Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 20:11:58 -0800
Reply-To: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: Re: Isolator, where to put it?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Darrell,
Seems like an exercise in archaeology sometimes trying to find the right
page in the Bentley.
It's interesting to compare the three pages that show the relay under the
driver seat:
97.33b (Camper from 1986): 2.5mm wire & relay & fridge; no auxiliary battery
97.34a (Camper 1986-1989, auxiliary battery): 6.0mm wire & relay & aux
battery; (no fridge shown)
97.222 (1986-1989, auxiliary battery): 6.0mm wire & relay; (no fridge shown)
97.225 (from 1990, auxiliary battery): 6.0mm wire & relay; (no fridge shown)
[Didn't see a wiring diagram for campers from 1990. Assume same as 86-89?]
For the years 1986-1989 and from 1990 on it seems that if your Vanagon came
with an auxiliary battery, it was wired with 6.0mm wire between the starter
battery and the auxiliary battery (weather it was a camper or not).
If your Vanagon Camper did not come with an auxiliary battery, VW felt the
2.5mm wire was large enough to supply the fridge. [It makes sense that a
discharged auxiliary battery would draw more amps than the 7 or 8 that the
fridge draws.]
But could this be right? Would they only go to 6.0mm wire if the Van came
equipped with an auxiliary battery?
A good thing to check if you want to add an auxiliary battery and don't know
if your Vanagon came originally with and auxiliary battery or not.
Another thing: The way I read the electrical diagrams that show the
auxiliary battery, it seems that the 6.0mm wire (nor the 2.5mm wire)
connecting the two does not necessarily pass through the main fuse panel.
Does this mean that the wire goes directly between the starter battery and
the auxiliary battery? Or does it go up front anyway? (The extra distance
would make a big difference for wiring an auxiliary battery into the 2.5mm
wire.)
And I like your idea, Darrell, of putting a 30amp fuse between relay and the
starter battery. Good protection for the relay in the event the battery draw
is large enough to fry the relay.
Bill
90 Westy Syncro
-----Original Message-----
From: Darrell Boehler <midwesty@MIDWEST.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Saturday, January 23, 1999 5:42 PM
Subject: Re: Isolator, where to put it?
>---------------------
>Hi Volks,
> There seems to many levels of bentley books when it comes to the camper
>section. Mine shows (on 97.34d camper 1986 - 1989) the aux battery and
the
>battery connected with a relay. This relay is energized anytime the
>alternator is charging and key not turned to start. This is a 30 amp relay
>on my 86 westy. With this set up and a dead aux battery it would seem to
me
>that the battery cutout relay would indeed get warm (if not burned) contact
>points with a fully charged battery and a 90 amp alternator when the cut
out
>relay is first energized. I have had some serious questions about this
>circuit, in fact I installed a 30 amp fuse in series with the relay points
>but it has never blown.
>Darrell
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>Date: Saturday, January 23, 1999 6:01 PM
>Subject: Re: Isolator, where to put it?
>
>
>>Harold,
>>Not disputing any of what you said... all good info. I really don't have
an
>>opinion of what is right or wrong or the best way on this. But since some
>>people tend to take posts as gospel, just wanted to point out that the
>>Bentley does show auxiliary battery hooked up to the relay on at least
some
>>Vanagons. You had said, "There is a possibility that, if one is using that
>>[relay] to also charge a second battery, that the relay or the wiring
could
>>be damaged." It is possible that you are right and the German engineers
are
>>wrong. I don't know.
>>I liked the isolator. It looks cool with the little blue fins and all. The
>>only reason I don't have one in my Vanagon is that it didn't work properly
>>for me. Perhaps the mechanic that installed it did it wrong. He sure
>screwed
>>up some other things in the process. And then the mechanic that I do have
>>confidence in (he drives a syncro and is on the recommended list at
>>vanagon.com) said that the relay was a better way to go. Perhaps he is
>wrong
>>too. I don't know.
>>Bill
>>90 Westy Syncro
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
>>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>>Date: Saturday, January 23, 1999 1:48 PM
>>Subject: Re: Isolator, where to put it?
>>
>>
>>>Bill,
>>>Just a quick comment on the relay.
>>>Of course, everyone can make up their own mind,
>>>and I respect everyone's opinion.
>>>But, the way I see it, with respect to the relay:
>>>In my Bentley (1980 to 1991 vanagon):
>>>on page 97.33b, camper from '86,
>>>They call the relay a "refrigerator 12 volt heater relay".
>>>The main wire to the relay from the dash is a 2.5 mm
>>>cross-section wire.
>>>
>>>On the page that you mentioned, pg. 97.222,
>>>(I think this page is for a weekender with a dual battery setup?)
>>>the relay is called "battery cut-out relay".
>>>The wire going from the main battery to the aux. battery
>>>is a 6.0 mm cross-section wire.
>>>
>>>I might be wrong, but my assumption is that those 2 relays
>>>are different in size. Also there is a big difference between
>>>a 2.5 mm wire and 6.0 mm wire.
>>>
>>>So, you can see in our westy full campers, the
>>>refrigerator 12 volt heater relay setup is not as strong as the
>>>relay setup on pg.97.222.
>>>
>>>Harald
>>>'90 westy
>>>
>>> Bill wrote:
>>>> Actually, if you look at the wiring diagram on page 97.222 of the
>Bentley
>>>> you will see that the relays that came on Vanagons from 1986 were ment
>to
>>>> work with an auxillary battery. Weather the stock wiring was adequately
>>>> designed or not I don't know. I do know that this set up seems to work
>>>fine
>>>> on my 90 Westy Syncro.
>>>
>>
>
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