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12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
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Digital Volt Meter
-
+
Digital Amp Meter
12V Power
Switches
and
Solenoids
function and placement
12V Power from
Metered
Voltage
Signal Input
1. All switches except the B switch are mounted on the right side of the main dash.
2. The B switch is located on the left auxiliary dash.
3. HI Sol and B Sol are mounted in a can behind the driver’s side rear tires.
4. The Isolator is mounted on the outside of the above can.
5. H Sol is mounted on the electronics panel in the upper section of the battery box.
DVM
SPDT
SPDT Isolator Solenoid or Switch
6. HI =
House
Center off
7. B = Boost Solenoid or Switch
8. H = House solenoid or Switch
9. All Shunts are within 0.050 Volts of ground potential.
10. The DVM SPDT On/On - selects House or Chassis voltage HCB-DPDT
to be displayed.
BA-DPDT
11. The HCB-DPDT On/On - selects between the House or Chassis
Battery shunts for the Red Lion
display.
ON/ON
ON/ON
SPST
12. The AM
BA-DPDT
On/On
selects
between
the
Battery
or
Alternator
shunts
for
the
Red
Lion
display.
ON/OFF
13. The AM SPST On/Off - provides 12 volt power for the Red Lion display.
14. The AM switch is located on the right of and at the back of the Red Lion enclosure.
15. 12
TheVolt
B SPST
Buss rocker switch is the top right switch on the left auxiliary dash.
Solenoids
From House
Tyco Electronics
EV200AAANA
batteries
500state
Amps
The HI solenoid is normally kept in the open state and is activated using HI switch. The open
of Continuous
the solenoid will
2000
Amps Momentary
insure
no
current
from
the
alternator
will
reach
the
House
batteries
until
the
user
determines
the
alternator
can supply
House Batteries
the Lifeline
current necessary
GPL-4C to prevent over working the alternator.
H, HI and B Solenoids
Examples
would
be:
AGM
You– wish
61.Each
6 voltto wait until the Chassis Batteries are fully charged before sending current to the house batteries.
2. You wish to separate the two charging systems
because you are running the generator to charge the House
HB Shunt
660 AMP Hours
batteries via the converter.
3. You are charging the House batteries as you drive using solar.
HI Solenoid
H Inverter/Converter
Solenoid
3000
TheMagnum
H solenoid
is normally kept in the closed state. Opening this solenoid will remove the House batteries from
supplying power to the 12 volt house buss.
HI Sol
This solenoid will be opened when the user wishes to run the house while driving using the alternator to supply the
power to the house and inverter if used. Running the House and Chassis using the alternator should only be attempted
afterShunts
the Chassis batteries are fully charged. This will insure a lighter load for the alternator. While operating in this
condition
havetothe
shunt selected so alternator current can be monitored. Try to keep the alternator current
500 Amps
50alternator
MV
Isolator
below 50 % of alternator rated output. I operate a 24 inch LCD monitor requiring 110 volts from my inverter for GPS
software as well as the 12 volt requirements for House and Chassis. Once the Chassis batteries are fully charged my
alternator output is a little over 30 amps
while driving with the House batteries off line.
Running with the lights on will
A Shunt
CB Shunt
up this current by 25 to 30 amps.
B Solenoid
The B or Boost solenoid switch via the Boost solenoid provides charging current for the Chassis batteries and Starting
Alternator
Output
Chassis current
Batteries
(Boost)Alternator
current for the engine. The
B solenoid
has a continuous rating of 500 amps and a momentary
of 2000
Trojan Mileage Master
amps. Lease Neville
GEL
160 Amps
2 - 12 volt – 1000 CCA
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
Switch Layout
1. The H, HI, DVM, BA, and HCB switches are located on the right side of the main dash under the 12 volt
auxiliary power outlet.
2. The B switch is located on the side switch console under the Retarder Joy Stick. This is the Boost switch.
3. The AM switch is located on the right side of the Red Lion enclosure in the back near the top.
12 Volt Auxiliary
Power Outlet.
