Rwmik+ battery question

[Alan stubbs]

Hi there we 4 batteries on this vehicle 2 of which were for the radios. It has 2 alternators one of which has no drive belt.thats the top one. Should i take the radio batteries off the vehicle or leave them on? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks Alan.

[fv1609]

Alan do you use the radio batteries to supply anything?

If the system is working  properly you should find that the voltage on the vehicle batteries is the same as the voltage on the radio batteries, yes even without the FFR drive belt!

Under normal circumstances with the FFR drive belt fitted then the two 50A alternators work independently. The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) monitors the voltage on each set of batteries.

If the voltage on either set drops below 23v the ECU detects this & a relay puts the alternators & batteries in parallel.

If you plan on not using the the radio batteries rather than remove them & store them, I think it would be better for them to be kept in place so the charging is keeping them topped up. It could also give you some back up if the vehicle batteries start to fade.

If you do decide to remove the radio batteries, ensure that the battery leads are kept insulated from themselves & the chassis.

 

[Alan stubbs]

Thanks fv1609. The only other thing that could be used is the compressor for the a r b diff lockers but having read your response I'll be leaving them connected now. Also we have a 24v trickle charger on the main set of batteries. Do you thing that it will look after all 4 or just the 2 its connected to?

[fv1609]

Alan I suspect that the ECU will only function with the ignition on & certainly not if you have the battery isolator mod (with it isolated).

So the radio batteries will only get topped up with the engine running assuming you have the ECU, relay, fuses & the interlink charging harness still connected.

19 - ECU

14 - Fuses

21 - Interlink charging harness

11 - Charging relay

 

[Alan stubbs]

Thanks so much for your help. I will check the isolater switch to make sure its on 

[fv1609]

Alan I would turn the isolator on then see if the radio battery voltage matches the vehicle battery voltage. I strongly suspect that they will not be the same because the ECU & relay will only function with the ignition running, otherwise it would be a constant battery drain.

I think you need to trickle charge the radio batteries independently.

[Alan stubbs]

Hi fv1609 the top pic is the main batts and bottom pic is radio batts ive switched the isolater on and will now get another 24v trickle charger. Btw it starts a treat. Thanks again' Alan.

[fv1609]

Alan it's physically quite different from what I'm used to in the Wolf 110, but I am sure the setup  is electrically similar.

I would turn the battery isolators off as there is no advantage during charging directly onto the battery terminals. Besides it is safer should something touch a battery terminal & it eliminates the chance of a slow discharge with either a fault or something like a map reading light being left on without realising it.

[Alan stubbs]

Good advice fv1609. As we are not using the vehicle  at the moment due to no cab. And like you say it'll prevent battery drain. They are a funny old beast as they have standard lights on the front plus infrared. and led lights at the rear. Cheers Alan.