Home / Conversions / Camper Van Conversion Electrics
Split-charge relay - More than 50amps can flow between the engine battery and your leisure battery, so always get a relay that is rated at 50amps or more. Preferably 75 or 100 amps. Many relays sold on eBay are 30amps and designed for systems on cars, and not for connecting heavy duty batteries.
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Camper Van Life is brought to you by Darren Lambert, a big fan of camper vans.
This website is the result of my Mercedes Sprinter campervan conversion, and my 9 month trip through Europe.
I am constantly expanding this website, and will be doing another conversion and trip soon. I hope this website is useful to you, and I hope you like it :o)
hi i was wondering if anyone can help me i am planning to wire a
12v auto socket
led lights and a switch
to my leisure battery power supply can anyone tell me what wire i need to do this, they will be wired into my power box which will be fused just don't understand what size amp the wire should be, I would like to use the 12 auto socket to charge netbook,camera etc
Many Thanks
Michelle
Hi Michelle
Lights are low powered, and only require small cable. 2.5mm cable should be fine for the lights.
The 12v auto socket will require some bigger cable. I assume you will plug an inverter into the 12v socket? If so I would recommend getting som 6mm cable. This will ensure you can run fairly power hungry items.
24volt split charge to 12volt how to do this
You need a 24v to 12v convertor.
12 Volt shop has some good ones:
http://www.the12voltshop.co.uk/Shop/power-and-electrical/24-to-12v-conve...
eBay is cheaper though
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw...
You need to work out how much current your 12v device will use, and buy an appropriate one.
The 12 Volt Shop one does 18 amp, the cheap eBay ones do 5 amps.
hi ya just starting to convert t4 would just like to now wat cable to use for sockets(probably one double) and lights ,can u have the lights and sockets work off both a leisure battery and inverter,and mains hook up.Do u wire these up like a house hold circit to a fuse board and then the board to leisure bat,im a novice at this so forgive me if questions sound silly thanks
You cant use normal house electrical wire you need to use flexible cable sort of like the wire on extension leads the thickness depends on lenght of wire, i would use about 2.0mm for no more than 4 meters that will make sure you have about 19.0amps of power in it. For the lights i would wire them sepeate as you can buy 12v lights and doesnt use much electric. for the sockets yes you will have to use an invertor and yes its all comes from a fuse box
I have a 100w solar panel that charges 2 110ah leisure batteries I would now like to connect my vans starter battery to boost the charge but cant find out how to do it anywhere. any help would be great thanks
Do you want to charge the leisure batteries from the engine alternator?
It's fairly straight forward. I would buy a 100 amp + relay kit, which should include all of the bits you need and instructions.
What country are you in, I will recommend a product for you.
i will be charging from alternator as well as solar panel i live in uk
This is a really nice relay kit on eBay. It is 100 amp, which will handle a lot of power, if both the leisure batteries are low. It comes with lots of good cable
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Amp-12v-Battery-Split-Charging-Relay-Kit-P...
Here is a cheaper kit, but it's easier to install. The cable is not so good, but should work OK
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-30AMP-SPLIT-CHARGE-RELAY-KIT-SELF-SWITCHIN...
I'd go for the first option if you can.
that sounds good but how do i wire it all up do i connect the solar panel through the regulator to the + and - on leisure batteries and then the relay to the + on the leisure batteries
I've just bought a 1072 t2 campervan and the heating is rubbish except for esbacher blown heating is there any way to heat the cabin whilst driving
The heating is notoriously bad on these campervans. As they are air cooled it's not easy to get heating from them. There are some ways though. I think it's best to ask around in the T2 forums.
http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/index.php
http://www.justkampers.com/forum2/
I have just bought a VW T4 that has some electrics installed by the previous owner. Currently there is a leisure battery that is charged when the van is running and that is just used to power the lighting.
There is also 240 electric hook up installed that provides power to a three pin plug socket in the van. I believe that currently the two systems are separate.
Eventually I want to be able to use 12v and 240v appliances from the leisure battery in the van and charge the leisure battery while on electric hook up as well as the engine running.
I'm just trying to get my head around what is required. Would all the power need to go through the leisure battery then distributed via 12v sockets and an inverter for 240 appliances? So the wiring that's currently in the van for the 240 socket would need to be wired through a charging system into the leisure battery then back out through an inverter back to the 240 socket?
To achieve what you want it's fairly simply.
1. Get a leisure battery charger. Ctek are popular.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=+battery+charger+ctek&_sacat=0&_dm...
You wire this into the consumer unit (fuse box), if you have one fitted. If you don't just plug it into the 240 volt socket in the van.
Now when you connect the hookup you have 240 volts at the sockets, and 12vs charging the battery, and also endless 12 volts of power at the lights and anything else that is wired into the battery.
2. To get 240 volts from the leisure battery, buy an inverter. Connect this to the leisure battery, and you have 240 volts when you need it. Make sure you get one powerful enough to power what you need. Laptops need about 100 watts. Normally the inverter has crocodile clips that clip onto the battery.
No more wiring is required than that.