Switch Number
1
H switch that controls
the H solenoid
HI switch that controls
the HI solenoid
DVM - switch that
controls the readout
of the Volt Meter.
Up is for House and
down is Engine.
2
HCB – switch that
selects the House or
Coach Battery
current to be seen on
the Amp Meter. Up
is for House and
down is for Coach.
3
4
5
BA – switch that shows
ether one Battery pack
or the Alternator current
to be seen on the Amp
Meter. The HCB switch
selects the battery pack.
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
How this system can and should be used.
1. Monitor Starting Current
a. Before Engine Start setup (I numbered the switches to simplify this part)
i. Switch 1 on or up position. House batteries are providing power to the House.
ii. Switch 2 off or down position. This will prevent Alternator from charging House batteries after
engine start.
iii. Switch 3 N/A or set to see the voltage you wish.
iv. Switch 4 on in up position to monitor battery current.
v. Switch 5 on in down position to monitor Engine Start batteries.
vi. Switch B (Boost) off so House batteries are not boosting engine start.
vii. Record engine coolant temperature. Use this information to determine if the maximum starting
current is normal. As the engine coolant temperature at engine start drops the expected maximum
starting current will increase. Record what is normal for your engine at given temperatures.
b. During Engine Start
i. The Red Lion will monitor and change the display reading every second and the display will
keep that reading for a full second. This provides a stable output that can be monitored and
understood when the current on the selected Shunt is changing rapidly. Because of this noncontinuous display of current you can use this feature to monitor and understand what is
happening.
ii. The Engine should take between 3 to 5 seconds to start. If your Engine takes 5 second to start
then you will see 5 changes in current during that starting period. What this system will tell you
in that 5 seconds is as follows:
1. The maximum current used to start the engine.
2. When in seconds that maximum current was reached.
3. How many seconds it took to start the engine.
iii. Record the information in step “ii” for future use to determine if the time taken and current
required in starting the engine is normal. If the information starts to become abnormal then steps
can be taken before a failure occurs.
c. After Engine Start
i. Monitor charging current of the engine start batteries.
ii. Record charging current for future use to determine if the current is normal.
iii. Higher charging currents after engine start may be caused by:
1. Longer than normal engine start interval
2. Temperature
3. Aging engine start batteries
2. Monitor and control Battery Charging
a. After the engine is running the Alternator will provide current at 14.1 volts to the engine start batteries.
This current and voltage will need to be monitored and controlled to prevent excessive current draw
from the Alternator. The Alternator will try to supply as much current as the batteries will ask to be
supplied plus the current required to run the engine. Try to keep the output amperage from the Alternator
below 80% of the rated capacity. To keep the output current from the Alternator below 80% the
following steps should be taken:
i. Do not close the HI solenoid (House Inverter) to charge the House batteries until the engine start
batteries are fully charged. Fully charged engine batteries will be taking less than 10 amps of
charging current.
ii. Do not have the Head Lights, Dash Air or Dash A/C on when closing the HI solenoid.
iii. Monitor House batteries charging current to determine when the Head Lights, Dash Air or Dash
A/C can be turned on without excessive output current from the Alternator.
iv. Monitor Alternator current whenever making changes in output demand to insure the 80%
maximum is maintained.
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
3. Monitor Battery Voltage
a. Select the battery pack you wish to monitor for voltage.
4. Monitor Alternator Amperage
a. Monitor Alternator current whenever making changes in output demand to insure the 80% maximum is
maintained.
b. Monitor Alternator current when House batteries have been Isolated (disconnected) from electrical
system.
c. Monitor Alternator and system currents “before engine shutdown” to insure the following:
i. The House batteries are back on line providing power for the House. The H switch is on and the
H solenoid is closed. You will see that this is true because of the increase in Alternator current
and the current is positive going into the House batteries. When the House batteries were isolated
the current into or out of the House batteries was 00.0.
ii. At this point open the HI solenoid by turning off the HI switch. Caution: Make sure you have
completed step “i” above before this step because if the HI solenoid is opened before the H
solenoid is closed the House batteries will not be able to power the House and all House
functions requiring power will discontinue operation.
iii. If the above two steps were completed correctly the following will be true:
1. The current into or out of the House batteries is negative. This indicates the House
batteries are supplying power to the house.
