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Battery Setups


pugwash

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Want to run 2 batteries, a main starter battery and a seconday battery for aux stuff like on-board computers smaller lights, that kind of thing.

As the second is going to be used for an in-car PC i don't want a voltage drop when i start the car. Similarily i don't want it discharging when not in use because it's not one of a matched pair.

Ideally i want it setup so that when the car is off i can use the spare battery, but it doesn't drain against the main battery and vice versa

When the car starts there is no voltage fluctuation in the secon battery

In an emergency i could use battery 2 to start the car or if battery 2 doesn't work then i could use battery one as my only battery.

alternator should charge main battery before second battery preferably, or else, the 2nd battery should be able to be switched out.

what i need is a automaticsplit charge but with a selector switch in it. can anyone come up with a wiring diagram that will explain it all?

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As the second is going to be used for an in-car PC i don't want a voltage drop when i start the car. Similarily i don't want it discharging when not in use because it's not one of a matched pair.

If you are running an in car pc then you realy need to use a proper in car 12v power supply which can handle 6- 20 volts so no spikes are sent on the power rail of the pc. The benifit of them is there are a few that can be set to control the startup and shutdown of the pc aswell on the ignition as well as for low voltage ect.

Let us know if you need any more advice on the pc /split charge stuff as ive been running one now for quite a while and have done quite a few installs.

Edd

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Ed could you do a write up for the Tech archive please ?

No Probs. Give us a weeek or so and ill include photos of the curent install in the 110. (its all in bits at the moment)

Edd

Edit. I should add sticking to the o.p that the split charge system that i use is very similar to simons x-charge (infact almost the same ) and i havent had any probs at all (its not the ultimate and has a few flaws but works well enough)

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No Probs. Give us a weeek or so and ill include photos of the curent install in the 110. (its all in bits at the moment)

Edd

Edit. I should add sticking to the o.p that the split charge system that i use is very similar to simons x-charge (infact almost the same ) and i havent had any probs at all (its not the ultimate and has a few flaws but works well enough)

Can you stick a post up on here when you have done it please, just to remind us to go have a look see.

Also am thinking of running a tough laptop for route recording/planning work. Any advice on that??

Regards

Leeds

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I run a 150 w inverter for my laptop and have no issues with it, the system works well all the time and is not power hungry, I run it off the existing battery.

I am running oziexplorer and a full set of calibrated os maps. very accurate

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Can you stick a post up on here when you have done it please, just to remind us to go have a look see.

Also am thinking of running a tough laptop for route recording/planning work. Any advice on that??

Regards

Leeds

Laptops are ideal imho as the internal battery copes with power supply interruptions of stopping and turning off engine, especially when laning. No need for separate wiring. I just use a universal power supply that takes a DC input into my toshiba laptop.

Cheers

Steve

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Puggy.....are you sure you need it ?.....your truck is going to weigh a ton....well a few ton :blink: , all the expense of a Hydraulic system and then still ending up fitting twin batteries :unsure:

That's why they ill be unmatched- the second battery will be a tiny jobby just to take the spikes out of the system- i found a £5 tiny battery for a little daihatsu which can be used for deep discharge. As edd says above a proper power supply woud take out most of the risk, but i want to have a battery that can be run flat if i forget to turn the PC off when the truck isn't runing.

I was going to use a PDA as that would be smaller and cheaper, but i have come into possession of a 10" touch screen and some micro ITX format PC parts. so it thought i might as well use some of them to make an in car PC

Edd- have you had any problems with a HDD- vibration and condensation wise. I can beleive that you can't get Solid state discs yet, although a rugged HDD would probably do the job just as well!

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laptop, car carger/adaptor and only one car battery doing everything - KISS Jim!

you can do the solid state disc thang, check Maplins, having said that my CF27 has been powerwashed, dropped, driven over, immersed in beer and loaded with copious quantities of "artisitic rendititions of the female form" and its still working

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Jim - I picked up a laptop 80GB HDD off ebay for 45 pounds IIRC to replace the broken one in the tosh.

Hi Steve, what sort of mapping, route recording GPS software are you running on your lap top?

Is it a standard laptop or a toughened laptop?

Regards

Leeds

I use multimap, same as everyone else going into a garmin handheld unit I already had. Laptop is a toshiba tablet that has been toughened up by dropping it a few times! ;) ;)

Here's a pic and you can see more on post here..vehicle post, scroll down for laptop

laptopmount003Medium.jpg

Cheers

Steve

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I have an ITX PC in my 90, using a second battery and a VSR to manage the split charging, this ensures that the ITX PSU sees no spikes.

My write up here

Lin ITX now do some 12 DC-DC PSUs that are a lot more cranking tolerant than when i bought mine.

I'm in the middle of installing a new 8" touch screen, running Memory Map and my own written Media Player & Relay interface Software.

I've had no problems with Vibration, I've had the PC running whilst off road and it hasn't caused any failures yet.

Hope this Helps,

Luke

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You can also buy battery protectors for accessories that shut down if they drain the battery, so if you leave the laptop on it will turn off before the battery has dropped too far to re-start the vehicle. I have one in a box somewhere :unsure: no idea what their official name is or who makes 'em, it was handed to me by a mate.

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You can also buy battery protectors for accessories that shut down if they drain the battery, so if you leave the laptop on it will turn off before the battery has dropped too far to re-start the vehicle. I have one in a box somewhere :unsure: no idea what their official name is or who makes 'em, it was handed to me by a mate.

they're generically called load shedders.

If you use an ITX, the DC-DC PSU will do this itself.

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Leeds,

I used my Toshiba Tecra S1 on a RAM mount for a month or two and no obvious ill effects.

I bought a cheap PIII Panasonic Toughbook that I now use (Touchscreen) that was effectively expendible...

I use an inverter (Got 1KW inverter cuz I can run the drill, inspection lights off it if necessary) and standard power supply that came with laptop. All powered off one battery and everything works fine. I use my existing Garmin GPS and Memory Map.

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You can also buy battery protectors for accessories that shut down if they drain the battery, so if you leave the laptop on it will turn off before the battery has dropped too far to re-start the vehicle. I have one in a box somewhere :unsure: no idea what their official name is or who makes 'em, it was handed to me by a mate.

Yep Maplin sell them for about a fiver they fit into the fag socket. They shut things down when the battery drops to 11.5 volts.

mike FOAK

Knickers

I can cause trouble in an empty house !!!

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