have a constant live rather than the ignition switched one (taken from the mirror controller no less, so I had to un-munge that while I was at it too.
The manual says it won't start until it's over 13.3v and won't run down past it either, so I'd imagine with the ignition on only, it's a safe enough. Plus as you say, I know about it so it'd be my own fault.
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Built a box in the back of the van to give a little extra legroom in the bed. I've gained 2 inches this way, and will get another two on the other side of the van when I do that too.
Continued the vapour barrier behind the panel and it's all joined up again. Lots of taping up. Have a sheet cut to cover the remaining, but ran out of time to fit it today.
I left a cut out to allow the conduit run up the van behind the barrier. It'll be covered with lining carpet, so should be good.
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Progress...
I'm considering not bothering with the water heater for the van, or at least forgoing it to a later date. I recall rarely using it in the last van, there's quite a bit of scale on it it would seem, and there's no insulation on it. I can't justify shelling out on a new one, and I'm not overly enamoured to cut a hole in the side of the van for an antiquated water heater. I can retrofit on later I'd imagine.
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Sir Liamalot wrote: »What is it? I'm curious.
It's a Carver Cascade II
You can see it on the side of the old van
Armaflex.
Thanks for thatYet people think huge intakes, vents and an exhaust for a gas fridge that still won't work after you do butcher your van is perfectly acceptable. :rolleyes:
You've sold me on that front.If it's 24v or gas I might be interested.
Gas - I have to actually assemble it to see if it still actually works.0 -
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Sir Liamalot wrote: »
I've been watching this guys channel lately. He's a bright chap. Impressive skillset. You'll like him.
This guy takes perfection to a whole new level. He clearly has an abundance of time and money with the way he's building that yoke.
In other news, I started on the passenger side of the van, with the same sort of idea as the drivers side. Since this was the side where the water tank is going I've installed the water inlet on the side. I've test fitted the tank, and there's space for the water heater between the tank and the wheel arch should I choose to install it.
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