markbg Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Hi, Thought I'd check before donig this so I didnt end up posting abotu a disaster and everyone saying "why didnt you ask before doing this.." I'm changing the engine oil and coolant and quite posibly the gearbox oil as well - altho the gearbox is working well with no problems so I may not Apart from running the vehicle before all I have to do is release the drain plugs on the underside of the chasis, wait a while and then refil with new oil and coolant right? Any pitfalls thats I'm not aware of? I havne't got a new oil filter for the CVRW yet but apparently they dont need chnaging as often as regualr car ones. Also Iw ant to trickle charge the batteries as Im getting a reversing camera which will hopefully just be powered off the main battery which I think is 12V 100AH - could I use my motorbike tricke charger for this? Its an optimate pro but IM not sure about electricity and whether this is powerfukl enough... thanks for any advice Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk3iain Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 (edited) I dont know the CVRW so cannot comment on oil/coolant seviceing. I would expect the power supply to be 24v and you will have 2 bats for the vehicle and 2 more for turret and radios I would guess. You can use your trickle charger on each battery in turn, but it will be working long and hard if the batterys are discharged to any extent. Best to use a normal charger to bring them up and the trickle charger to maintain charge during storage. This can be done in situ with the bats connected but I have found if you are not going to use the vehicle for a few weeks it is best to disconnect them and use a battery conditioner that switches off when fully charged. I am sure the Optimate Pro is a conditioner that can be left on for long periods. Hope this helps Iain Edited April 23, 2010 by Mk3iain add on and spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 drain plugs etc - as you state, no special procedures required Its not clear from your post what you mean by "main battery" it is a 24v system using two batteries which should be identical (CVRW does not have turret batteries) and if you only have a 12v charger then you will need to charge each battery independently (ie disconnect the vehicle leads from the battery being charged). A "trickle" charger will simply take longer than a "normal" charger. BTW, generally speaking, running a 12v accessory (eg camera) off only one battery in a 24v system is not good for that battery as it will be subject to uneven charging and will thus fail earlier than the other one (I assume you understand the batteries are wired in series and so which one will give you a 12v source?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbg Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 drain plugs etc - as you state, no special procedures required BTW, generally speaking, running a 12v accessory (eg camera) off only one battery in a 24v system is not good for that battery as it will be subject to uneven charging and will thus fail earlier than the other one (I assume you understand the batteries are wired in series and so which one will give you a 12v source?) Er no I dont quite understand the series thing - I have bought this system which states 12/24v so how should I wire this to the battery? Two SHARP CCD Cameras 12/24V Camera System with 7" Monitor 2x20M screw cables - its from www.Parkingcameras.com or should I get another battery just for the camera system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk3iain Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Er no I dont quite understand the series thing - I have bought this system which states 12/24v so how should I wire this to the battery? Two SHARP CCD Cameras 12/24V Camera System with 7" Monitor 2x20M screw cables - its from www.Parkingcameras.com or should I get another battery just for the camera system? Mark 24v vehicle systems use two 12v batteries wired in series ie. pos terminal of one battery to the neg terminal of the second battery, this gives 24v across both toghether. If you can use 24v then just use the vehicle power supply. The batteries will be OK to run this low load system without any special care. If you are using the vehicle for occasional short runs as against regular extended use it is worth using a conditioner on each of the batteries when it is not in use. They can be charged in situ OK if they are charged independantly, if you have two chargers they can be done at the same time, just beware of the polarities. On short runs the batteries may not get time to fully charge and over time one will loose more charge than the other. A long run will sort this but I find using smart conditioners keeps them topped up and extends their life. Conditioners are cheaper than batteries! Your motorbike charger will have to work hard on a part discharged large capacity battery. iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 (edited) thats the same system I have so an easy installation. You can use any live wire to get your power from as the system will automatcially deal with the fact it is a 24v source. if you have the original wiring loom still present then the way I did mine was at the driver's left knee there is a pair of wires marked RPU with a 2 pin plug on it, (originally for connecting to the driver's respirator pressurisation unit). I cut off the plug and simply connected these 2 wires to the control box + and - wires and mounted the control box behind the driver's windscreen washer bag so it is somewhat out of the way from any wetness getting in through the drivers hatch. I mounted the screen across the front of the stowage bin/cubbyhole that the washer bag is attached to, this means the screen is relatively free from glare etc sorry don't have an interior photo to hand. I prefer to see a bit of the vehicle in my picture as a reference point, hence the rear camera mounted on the turret as this gives a good panoramic view across most of the rear and as I have the turret slightly offcentre when driving (aids me getting in the hole!) it gives a bias towards the offside so I can see who is trying to overtake me :eek: I use the second camera on a magnetic base on the offside wing (the only bit of iron around there) so I can see to the right at junctions (and have a bit of the wing in the picture as reference) yet still be able to remove it when at shows PS - the 20m cable is far too long for the front camera so I bought the 5m cable as well, even then theres a lot of it coiled up inside the vehicle Edited April 23, 2010 by john fox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbg Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 crikey this is a helpful forum thanks for those replies - ok I get the series battery setup but looks like Ill have to get a car charger so Ill pick one up - I always used the trickle charger on the bike and love the fact I never get any battery problems with it Ill copy your setup on the camera as that looks great - thansk for the tip on the wiring as I wasnt sure how to do that cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Mark, If you're dropping the engine oil, you might as well stick a new filter in there. At least you know it's been done. http://www.ekmpowershop5.com/ekmps/shops/greenmachines/cvrtcvrw-oil-filter-1383-p.asp Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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