Ken Wales Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Can you charge batteries in situ by using two pin plug into socket(inspection lamp socket) located above the inter vehicle socket or do you have to use the inter vehicle socket. Thanks Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Ken if you charge via the inspection light sockets you are charging via a 30A circuit breaker. Might be ok as a trickle charge point, but best to go direct to batteries via start socket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wales Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 (edited) Ken if you charge via the inspection light sockets you are charging via a 30A circuit breaker. Might be ok as a trickle charge point, but best to go direct to batteries via start socket. Thanks for that. Problem is I do not have a plug for starter socket. Battery charger I was thinking of using was a 12/24 charger that can put out 55amps but in normal mode puts out 28 amps at charging mode 12v not sure what amps would be at 24v. Does that therefore mean if I do the normal charging mode it would be ok(albeit not preferred) via the lighting socket. What would happen if it does trip breaker, will it damage anything, would circuit breaker reset? Edited July 1, 2012 by Ken Wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Ken assuming you don't have some fancy 'intelligent' charger. I assume though that the 55A rate is a rapid charge that puts a bit more voltage in to make battery suck it in at a higher current than normal. I assume 28A is the normal charge rate. Use the 28A setting but that is not necessarily the rate it will charge at, it just depends how low the battery is. If the batteries are nearly fully charged then it may only deliver a few amps gradually decreasing to zero until it accepts no more. Charging using the boost setting can be dangerous when it is nearing a fully charged state, because of the higher than normal voltage the batteries will carry on & become overcharged with bubbling of electrolyte releasing hydrogen! The circuit breaker is thermal & will work in either direction. If you draw more than 25A ie if the batteries are in very state of charge, then it will cut the circuit & after a minute or two will reset as it cools down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 if the batteries are are new/good condition they should start ferret even after months of inactivity mine will start fine after 2 months make sure interior lights are in fully off position! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wales Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Thanks guys for good info. Batteries about 1.5 years old and ferret not started for a month. I was surprised that battery was so flat. I was aware of interior light problem and they were fully off but understand they still can draw power. If you remove bulb presume that stops any draw down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Ken the problem with those lights is that it is easy to think you have turned them off when in fact they are on still but very dim. I took the resistance winding out so it was clearly on or off. But a battery isolator gives peace of mind & also if you have some sort of fault you can kill the power. This saved me melting the loom in my Pig once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 are u aware of the possible brake light problem, master cylinder corrosion can cause brake light circuit to activate whilst all switches are off hence draining batteries ,corrosion causes brake light switch to be not in fully off position so u can walk away from fsc with all lights off, switches off and a hour later your brake lights are on! ( others might explain it better!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 are u aware of the possible brake light problem, master cylinder corrosion can cause brake light circuit to activate whilst all switches are off hence draining batteries ,corrosion causes brake light switch to be not in fully off position so u can walk away from fsc with all lights off, switches off and a hour later your brake lights are on! ( others might explain it better!) Not sure where you get this corrosion problem causing the brake lights to come on when parked. It was not unusual to happen when in service, but not put down to corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiketheBike Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I had exactly that problem, and I think it was Richard or Clive told me it was master cylinder....like you say, walk away and its all fine, a few hours later the brake lights are on. Swapped the master cylinder out and all was good. As for charging, there have been quite a few interstart cables for sale, and you can get them espacially cheap if one end is damaged/missing...ideal for putting some connectors on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 think what happens is corrosion inside master cylinder stops piston going to fully relaxed position when brakes off ,so putting slight preload pressure wise on brake system, this on mine was just below px when brake light switch activates ,so what happens is u walk away from fsc , every thing switched off after a drive unbeknown to you there is still slight px in brake system after a while possibly down to residual heat there is slight rise in px we might be talking 1 psi here , but its enough to operate switch which puts brake lights on which was a right sod because by then covers had gone on fsc and i was none the wiser! cure, rehone internal bore of master cylinder new seal kit problem gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wales Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 I had exactly that problem, and I think it was Richard or Clive told me it was master cylinder....like you say, walk away and its all fine, a few hours later the brake lights are on.Swapped the master cylinder out and all was good. As for charging, there have been quite a few interstart cables for sale, and you can get them espacially cheap if one end is damaged/missing...ideal for putting some connectors on? Anyone have a cable with plug for sale if so please advise cost including postage to Australia ? My normal spares supplier in Australia does have one but is currently away until end of July. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Ken be aware that they are very heavy. Carriage costs even within the UK would be pretty high. I would try charging through the inspection socket as your best option for now. If you find that it trips the cutout on really flat batteries, then introduce some resistance in series to drop the voltage a bit until the batteries have absorbed some charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wales Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Thanks, with new charger from E Bay charged batteries in situ and just been for a run. Winter here and currently only 18 degrees b****y cold for us in Queensland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrettkitt Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Thanks, with new charger from E Bay charged batteries in situ and just been for a run. Winter here and currently only 18 degrees b****y cold for us in Queensland. 18 degrees T shirt weather! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcoycqms Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I had the same problem but in my case it was the switchbehind the master cylinder. Easy to fixa new switch, problem solved. Because Ferretsdon’t have a master switch to isolate the batteries I just take off the earthlead when finished with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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