Westy on-board charger replacement - UPDATED
Printed From: The Brick-yard
Category: T3 Section
Forum Name: T3 Westfalia forum
Forum Description: Forum to discuss VW T3 Westfalia models. If it's shit, it goes!
URL: http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40854
Printed Date: 19 Apr 24 at 21:42
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Westy on-board charger replacement - UPDATED
Posted By: Joker_Club
Subject: Westy on-board charger replacement - UPDATED
Date Posted: 03 Jul 09 at 21:49
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Replacement of the Westy ON-BOARD charger (Black Buzzin Box) with modern 3 stage charger - full explanation with fotos here: thanks again to Irish Dave by http://forum.club8090.co.uk/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1779" rel="nofollow - irish.david
Success!
To summarise, i was installing a Muvonics 3 stage charger in place of the faulty BBB in my Westy. The problem was that there were direct feeds to both the main battery and the leisure battery in the OEM wiring and the muvonics charger only had one output. I wanted to charge both batteries from the charger but couldn't just wire them both to the output terminal because then both batteries would be hardwired together meaning that the split charge system was bypassed. The solution was to use a 30A 240V relay from Maplins to only connect the batteries together if there was 240V present at the charger AND the charger was switched on. First thing i had too do was remove the cover and check the wiring.  The connections for the coil of the 240v relay would have to be taken from inside the charger so I drilled a hole above the 12v output to enable the cable for the relay coil could exit.  Next i removed the wiring loom from the charger and soldered wires onto the neutral (blue) side of the 240 input and another wire onto the live output of the switch (brown). The cable i used was the 240V input cable to the BBB. It was the right length and already had a black outer sleeve for protection.  Probably a good idea to add some insulating tape to the top of the transformer as shown in the next picture. I had to remove some of the heatshrink on the wire on the switch so the tape is a sensible precaution.  The next 2 pictures show the finished assembly of the charger. The top can go back on after this.   The next picture shows the OEM wiring loom. Both connectors should be removed and replaced by.......  The 3 wire connector has the following connections: Brown - Vehicle earth; Can go straight onto the -ve connection (female spade) on the charger Red/Yellow - Leisure battery feed; Crimped together (female spade) with the output of the inline fuse holder. The other side of the fuse holder goes to the +ve side of the charger. Red/Black - Main battery feed; Single female spade crimp added. The OEM mains connection can be connected directly to the cable that came with the charger. NB; The earth must be connected due to the metal chassis of the charger. This is all shown in the picture below.  The charger can then be wired in. The switching output from the charger that was added earlier is connected to the coil of the relay. The feed to the main battery and the fused output from the charger/feed to leisure battery are connected to the terminals in such a way so that when the relay is switched they are connected. Be careful with this as the relay i got from maplins switched in a way i haven't seen before.....  All thats left now is to test it. Heres a photo of the voltage on the main battery with the charger running and a shot of the final install.   I've checked a number of ways with my installation and both batteries are seperate unless there is both 240V present at the charger AND the charger is switched on. Dave For a simpler solution, although not as good as Daves thorough job, see last post on this thread  ------------- Sunny Lancs |
Replies:
Posted By: calvin
Date Posted: 26 Aug 09 at 11:55
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Thanks for this, very helpful, however, Muvonics have changed their name to Amperor Research (!?), so the site and charger details are now found here: http://www.amperor-research.co.uk/batterychargers.html - http://www.amperor-research.co.uk/batterychargers.html However, I am not sure where you buy them from as they dont list prices or resellers - any clues anyone? ------------- Ever tried eating a clown? They taste funny. '89 2.1 Westy California darn sarf, Sussex. +++ Still looking for good OSR big bumper corner section PLEASE! +++ |
Posted By: Joker_Club
Date Posted: 26 Feb 10 at 14:48
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Cheers Calvin,
The charger shown in the fotos is here:- £79.95 (Amazon shop-front for the manufacturer)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amperor-Stage-Leisure-Battery-Charger/dp/B001CVUXKI/ref=pd_cp_ce_1" rel="nofollow - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amperor-Stage-Leisure-Battery-Charger/dp/B001CVUXKI/ref=pd_cp_ce_1
------------- Sunny Lancs |
Posted By: Jez.P
Date Posted: 21 Apr 11 at 22:23
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Hi. Thanks all for your help on this topic. I realised when the telly died on a recent trip that the LB battery was not being charged when I had a hook up. I read all your info above (thanks for that) and I bought one of the Amperor chargers off tinterweb. After further searches of the web I was concerned about the reliability (and safety) of the 30'a relay solution, so today I fitted a Split charge diode from
http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/voltage-drop-split-charge-diode-p-426.html?osCsid=23e6a0cfc877001dc5999274b923638e&cPath=24 - http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/voltage-drop-split-charge-diode-p-426.html?osCsid=23e6a0cfc877001dc5999274b923638e&cPath=24
It is working very well and although a little more costly than a relay i think it is a solution very similar to the original BBB charger fitted by westfalia and so was really easy to fit.
