Zig type unit 2s4v

[joesoap]

Can anyone help?
Among the connectors on the back of this distribution unit are terminals marked 'Car Batt.', 'Van Batt.' and 'Charge'.Both batteries are under the bonnet and the Zig unit is under the drivers seat, wiring between is 4mm. Am I right in assuming that a wire should connect each of these terminals to its respective battery? I imagine this would give the ability to draw from either battery for lights, pump etc.
Also, should the terminal marked 'Charge' be connected to the alternator or should it be shorted to the 'Van Batt.' terminal so getting a charge whenever the car battery is charging.
If anyone has knowledge of this unit I would appreciate a contact.
Thanks Joe.

 

[The Grand Wanderer]

Can anyone help?
Among the connectors on the back of this distribution unit are terminals marked 'Car Batt.', 'Van Batt.' and 'Charge'.Both batteries are under the bonnet and the Zig unit is under the drivers seat, wiring between is 4mm. Am I right in assuming that a wire should connect each of these terminals to its respective battery? I imagine this would give the ability to draw from either battery for lights, pump etc.
Also, should the terminal marked 'Charge' be connected to the alternator or should it be shorted to the 'Van Batt.' terminal so getting a charge whenever the car battery is charging.
If anyone has knowledge of this unit I would appreciate a contact.
Thanks Joe.

Greetings Joe,
Here is a link to a copy of the manual for your charger/distribution box. It was actually made by SYMPHONY SYSTEMS not Zig and the manual includes a wiring diagrame of the box itself . After studying the diagram, it appears that the charge wire should be connected to the alternator via a split charge relay.
May I suggest that you download a copy and print it off for use anytime you need.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Wanderer

 

[joesoap]

Re 2s4v Zig type unit.

Hi Wanderer,
Thanks for your response, I do have a copy of this manual and it is this I find confusing as running a wire to the alternator and to the car battery would seem to be a duplication as they are directly connected. I was also unsure about connecting the Zig (type) unit to the car battery as most things that I read seem to suggest that allowing power to be drawn from the car battery for leisure purposes is not a good idea.
I wanted to see if someone else interpreted the diagram in the same way as me, thanks for doing that. I have to admit that you are one step ahead as I disregarded the idea of using a split charge relay thinking that I had a super duper Zig (type) that negated the use of extra kit such as separate relays. Using a split charge would mean that we wouldn,t leave the Zig switched to car battery in error.
Thanks for your help
Joe.

 

[The Grand Wanderer]

Hi Wanderer,
Thanks for your response, I do have a copy of this manual and it is this I find confusing as running a wire to the alternator and to the car battery would seem to be a duplication as they are directly connected. I was also unsure about connecting the Zig (type) unit to the car battery as most things that I read seem to suggest that allowing power to be drawn from the car battery for leisure purposes is not a good idea.
I wanted to see if someone else interpreted the diagram in the same way as me, thanks for doing that. I have to admit that you are one step ahead as I disregarded the idea of using a split charge relay thinking that I had a super duper Zig (type) that negated the use of extra kit such as separate relays. Using a split charge would mean that we wouldn,t leave the Zig switched to car battery in error.
Thanks for your help
Joe.

Hi Joe,
Have had another look at the manual for your charger/distribution board.

It comprises of two entirely seperate parts enclosed in the one caseing.

1 The mains powered (240v) charging unit which charges the van or leisure battery depending on the position of the battery selection switch, when on hook up.
2 The distribution of 12v current to the various accessories in the habitation part on your van. Again dependant on the position of the battery selection switch as to which battery it draws from.

It must be rembered that your Zig type unit was originally designed for caravans and used in motorhomes later.

With that in mind, the connector marked charge (on your charging unit) was originally intended to carry a current from the towing vehicle connected via a multipin plug to the towing vehicles alternator (via a split charge relay that was fitted under the bonnet) to the caravan/leisure battery that was in the caravan itself, thus charging it. (Hope this makes sense to you).
It would appear that as your van battery and your leisure battery are being charged via split charge relays already, that there is no requirement for any wire to be connected to the terminal marked charge, in fact as you have pointed out it would be dangerous.

The use of the van battery for anything other than in an emergency would be folley but the oppertunity is useful.

Finally the zig/charger side of the unit only works on mains current when the van is pluged in and so requires no additianal wiring.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Wanderer

 

[joesoap]

Good Evening Wanderer,
Following your previous message I too had another look at the wiring diagrams and with your help some things became more evident, such as appreciating that we were looking at a caravan application.
The carravelle was converted to an extent, ie pop top, bed, and cupboards with a leisure battery and split charge relays in the wardrobe. I soon realised this wasn't ideal and that mains would be good. To this end I bought a Symphony unit from ebay only to find it didn't work. Primary of transformer tested open cct. Began to take it apart carefully and found the thermal fuse wrapped by the coil to have blown. Unit now working at a cost of 55p. I removed battery to postion under bonnet and thought I could do away with spl. ch. relay as Symphony would do the job.
After awhile and with your help I realised what was needed and am now in the process of reinstalling the relays albeit under the bonnet by the two batteries. I find that it pays to have another set of eyes on a job as my thinking can get stuck in a rut and I become blind to alternatives.
Thanks again
Joe.

 

[The Grand Wanderer]

Good Evening Wanderer,
Following your previous message I too had another look at the wiring diagrams and with your help some things became more evident, such as appreciating that we were looking at a caravan application.
The carravelle was converted to an extent, ie pop top, bed, and cupboards with a leisure battery and split charge relays in the wardrobe. I soon realised this wasn't ideal and that mains would be good. To this end I bought a Symphony unit from ebay only to find it didn't work. Primary of transformer tested open cct. Began to take it apart carefully and found the thermal fuse wrapped by the coil to have blown. Unit now working at a cost of 55p. I removed battery to postion under bonnet and thought I could do away with spl. ch. relay as Symphony would do the job.
After awhile and with your help I realised what was needed and am now in the process of reinstalling the relays albeit under the bonnet by the two batteries. I find that it pays to have another set of eyes on a job as my thinking can get stuck in a rut and I become blind to alternatives.
Thanks again
Joe.

Hi Joe,
Seems you got it sorted. Glad to be of help.
It helps if you give as full a description of the van as well as the problem when you first post asking for help as it then enables the collective to get to the nub of the problem straight away.
Don't forget that if you want to use a fridge on 12v it will require a split type relay set up too. So that it only runs on 12v when the engine is running.
Good luck with your project and congrats on finding the blown slow burn fuse in the charger.
Regards,
Wanderer