General Battery Wiring Diagram

[phatbenny]

Hi all,
I'm trying to work out a simple wiring diagram for the battery in my panda.
At the moment, all I've got is a few guesses.
Does anyone know nay different to correct me.

1. The Negative from the battery grounds to the chassis.
2. There are two red cables going to the positive terminal.
3. One of these comes from the alternator.
4. The other goes somewhere else, maybe the start motor.

Any ideas?
Basically I've got a fancy split charging system and want to put in another battery to power the stereo, and cig lighter.
Cheers
Ben

 

[phatbenny]

Oh yeah, does anyone know if the alternator has a -ve temrinal
Cheers
Ben

 

[John H]

Hi all,
I'm trying to work out a simple wiring diagram for the battery in my panda.

1. The Negative from the battery grounds to the chassis.
2. There are two red cables going to the positive terminal.
3. One of these comes from the alternator.
4. The other goes somewhere else, maybe the start motor.

1 - yes. And the alternator negative is its casing. There's a big strap from the bodywork to the engine/gearbox to provide negative for the starter motor, your ignition, and the cut off solenoid.

2 - yes.

3 - yes.

4 - yes, the starter motor.


To need a separate battery for the "stereo", it must be a lot of Watts...

 

[pandafan]

You could fit another battery where the Sisely light-washer tank goes and serve it with a trickle feed for your 'stereo'.

 

[PandaManPaul]

You could fit another battery where the Sisely light-washer tank goes.

Out of interest, where's that then?

 

[phatbenny]

Because I've got relatively monster wheels, I don't keep a spare under the bonnet, so I have room for the other battery on the shelf at the back of the engine bay. The stereo isn't hugely powerful, but I use it and other things a lot whilst the engine is not running.

Anyway,
I installed the split charger last night with limited success. Limited in that the clock will only run when engine is running. Presumably because with the split charger in the way the alternator connections do not get any power from the battery.
Also the indicators have stopped working all together. Not to sure about this one, as it is definately not a fuse.

Any thoughts?

 

[pandafan]

Front o/s of engine compartment, sorry. The washer bottle is the size of a battery and weighs about the same when full.

 

[John H]

Anyway,
I installed the split charger last night with limited success. Limited in that the clock will only run when engine is running. Presumably because with the split charger in the way the alternator connections do not get any power from the battery.
Also the indicators have stopped working all together. Not to sure about this one, as it is definately not a fuse.

Any thoughts?

I'd undo what you've done to see if things go back to normal.

If so, you need a re-think about the wiring of the split charger.


This is how I think it should be done, and is provided in good faith, and I'm happy to be corrected:

I wouldn't expect the existing wiring to be broken into.

From the existing battery positive, a reasonably substantial wire, via a heavy fuse (20A or more) to an equally substantial relay "normally open" contact.
The corresponding contact on the relay to your "leisure battery" positive, and that battery negative to a solid part of the bodywork (as all the body metal is negative).

The cable run needs to be fairly short, otherwise you won't get enough voltage at the far end to charge your extra battery properly.

The coil of the relay needs earth on one end, and the other needs to go to the black/violet from your alternator which lights up the "not charging" lamp, so your relay only comes into circuit when the alternator is actually charging.

I'm fairly confident the sense of operation of the relay will be correct this way around, as the "not charging" light has battery positive on one end, and the other has no voltage from the alternator (via the black/violet) until the alternator is running, then the light extinguishes as it has >12 volts on both ends.

The only concern I'd have is the amount of current the relay coil needs to operate - provided it's less than 100mA I wouldn't expect any problem, as the lamp is probably 6 Watt (500mA) anyway.

 

[phatbenny]

Sounds like a good plan John. Because of the kit I've got it's going to run slightly differently.
My main worry at the moment is the lack of indicators. Like a tit i didn't bother disconecting the battery probably and as a result I got a few sparks. I've checked the fuse which wasn't blown, I even replaced it just to be doubly sure. Where's the first place I should look for a current? Presumably the ticker unit? Any ideas where it should be?
Cheers
Ben

 

[phatbenny]

I've found the flasher unit in fuse box, removed it and shorted across the holes two at a time. One combination got the lights on permanently when the Hazard swicth was on but not the indicators. Either way, I think I need a new flasher unit. Rang up Fiat and they quoted £17.85+VAT so I said thanks but no thanks and will now have to nip down the scrap yards.

 

[christopher watson]

i have a flasher unit you can have for the cost of postage. when i go go to scrapyards i always take off the bulbs, fuses, relays, etc, because the guy lets me have them free.

 

[FuzzyPanda]

Give the man a prize.

 

[John H]

I've found the flasher unit in fuse box, removed it and shorted across the holes two at a time. One combination got the lights on permanently when the Hazard swicth was on but not the indicators. Either way, I think I need a new flasher unit.

Did you try the hazards on their own?

They should run regardless of ignition switch setting, and they're direct of fuse 1.

 

[PandaManPaul]

Front o/s of engine compartment, sorry.

Ta! You live and learn.

 

[phatbenny]

New flasher unit from Halfords 12.99 and all is well. Thanks for the offer Chris, but I am far too impatient.
I've also finished the split wiring. The charger only works when the ignition is on.

/Battery 1 ----- Starter Motor
Alternator----Split Charger /
\
\Battery 2 ------ Everything Else

Little bit woried about running everything from the battery, especially as I have a lot of power usage. But on the plus side I do have a 75amp alternator which should also power them.

 

[John H]

Depends on the actual Amp/hour rating of your "everything else" battery, and what your load and running time is before you intended to run the engine for a charge up.

I used to use a battery powered "chiller box" which would barely leave enough in a 60Ah battery (not in a Panda) to re-start after 7 or 8 hours - but that's no issue for you with the other battery to start the engine.

I do wonder if the surge when your relay kicks in will cause any problems when your "accessories" battery is fairly flat.
Time will tell.

 

[phatbenny]

It's not just a straight relay, it's a proper split chargin box RRP £160 (I got it free) so I hope it does a few clever things like not create surges.
It's made by Driftgate.