pugwash Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Two batteries, an X-Charge and a two battery isolator from VWP etc. Who's got some crayons I can borrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Who's got some crayons I can borrow? You could have had mine but I got hungry after colouring in my wing bars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edd Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Ed could you do a write up for the Tech archive please ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edd Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Puggy.....are you sure you need it ?.....your truck is going to weigh a ton....well a few ton , all the expense of a Hydraulic system and then still ending up fitting twin batteries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkk2 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Les - its for the onboard DFF they can run those on hydraulics yet! (Sorry Jim just getting you back for the dog photos and OT!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Puggy.....are you sure you need it ?.....your truck is going to weigh a ton....well a few ton , all the expense of a Hydraulic system and then still ending up fitting twin batteries 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Use laptop HD, they are generally more robust, and mount it with some form of vibration isolation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 no idea what their official name is or who makes 'em, it was handed to me by a mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 laptop, car carger/adaptor and only one car battery doing everything - KISS Jim! yeah but i've got 90% of the bits i need for an in-car PC already and i DONT have a toughbook. Also a car pc tends to be more powerful than a notebook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 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 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 !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 I'm using my Samsung X20 notebook mounted on a Ram mount similar to V8 Freaks,with a GPS mouse reciever running MM2005 from a 350watt inverter, not had any problems with power supply from the Odyessy pc1700 batts/splitcharge system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPR Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Also available from Painless - should be cheap to ship: 3 position battery management system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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