lapperz Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 hi can you have seperate earths for each battery? or do they have to be linked? and one more thing please. im looking at the x charge relay but can someone tell me if i could just use a battery isolator switch instead of the relay many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zardos Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 hi can you have seperate earths for each battery? or do they have to be linked? and one more thing please. im looking at the x charge relay but can someone tell me if i could just use a battery isolator switch instead of the relay many thanks Linked or separate it does not matter, you can try for separate earths but some electrical item are earthed to their metal parts as well so you would have to electrically isolate any metal mounting as well to get separate earths. So its not really practical to go for separate earths, having them linked is fine. You could use a battery isolator between the two batteries but you would loose the connect and forget benefit of a voltage sensitive relay (VSR). I'm sure at some point you would forget to disconnect the two batteries when you don't have the engine running and then flatten the start battery. Knowing what you plan to power with the auxiliary battery is the key to answering this question as the only reason to use an isolator instead of a VSR is if you want extra power for the load on the auxiliary battery and the load is greater than the load rating of the VSR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 1) The earths have to be linked 2) The X-eng split charge is not a VSR, it's just a standard relay. 3) You could use an Isolator for 'manual' split charge, However this'd be only one step away from just wiring the batteries in parallel. As above, what are your requirements? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longlandy Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Durite intelligent split charger is the way forwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapperz Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 1) The earths have to be linked 2) The X-eng split charge is not a VSR, it's just a standard relay. 3) You could use an Isolator for 'manual' split charge, However this'd be only one step away from just wiring the batteries in parallel. As above, what are your requirements? hi i plan to run a winch from the auxiliry battery.i only want to use a battery isolator because i have one allready.i have two batterys in my batterybox, and there was allready a seperate earth for the second battery so ive just used it cheers is this ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapperz Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 hi i plan to run a winch from the auxiliry battery.i only want to use a battery isolator because i have one allready.i have two batterys in my batterybox, and there was allready a seperate earth for the second battery so ive just used it cheers is this ok ive copied the x charge fitting instructions but just wondered if it matterd,the earths wernt linked cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well I expect they should be, but via the chassis? I actually ran a separate earth lead on mine, as I wanted it for the winching capability and wanted to ensure a good connection between them for minimum losses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Running seperate earths for winches, or anything else, is a good idea. Any battery must ultimately have the same earth as the alternator that charges it, since most alternators earth through the block, this will be the same earth as the main battery. To put it another way, if you sat a battery on the floor beside the landrover, and only connected the positive wire from the alternator/split charge/first battery you wouldn't expect it to charge, would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.