Has anyone got a new van that's euro 6 compliant and has one of these daft smart alternators? If so how did you get round the split relay charger?
I've just got a 2017 Renault trafic and this has a smart alternator.
Electrics aren't my best subject, so I'm
Trying to read up and get an understanding of how it all works.
From what I gather smart alternators don't kick out the same power that a standard alternator does (this saves on fuel and emissions) so this means a standard smart charge relay doesn't kick in.
For the moment I've been advised to wire things up to "direct charge" so the leisure battery is connected directly to my vans battery. But of course the problem with this is that I could run down both battery's and then my van won't start.
I'm Also bench charging my battery every night, but I'm running 2 powerup reels, and two pumps so I worry power may become an issue. The company who fitted my system are working on a solution, which seems to only be a "battery to battery" charger, which are quite costly. I'm
Happy to Do it if it works though.
Might try going down the solar route if p@f's thread is anything to go by, it looks promising.
These new vans have bigger alternators which will dump vast amounts of charge into the starter battery during regenerative charging at a higher voltage. Our leisure batteries won't tolerate that higher voltage. The lead acid battery used on vans for years won't tolerate that voltage or current surge either, so manufacturers are using calcium batteries which, allegedly, will.
This is a good info video. Charles Sterling isn't the most enthusiastic person I've listened to but the info is 'on the button.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WADiMSJ7YcI wrote this for another forum recently.
Battery to Battery chargers. Vehicles manufacturers are being forced by emission regulations to become more environmentally friendly. This has meant that there is a real possibility that vans registered after 2015 are likely to have smart alternators, stop start and regenerative charging.
A conventional Voltage Sensing Relay will not work on these vans, especially if they have regenerative charging. Regenerative charging is simply a system that recharges the battery when a vehicle is decelerating. The van’s ECU will instruct the alternator to charge the van’s starter battery until it is 80% full. It then leaves the remaining 20% to be charged when the vehicle is decelerating on a downhill, braking or slowing down for traffic lights etc. The alternator then puts a high voltage current into the battery. To accommodate this, the battery is now a calcium battery as a lead acid battery won’t tolerate the high voltages. Alternators are bigger and battery capacity has also increased; in some cases both by as much as 100% or more.
Sterling Power Products have been in the forefront of auxiliary battery charging for many years. Their pedigree is from the ambulance service and the Marine industry. According to Sterling their Battery to Battery charger does NOT take current from the starter battery for charging the leisure battery. Rather is uses alternator power to charge the leisure battery. (A ‘smart’ alternator still puts out a nominal voltage of 12.4v so it’s ready to dump a large charge into the starter batter at a moment’s notice. But 12.4v isn’t sufficient to charge the battery. So the Sterling Battery to Battery charger uses that 12.4 volts from the alternator and boosts it up to 14.4 volts which then charges the leisure battery.) There is a wiring schematic included in the pack to accommodate different charging modes. When the regenerative program activates, the battery to battery charger also regulates the voltage of the alternators output so it doesn’t damage the leisure battery. (Under regenerative charging the voltage can reach 15.5v on Ford vehicles and as high as 17.0v + on Renaults according to Sterling. Charging a lead acid battery at these voltages will cause gassing and premature lead acid leisure battery failure.)
A battery to battery charger is much more expensive than the old VSR but as demand increases then they should become cheaper to buy as ‘mass’ production reduces manufacturing costs as does manufacturer competition.
Currently the Sterling BB1230 seems a pretty good buy.
https://sterling-power.com/collections/battery-to-battery-chargers/products/2015-battery-to-battery-chargers-non-waterproof-drip-proof-ip21At the time of writing (May 2017) they are available via an Ebay supplier for £200.00 with free postage.
These B2B chargers can also be used as replacement for the VSR on older systems and, according to Sterling, will do a better job at charging the leisure battery. Conventional alternators are brilliant at supplying all the power a vehicle’s owner needs, eg., lights, windscreen wipers, radio etc. But they aren’t good battery chargers.
