Date:         Tue, 19 Apr 94 10:18:12 PDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Schwarze <schwarze@io.nosc.mil>
Subject:      Re: Electrical Mods

Werner Kenneth Hellmer writes:
> 
> Hello All,
> 	I've been talking to joel and would like to open up to any other
> 	experiences y'all may have. I've been modifying the electrical system 
> 	on my 78 bus (earlier posts may have said 79 mistakenly). I've replaced
> 	the stock 55amp alt. with a 70amp'er (minor mods); the difference is 
> 	phenominal!!! You can never have too much electrical reserve!
> 	I wish some aftermarket place had a monster big alt 100amps+ 8).
> 	Maybe I'll design a custom unit? No wait I've got it, I have an old 
> 	motor from a 67 ghia I can always set it up in sinc.running a couple 
> 	slave alternators :) I am wondering about ammeters; Anyone install 
> 	an ammeter in a bus before? Where did you find a suitable unit. 
> 	Also, Anybody hook up a 2nd battery. (I have a deepcycle
> 	die-hard marine just waiting to be added.) I'm curious about your 
> 	suggestions for isolation. I'm willing to try anything logical.
> 	Bore me to death with technical fufu, I'm an engineer 8>)
> 	This will be the great experimental bus of the decade! I have the 
> 	summer, no job, and no life :)

Here's an idea that I have been turning over for a few years.  In my motor,
there is an unused pulley behind the fan housing.  It was originally used
to drive the A/C compressor.  I have been toying with the idea of mounting
a second (55 amp) alternator where the A/C compressor was and driving it
with this pulley.  That would (theoretically) give me 110 amps, and with
3 large batteries in my bus, I could use it :)  What do you think?
	With regard to the ammeter, I originally had a nice VDO gauge that
I found in a junkyard.  I mounted it in the forward-facing panel of the
storage closet next to the bed in the back of the camper.  I mounted it
there because it was as close as I could get it to the engine compartment
(and that is important to keep the cables short).  I connected it with
standard 4-gauge (I think) battery cables, the kind you get at Pep Boys.
The VDO gauge was nice, because it looked like it belonged in a VW, and the
scale was +/- 30 amps, which was nice because when I turn on the fridge,
inverter, or lights, it was sensitive enough that the needle would dip
below 0.  The bad part was that when the batteries were really dead, it would
peg the meter for a little while until the batteries became partly charged,
and eventually the poor little meter gave up the ghost.  I replaced it with
an el-cheapo -60/+60 gauge which works, but doesn't show battery loads very
well.
	Regarding isolation,  I use a battery separator, which looks just
like an external starter solenoid, but is built for continuous duty.  I
got mine at Camping World, I think.  It was right next to the battery
isolators, which appeared to be relatively hard to install.  I have it
wired so that the *only* time it connects the batteries is when the key is
on *and* I have a switch on the dash turned on.  I use the pull-out switch
that was originally wired to turn on the light in the back of the camper.
That way I can't leave them connected by mistake (did this once and ruined
a battery because the solenoid drained it dead) and I can still start the
camper without the batteries connected (good if your extra battery(ies) are
really drained and you don't want them to tax your main battery while it
is trying to start your cold motor).
	Hope this helps...

-David

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David Schwarze			'73 VW Safare Custom Camper (Da Boat)
SAIC Comsystems, San Diego	'73 Capri GT 2800 (Da Beast)
schwarze@nosc.mil		'87 Mustang Lx 5.0 (Da Bruiser?)
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