2. The Alternator is not supplying current to the House.
3. It is now safe to shutdown the engine. If this is not completed correctly you will not
damage anything but you will not have power to the house. You most likely will do this
incorrectly two or three times before you finally check this procedure before engine
shutdown.
5. Isolate House Batteries from high Alternator voltage when traveling.
a. The reason for using this feature is to save battery life in the AGM or GEL batteries by removing the
high 14.1 voltage from the House batteries after they have been charged. This should occur
approximately one to two hours of charging after the House batteries were placed on line with the
Alternator.
b. To understand this charging method three stage charging must be understood. Your converter when
operating properly will place 14.1 to 14.3 volts to the AGM or GEL batteries during charging and then
drop the voltage to 13.1 to 13.3 volts to Float the batteries. The Alternator doesn’t have a Float feature
so removal of the Alternator voltage and current from the House batteries is the only option.
c. The removal of the House batteries from the electrical system is completed by opening the H solenoid
with the H switch. To accomplish this correctly the following must be completed in the order listed
below:
i. The engine must be operating properly.
ii. The Alternator is operating properly.
iii. The HI solenoid is closed providing charging current to the House batteries. (The House batteries
show a positive current.)
iv. The Alternator has charged the House batteries to the Float point or you have determined that
you don’t wish to fully charge the House batteries before Isolation. Fully charged House
batteries in most cases will be receiving less than 25 amps of current from the Alternator when
the batteries are at the point of needing a Float voltage.
v. Only after you have completed the above 4 steps should you open the H solenoid with the H
switch that will isolate (Remove) the House batteries from the electrical system.
d. Caution: When Isolating the House batteries make sure you put the House batteries back on line
following the correct engine shutdown procedures listed in step 4 to prevent engine shutdown without
electrical power to the House.
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
Here are some of the switches that control the solenoids:
1. The two switches on each side of he Road Relay 4 (BA-DPDT and HCB-DPDT) determine the shunt providing
the input to the display below the Road Relay.
2. The square red pushbutton to the right of the Road Relay is the pushbutton for the HI solenoid.
3. The black handled toggle switch above the SmartTire monitor is the switch controlling the H solenoid.
4. The LEDs to the left of the AUX POWER text shows the state of the H Sol and HI Sol Solenoids.
5. The LEDs to show the state of the generator were relocated above the word GENERATOR to make room to
mount the Sirius radio. The LEDs are barely seen in the top of the photo.
6. The top of the backup monitor was tilted backwards 1 inch with PC board spacers to permit a better viewing
angle and show the color depth and contrast properly.
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
1. The red handled toggle switch (DVM SPDT Center Off) in the middle provides input to the digital volt meter.
Up is House while down is Chassis batteries. The switch is currently centered and is providing no input to the
volt meter.
2. The black handled toggle switch provides high or low panel decorative lighting. When I purchased this coach
the potentiometer and voltage controller for this lighting was fried. I called the manufacture and found that this
feature was installed with a built in failure. The controller requires a minimum voltage or it will burn up and
take the potentiometer out as well. When operating the marker or headlights with the potentiometer at a
minimum does not provide the minimum voltage to the controller and it will burn up. I added this toggle switch
with a resistor on the low position to provide that minimum voltage and give the user a high and low setting for
the decorative lighting.
3. Momentary rocker switch to control the B Sol and ES Sol Solenoids.
4. Group of small SPST switches that control the 12 volt power for the Red Lion (AM SPST), and visual feedback
for LEDs as to the state of other solenoids and the headlights.
5. Feedback LED
(4)
(3)
(1)
(2)
(5)
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
Amp meter showing selected shunt current
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System
This shows visual and tactile feedback that the headlights are on and the BA DPDT switch.
Digital Volt meter and visual feedback LED showing the state of the marker and headlights. Great aide for the audio
challenged.
12 Volt Electrical Distribution and Charging System