theosmith Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 i got a little suzuki jimny with only a little baby battery! im running my ight force lamp off of this and really makes the engines revs dip! so kind of strugling on the alternator what i was thinking is what problems would it cause just running a second bigger battey with just an isolation which i can turn off once im starting to lamp therefore not using power from cranking battery or alternator. then when im driving i will turn isolation back on to charge it again will also give that extra juice come winter time and be there for when i get a winch. or would you get a split charge with relays and if so why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixer1 Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 (edited) I wouldn't bother mate, we've been running a jimny as our sole lamping vehicle for well over a year with no problem at all and that's running a lightforce 170 Regards, Gixer Edited August 19, 2012 by gixer1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theosmith Posted August 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 i will fit my other accesories on and see how it goes as was going to install some red driving lights too, just so i can see the paths around golf course without using my headlamps, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshLamb Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 Bigger alternator and bigger battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 The power consumption of the Lightforce lamp is relatively low compared to the output from the alternator. Yes it makes the engine revs dip, but it should cope fine with all the normal electrical loads on the vehicle plus your lamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theosmith Posted August 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 ok thanks. i do carry my 14ah battey with me but cables just get in the way, i may just install a larger battery just to be on better side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 iv just fitted a split charging system to the landy it easy and all you need is a cheep 30a relay and a cople of bits of wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HW682 Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 (edited) It's getting late so I might be missing something here, but looking at this diagram it appears that the leisure battery is isolated from the other circuits - apart from the few seconds when the red battery light is lit on the dash (ie when turning on the ignition on and before starting the engine)? If this was right the leisure battery wouldn't get charged up and just go flat. Do you have a link to the site? is there an explanation of it it works? Cheers HW682 Edited August 19, 2012 by HW682 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 It's getting late so I might be missing something here, but looking at this diagram it appears that the leisure battery is isolated from the other circuits - apart from the few seconds when the red battery light is lit on the dash (ie when turning on the ignition on and before starting the engine)? If this was right the leisure battery wouldn't get charged up and just go flat. Do you have a link to the site? is there an explanation of it it works? Cheers HW682 The wire from the 'no charge light' will have +12 whenever the alternator is charging. When the ignition is on but the alternator is not running (lamp on) the 12v ignition feed goes through the lamp and earths at the alternator, to 'excite' it. When the engine starts and the alternator begins outputting current it gives out +12 volts where the no charge light goes in, giving you +12 to the lamp on both contacts. This makes the potential difference at the lamp 0, so it goes out. This wire will then be live and will thus activate the relay when the engine is running, allowing that battery to charge and be drained as appropriate. When the engine is shut off (or, to be more accurate, when the alternator output is zero) it switches off the relay. When the engine is running you have 2 batteries connected, when it's off your back to 1. Running the lamp off the leisure battery is still draining both batteries, it just gives you more amps from the batteries. It's only gives any real gain when the engine is off, allowing you to drain the leisure battery without flattening your starter battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HW682 Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Thanks for the reply I haven't looked at auto electrics for a while and was missing the fact that the charge light/excitation circuit is grounded at the alternator end (was assuming it was the other way round). Cheers HW682 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad1 Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) Sorry for bringing up a old post but what thickness would the poss wire to the second battery have to be I'm thinking they should be of equal thickness of that of the alt to main batt ?? Or am I missing something M1 Edited September 14, 2012 by mad1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Sorry for bringing up a old post but what thickness would the poss wire to the second battery have to be I'm thinking they should be of equal thickness of that of the alt to main batt ?? Or am I missing something M1 I would say that the thickness used to the alternator should be fine. If mounting the battery some distance away then it's a good idea to make it thicker still. The diagram shown uses a 10 amp fuse, which isn't much really. Using a wire that can take 15+ plus would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad1 Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Thanks for the reply ! So am I right in thinking that any aux items ie lamp etc would be hard wired to the "second" battery ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Thanks for the reply ! So am I right in thinking that any aux items ie lamp etc would be hard wired to the "second" battery ?? Yes, the second battery should run anything such as the lamp which is being used while the engine is off (i.e not charging). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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