Date:         Mon, 06 Jan 1997 22:58:05 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Lawrence Johnson <ljohnson@halhinet.on.ca>
Subject:      Re: Connecting  a 2nd battery & fridge questions

Harold,
With the original setup, before the aux battery was installed, the
fridge was connected to the switched post(30) of the relay while the
water pump and control panel were connected to the unswitched post (87)
of the relay. The result was that the fridge only received 12v when the
engine was running while the control panel and water pump had 12v all of
the time (the control panel read the status of the primary battery). 

I liked the idea that the fridge only got 12v when the engine was
running. I didn't like the idea that the battery could be drained by
forgetting to switch the fridge off.

So when I installed my aux battery, I left the fridge connection
undisturbed but connected the pump and control panel to the aux battery.
I then installed a second relay for control of the charging of the aux
battery. The switching posts (87 & 30) for the new relay were simply
connected to the switching posts (87 & 30) of the first relay while the
switched posts (86 & 85) were connected to the main posts of the primary
battery and the aux battery respectively (use heavy 10 guage wire and a
40 amp relay). 

The result is that the aux battery only charges when the engine is
running (same as the FAQ quoted). Now the control panel reads the status
of the aux battery. The fridge only works on 12v when the engine is
running. Neither the primary battery nor the aux battery can be drained
by leaving the fridge set to 12v.

For clearing the fridge drain line, try using conpressed air. I got
dramatic results and a puff of black smoke from the consumed spider webs
and such.

Larry,
'86 Syncro Westy

P.S. I have the Radio Shack fan but haven't installed it yet. I'm
interested in how you are planning to bring the wires inside the
fridge.  

_________________________________________________________

Harold Teer wrote:
> 
> Would appreciate any comments on the following electrical and
> fridge questions.
> 
> Last year, I purchased a '91 camper in which the previous owner had
> already installed a 2nd battery.  This last week (during a warm spell)
> I installed a Propex heater (thanks much to Tom Forhan for his
> how-to-install postings).  When I looked at the van's 2nd battery
> setup, it differed from the setup as indicated on the FAQ about "How do
> I connect a 2nd battery?" The FAQ said to:
> 
>  1. Disconnect your primary battery at the ground strap.
>  2. Disconnect the 2 red wires leading from the fuse box behind the
>     drivers seat from the relay terminals.
>     These wires lead to your fridge and cabin light.
>  3. Connect these two wires to the + terminal on the aux battery.
>  4. Run an 8 or 10 ga wire from the + terminal on the aux battery to
>     terminal #30 on the relay. This terminal supplies current to
>     charge the aux battery when the van is running.
>  5. Connect a ground strap to the aux battery.
>  6. Reconnect the ground strap on the primary battery.
> 
> The previous owner did not perform steps 2 and 3. He left the 2 red
> wires connected to the silver relay switch.   My guess is that in this
> setup, the fridge, water pump, and control panel would all draw power
> from both the 1st and 2nd battery and could run both batteries down
> leaving me stranded if I forgot to turn something off.  Is my thinking
> correct on this or was the setup such that the 2nd battery wasn't
> powering anything?
> 
> Under the recommended setup, it appears that the fridge, water pump,
> etc would draw power from only the 2nd battery until it ran down..  Is
> this correct?
> 
> While I had the fridge out to install copper tubing for the Propex, I
> took Harry Yates advice and checked for rust and thankfully, found
> none.  In looking in the archives, I found Derek Drew's postings from
> 1994 about the wisdom of installing a small fan in the fridge to
> circulate air over the cooling fins to increase overall cooling.  He
> installed a matchbook size fan from Radio Shack (they still sell it)
> over the cooling fins and connected it to an external switch so he
> could manually turn the fan on and off. I have the same problem with
> inadequate cooling and am considering installing the fan in the fridge.
> However, I was wondering if anyone had connected the fan directly to
> a terminal on the fridge so the fan would automatically come on anytime
> the fridge was running on AC, DC, or propane? If I could do that, I
> would never have to worry about accidently leaving the fan running when
> I didn't have the fridge turned on.  If this is feasible, to which
> terminal would I connect the fan?
> 
> While the fridge lights everytime I put it on propane, I had never been
> able to take the cap off the drainage tube until I had the fridge out
> of the van.  The postings refer to blowing air in the tube if you ever
> have trouble lighting the fridge. Thought I would check this out, and to
> my disappointment, I can not manually blow any air through the tube. It
> appears to be blocked.  I don't have a local fridge dealer, but could
> probably find one within a 100 miles.  Should I try to find a dealer to
> check the fridge, so should I leave well enough alone since the fridge
> lights easily?
> 
> Thanks for any advice
> 
> Harold
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> 
> Harold Teer
> Department of Marketing & Hospitality Mgmt.
> James Madison University
> Phone (540)568-3049   FAX (540)568-2754
> teerhb@jmu.edu