ozzie1989

I'm pretty sure mine is in 'immobilise' mode... is it just not working at all?

This is a touchy subject... I know of sevral people who tow, using a-frames, a car behind their motorhome. On the front of the car is a socket, wired into the lights on the back to operate in conjunction with the motorhome, then there is a unit which is fitted into the drivers footwell (removable) which brakes the car for you in conjunction with the motorhome (Brake Buddy) and although american plenty of people import it. However, there is an interesting discussion here which says it is illegal although no-one has ever been successfully prosecuted - yet!

I can also recommend the X-Eng Split Charge - it will be more than adequate for your needs.

I'm looking at fitting the batteries this weekend, I'll be securing them with a ratchet strap - the reason for this is that I can position them any way I like and the bar across the top is less likely to damage the batteries. A question I do have though is venting them. The batteries I ordered above did not come with vent attachments, or covers. Would you recommend sourcing some vent attachments and venting outside of the battery box? If so, is it safe to take some tubing from each vent into a manifold (4 into 1) that I can then take up into the engine bay? Cheers

I would take the pump back - it should never be that loud. Mine does whine enough that if you stand at the back of the Defender you can just hear it over the engine on tickover - but never across a car park! The pump will whine (work) all the time as it has to pressurise the fuel system to 4bar? or something around that figure for each little injector pump on top of each injector to work

Nice one

Mine is classed as a LGV... which to me means commercial! I would like to note that the step uses ALL of the towing points, including the two support bars from by the fuel tank, making me think it is designed for towing and is approved. I'll take a look later

I knew about the regulation, and have a NAS step bumper, but I didn't think to check as it was fitted by the previous owner who towed with it. Does anyone know if the NAS bumpers are approved to tow? I will take a look tonight but I'm not sure I've seen any obious markins on the bumper itself

That is a bit of an unfair comment, considering putting a 3ton digger on a 3.5ton gross trailer would be overloading it anyway, as generally they weigh between 600-900kg empty for a 3.5ton model. Why do you think trucks use leaf springs? To carry the weight, if you ask me leafs are much more stable on a trailer, especially when fully loaded. Ifor all the way, that's all people seem to use round here and my friend has one of their tippers. It's lasted years, very rugged, considering it's used daily in the building trade.

I've ordered up an X-Charge and those batteries off eBay now... I plan to do something with them over bank holiday weekened weather permitting so I'll let you know how it goes fingers crossed!

Glad to see you enjoyed your holiday after all And by golly you were loaded up looking at that pic... must have nearly been riding the bump stops

Bear in mind that even after you've cleared them they could still come back instantly, especially if the engine is not on. What fault codes have you got, maybe we can help?

They've got marker lights on the rear too... must be something to do with their height

Was just about to post... so thanks to paul for digging out the photos for me Another vote for Mantec, top piece of kit! It now carries a 265/75R16 BFG AT on the same alloy wheel. It would easily carry bigger wheels! Just take the 3 rear spacing nuts off your old wheel carrier (if you have one) and you can fiddle about with how far the wheel sticks out to suit you then!

Good point there Chris... Trouble is I cannot find 110ah (or 80ah) batteries low enough to fit comfortably in the battery box height wise, and these look a good deal, even if they do only last 2 years!

I can also recommend using Gunk... spray it over your engine and parts, drive to local Jet Wash and wash away... it's very good at getting oil and grease off!

Good thinking... Also the chances are that when the water is up to your seat you'll be wanting to get out as quickly as possible anyway You could probably find even more slack by tracing the loom all the way back and taking all the slack out of it back to the seatbox, or re-routing it another way.

P.S: Your funny comment didn't go a miss

Si this is what I'd planned with a Carling switch... one will be an ignition fed supply (TD5) which I'm also toying with putting a cheap VSR in line, off in the middle, and one permanent for jump starting. The output of the switch will go to your x-charge. If you 'think' it can do it then I'll do it - I've every confidence you know what your talking about. In fact I could probably test it quite easily myself first just to make sure by feeling for heat etc.!

If your after removing the bulkhead, also buy new seat rails from Mud Stuff (they also do the removal bar)... it does make a big difference!

Good stuff, I guessed the ratings would be ok... but am a bit sceptical as they aren't branded though I'd assume they still pass regulations etc. and they have a 4 year warranty! My main reason for going for them is the dimensions, I can fit them with plenty of headroom left in the standard TD5 battery box - no worries about the batteries jumping and hitting the seat box cover even though they'll be well secured. Thanks

Ok guys thanks for the suggestions... all duly taken on board Quick question, if I installed 2 x-charge would that double my capacity ie if the are rated at 170amp continuous, would that give me 340amps... Not quite familiar with the whole path of least resistance etc. This isn't for the starting, just out of interest... I always wondered how they put 3 20amp fuses together to make 60amp in power supplies and assume they do it this way!

Sorry, I've adjusted the link now. The batteries are supposed to be dual purpose, also rated to 650cca?

I'd like to have the facility on my split charge setup to 'jump-start' the car should I accidentally run the main battery down (I shouldn't because that's the whole point of a split charge - but just in case). I could go down the route of keeping some jump leads in there but I thought about integrating it into a 3 way switch (auto charge - off - jump) using one of Si's X-Charge. All it means is me adding a short piece of wire to activate the 'always on' part of the switch so very easy to do. Some people say that starters draw 100s of amps, however others who've tested them say that inital surge is around 300a and then 120a when stalled... well within the remit of the x-eng split charge don't you think? So does anyone know the definitive answer as to how much a TD5 starter motor draws, and if it's safe to use with the X-Charge in the way I intend... if not jump leads it is Also, could anyone please give me your opinion on THESE unbranded batteries that I was thinking of using a pair of... Many thanks

The best way to get the fuses and relays out from under the seat would be to systematically extend each wire, one at a time maybe, using wire of the same rating (doesn't have to be the same colour) using 'adhesive lined heat shrink' or 'adhesive lined butt connectors with heat shrink' this way you'll create a waterproof connection under the seat and be able to put them on the bulkhead or roof. Your other option is to get hold of 4 large waterproof connectors, such as the ones for the ECU, with the appropriate crimps and seals, and make up your own extended loom... you could then just plug it in either end and hey presto! I haven't done it myself, but thought a lot about it. I don't do enough off-roading/wading to really justify the expense of those looms, though I would consider making my own... troube is finding a TD5 in a scrap yard is quite hard! I know I can get the crimps and seals, but not sure about the plugs.