Wednesday 11 January 2012

Electrical modifications.

Today fellow caravan club member,Don, took time out to come and help me modify the electrical wiring between the batteries and control board. The original wiring was to suit the English and European scene where freedom camping is banned and campers use motor camps  with mains power on tap. This cabling was too light and not getting sufficient power from the charger and solar panel through to the batteries. Due to the lightness of the cables the batteries have never been fully charged and the power levels soon dropped rapidly.

Electrical modifications between the batteries and control board.Electrical modifications between the batteries and control board.

After a shopping trip for new 10mm cable and battery fittings we set about running the cable down from the control panel down to the battery box. A couple of extra holes had to be drilled to get the cable into the battery box in the shortest route. At the control board we had to utilise the original connectors as there was no way the thicker cable could  be fitted to suitable connectors. A short length of the old cable and connectors had to be retained  but this shouldn’t cause any problems.

Don fitting new battery terminals.Don fitting new battery terminals.

After testing the system with the volt meter to ensure everything was doing what it’s supposed to do, it was time to reconnect everything. Success and the readings coming from the LCD display panel are encouraging. It may take a day or two for everything to settle down and then we will see how things look then.

The new cables from the batteries. Unfortunately we had to retain the original board connections.The new cables from the batteries. Unfortunately we had to retain the original board connections.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Still looking good guys, hope you had a good festive season and Jill and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you both a great and happy New Year.

Derek and Dot said...

Hi Jill and Graham

Thanks a lot guys, the compliments of the season to you too. Looks like you are having a mild winter, hope it continues. :-)

Jenny and Robin said...

Gosh the original wires were lighter than I thought. No wonder the system was struggling. Lets hope that this has done the trick for down south.

Derek and Dot said...

Hi Jenny and Robin
Fingers crossed, certainly looking promising at the moment. Better than ever.

Les Biggs said...

Just a big hello from the UK.

Derek and Dot said...

Hi Les
Big hello from down-under. How's married life treating you?

nb piston broke said...

Hi you two, glad to see that you are enjoying your life on the road. Love reading the blog and looking at the great photos keep it up. All the best Lynne and Paul

Derek and Dot said...

Hi Lynne and Paul
Happy New Year to you. Life is for living, we are still following the blogs of all our UK friends afloat.

alex said...

Electrical fixing is not that easy if you don't have background it is nice that you have someone that could help you.