I hope this helps somone else
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Posted By: Joker_Club
Date Posted: 26 Apr 11 at 17:02
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Jez, think you may be mixing up the split-charge relay system with the on-board charger system, both are independant chargers of the leisure battery. ------------- Sunny Lancs |
Posted By: Joker_Club
Date Posted: 15 Jan 12 at 16:38
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Clutter moved to Westy section - "Where is my battery charger" ! ------------- Sunny Lancs |
Posted By: Joker_Club
Date Posted: 15 Jan 12 at 16:54
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A simpler replacement method has come up, if you arn`t to fussed about charging both the MAIN starter battery and the LEISURE battery at the SAME TIME. You just need the above charger without any modifications, and a 3-way switch, centre-off position. Connect the POSITIVE 12V output from the charger to the centre terminal on the switch, then the original red/black wire to one side of the switch, and the red/yellow wire to the other side of the switch. When the mains charger is on, you just switch the charging current either to the LEISURE battery, or switch the other way to charge the MAIN battery. Simple.
The main battery will usually be charged up fully from the alternator anyway, but it`s useful to be able to charge it from a mains charger when required, for example, if it`s been stood over winter and you want to boost up the battery a bit. Otherwise, leave the switch in the position to charge the leisure battery.
Once you`ve done this, just test the charger is actually charging your batteries, do this with a meter and check the battery voltage BEFORE switching the charger on (you have got the hook-up plugged in havn`t you!
 ) and then check the battery voltage AFTER switching on the charger, you should see a jump in voltage (depends on how flat your batt is obviously) but from 10V-12V it will jump up to 13.5V when the charger is working. Then CHECK THE MAIN STARTER BATTERY the same way, before charger and after switching charger on.  You can also do a quick check for charging the LB by watching the battery level indicator on the kitchen block. Switch it on with the toggle switch,you will probably have a yellow LED lit for battery level, when you switch the charger on it will jump up to green virtually straight away, this shows the charger is working.
This is also useful to test whether the engine is charging the LB, swith on the indicator with the engine STOPPED, will probably show a yellow LED (unless you`ve been chrging it up all night !) then when you start the engine the LED will jump to green, this shows the alternator is chrging the LB. Multimeter on the relevant battery is the most accurate.
Switch I used from here, capable of taking the current
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/On-Off-On-Heavy-Duty-Toggle-Switch-25A-Change-Over-/160518943268?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item255facb224" rel="nofollow - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/On-Off-On-Heavy-Duty-Toggle-Switch-25A-Change-Over-/160518943268?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item255facb224
mounted it next to the charger ------------- Sunny Lancs |
Posted By: JonnyAtlantic
Date Posted: 25 Mar 13 at 13:57
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After reading this thread and others on this topic, I wanted to go for a better on-board charger. I saw this on eBay and managed to get it nice and cheap, Sterling ProBudget, 4 step charger, 20A that reverts to a power supply once battery is charged.  Fitted with a 25A switch to toggle between leisure and starter as I have done the lights and radio mod. Hopefully the starter will be left alone but can have a top up if needed. As both batteries are sealed lead acid this charger pushes out 14.4v max and then floats at 13.6v so hopefully won't cause gassing on the sealed units. After wiring up the mains lead for the charger, I drilled a couple of holes in the stand to run the charger output wires under the unit to the switch behind and set the switch in behind the unit. Marked the switch up to indicate which battery is charging. Fixed the charger to the stand and tested.  I am happy now that I can leave mains hook-up in for a few days without fear of boiling the battery.
------------- 1990 Westfalia Atlantic 1.6TD - Pop Top |
Posted By: jhobson
Date Posted: 30 Jul 17 at 10:45
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It would be nice if you could charge both batteries like the original BBB without faff of relays or manual switches. You _can_ get chargers with multiple outputs but I haven't located the bargain yet. This seems like a simple, almost 'drop in' replacement but with 'smart' features: Victron Energy Blue Power IP22 Battery Charger 12V/15A/230V - 3 Output It is multi-mode but will remember the last mode it was in on power-up. The bad news: £159.00 delivered. Sterling also do them, but even more ££ I guess another alternative is just to get 2 chargers. I looked into cheaper, single battery solutions. The CTEK as sold on Brickwerks seems like a very respected product but, as far as I can tell, it always needs the 'mode' selecting after power-up so it won't automatically jump into operation when you mains-hook-up. |