Date:         Thu, 9 Apr 1998 08:35:10 -0700
Reply-To:     Mark McCulley <raven@HALCYON.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Mark McCulley <raven@HALCYON.COM>
Subject:      Re: Where is the best place for battery cut-out relay?
Comments: To: Michael Sullivan <sullivan@OPENMARKET.COM>, Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The factory battery cut-out relay is located under the driver's seat in my
87 syncro Westy. As wired from the factory, this relay supplies power to the
fridge only when the engine is running. You can rewire it to be a battery
cut-out relay.

If you are adding a battery cut-out relay, I would not put it near the fuse
box as that will only increase the length of the heavy-duty wire you have to
run from your alternator (or primary battery) to supply charging current to
the 2nd battery.

I added a 2nd battery in the lower compartment to the left of the fridge.
There's more room here for a larger battery than under the driver's seat. I
used an 80 amp marine grade solenoid (overkill) and ran a 6 gauge wire
directly from the alternator to the solenoid. Now I'm set in case I want to
add even more aux battery capability.

-Mark McCulley

At 07:50 AM 4/9/98 -0400, Michael Sullivan wrote:
>Ok Volks, I'm confused.
>
>Bently hints that the 2nd battery cut-out relay should be located
>somewhere near (under?) the fuse box. However, the archives reveal that
>many Vanagonians have their cut-out relay under their driver's seat.
>
>So who is right? Were the relays in different locations for different
>years?
>
>Just a bit curious.
>
>Michael J. Sullivan
>Director of Catalog Design
>Open Market Inc.
>
>'87 GL Syncro Westfalia
>******************************************
>   work: http://www.openmarket.com
>   play: http://www.hsdesign.com
>******************************************
>