This forum seems to have the electronic experts I need for a problem that has stumped me for a few years. this is not a "van" question - I apologize - I can't find assistance elsewhere! I captain a 40ft dragon boat and I want to install a quality, waterproof sound system on board that will allow me to play music via my iPod. I have found an inexpensive, two channel marine amp and a set of Polk Atrium 80w waterproof speakers. I need to drive the speakers for approximately two hours. What size battery is necessary to accomplish this?
-Mark in Tampa
What is the power consumption of the amp? Do you have a link to it?
Hi
Just after a bit of help. I am currently confverting a T4 into a camper. Have wired up split charge relay, consumer unit etc to my van and earthed it through the floor of the van as the instructions said. However when tested the van is not acting as an earth through the floor.
Any Ideas???????
That sounds odd. How are you checking the earth? With a multi-meter between the battery negative terminal and the floor?
Hi guys
Appreciate a bit of help please if you can.
I'm disabled and I use a mobility scooter which lives in my small panel/box van, when at home I just put the mobility scooter's 300W charger inside the van and connect it to the mains via an extension lead, closing the back door on the extension lead carefully as I use a communal garage and need to keep the van locked and secure.
So I'm thinking of going on holiday and I'll need to charge my mobility scooter in campsites and I don't have a lot of money to get a professional to fit a hook-up socket on the outside of my van and a consumer unit/socket on the inside. I can't find a way to get a lead in to the van more easily and keep the van locked.
If I fit a 16A plug on my extension lead, do you think I could employ the same method I use at home on campsites without running in to any difficulty? All opinions welcome!
Thanks for your help
Yes, you should have no problem doing it the way you suggest.
Just be careful you don't damage the cord when closing the door.
Thanks Darren, I'm gonna give it a go, I may put some sort of sheath around the cord where it closes in the door and see if there's such a thing as a trip to go on the end of the lead inside the van maybe, not sure. Thanks again.
Hi, i have a 1973 VW Baywindow camper. I am a beginner when it comes to electrics, as i'm a clanky! I want to install a leisure battery and run Playstation3, TV, internal lights, CD/DVD player, fridge off it. Is this possible or would i have to run some off the leisure battery and some off 240V hookup. All i am thinking of is when i do not stay on a site with hookup, i won't be able to use my 3-pin sockets.
thanks in advance.
You can run all of this from a single leisure battery, but it will go flat fairly quickly. Maybe a few hours. You can install multiple leisure batteries. I have 3 x 110AH batteries, giving 330AH of battery power.
From the batteries you can then install an inverter. This will take the 12 volt from the battery and change it to 240 volts for the mains powered equipment like a PS3, etc. The inverter has a 3-pin plug on it.
If you are installing a hook up as well get a battery charger to charge the batteries. You can also charge the batteries from the engine alternator and solar panels.
Hi mate. This is just what I am looking to do. I am a novice too but have got my head around it all but one section.the battery charger bit. I have a leisure battery powering majority 12v gear. The only 240 is the fridge but that's 12 also, so what I want to do is go from the leisure battery to all of the bus. When I go where there is hookup I would like that to go straight into the leisure battery and keep it topped up whilst everything draws from it. What are your recommendations and can you explain the charger idea. Are there any downsides in this configuration, I.e. wrecking the leisure battery life. Your help will be much appreciated.
How are you connecting the 240 volt items to the leisure battery? Through an inverter?
If yes, you are using an inverter, then you can just plug the battery charger straight into the leisure battery.
When you connect the battery charger to the mains, it will start pumping 14.4 volts into the leisure battery, which will charge it.
Now, you have to be careful. Leisure batteries output 12.8 volts, and many appliances connected to them dont expect the voltage to be higher. But the battery charger, when charing from the mains, will output 14.4 volts. But if you are using the inverter then this will be fine, as it knows the voltage might be 14.4v.
hi there i have just purchased a t4 and im going to try and convert it for next summer i have no idea about elecrics so i was looking for some help on what i need i will be staying at sites with 240 hook up and sites with out the van will have a t.v lights a sink with pump and would need sockets to charge phone and laptop etc.
i know i will need leasure battery with the 240 hook up will i have to switch over to it or do you just plug and go to be honest im just trying to figure out how all this works.
i will be getting a electrician to do all the work was wanting to know what i would require and how this all works thanks in advance dave
hi darren ,hope you could give some advice ,just got a t5 camper which has been professionally fitted however the mains inlet is in a cupboard ? how would i hook up to this whilst keeping the vehicle secure ?could i get an extension and run it to the rear fog or something ,thanks for any advice ,not to keen to start making holes thou lol .
Hi
This seems strange. The mains inlet should be on the outside of the vehicle.
Did the conversion company do this on their own, or was it something you discusses with them?
I would discuss it with the conversion company. I would have a discreet hookup port added to the outside of the van wall.
I know on T4s you can pop out a reflected on the bumper and put a cable in there. Not sure about the T5 though.
hi i have a vw t5 i want to power 1 laptop and 2 technics 1210 decks and a mixer plus amp .could i just use a 12v to 240v inverter from my cig lighter or do i need something else please help me as i am new to all this thanks :)
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