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Mikegilday01
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 13
Location: Huntington Beach ca
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 Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:18 pm Post subject: Westfalia battery help!!!! |
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| I was camping this weekend and they had electrical hookups at the camp site.. I was wondering when the westfalia 1981 is plugged in does it charge the battery? Also my my light that lights up the main cabin and the light above the front door is that powered when I plug the van into 110 volts or is it still running off my battery? |
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 7923
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:31 pm Post subject: Re: Westfalia battery help!!!! |
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| Mikegilday01 wrote: |
| I was wondering when the westfalia 1981 is plugged in does it charge the battery? |
Only if you have a charger plugged into the AC outlet under the sink (or next to the rear seat) and connected to your battery.
| Mikegilday01 wrote: |
| Also my my light that lights up the main cabin and the light above the front door is that powered when I plug the van into 110 volts or is it still running off my battery? |
Interior lights are powered by the main (starting) battery, unless you have rewired the circuits to run off the auxiliary battery.
The 110/120V system only powers devices plugged into the van's AC outlets. Everything else is 12V.
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~Kamz 
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
 1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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hdenter
Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2008
Posts: 2754
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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When the van is plugged in, if it is stock, 110v goes to the ac outlet in the cabinet that you can plug things into and to the frig. No charging of the battery and all the lights are still running off the battery.
Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender |
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Mikegilday01
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 13
Location: Huntington Beach ca
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Sweet thanks guys that's a huge help! So if I'm camping and there's no RV hookups I prob should not keep the dome light on cause it'll drain that battery pretty dang fast right? |
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ThankYouJerry
Samba Member
Joined: September 01, 2012
Posts: 2271
Location: Shakedown Street
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Mikegilday01 wrote: |
| Sweet thanks guys that's a huge help! So if I'm camping and there's no RV hookups I prob should not keep the dome light on cause it'll drain that battery pretty dang fast right? |
Correct. Switch all your interior bulbs over to LEDs to have more light longer. You can also contemplate an auxiliary battery set-up leaving your current battery for just "starting". Most here go with/recommend a Yandina or Blue Seas combiner (not the GW kit).
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1990 Multivan - "Ohana"
1.8T, Auto w/3.27 R&P + Peloquin TBD |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16504
Location: Brookeville, MD
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RBEmerson
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2011
Posts: 2108
Location: SE PA
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:42 am Post subject: |
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| ThankYouJerry wrote: |
| Mikegilday01 wrote: |
| Sweet thanks guys that's a huge help! So if I'm camping and there's no RV hookups I prob should not keep the dome light on cause it'll drain that battery pretty dang fast right? |
Correct. Switch all your interior bulbs over to LEDs to have more light longer. You can also contemplate an auxiliary battery set-up leaving your current battery for just "starting". Most here go with/recommend a Yandina or Blue Seas combiner (not the GW kit). |
+1 on the LED's. Do anything that glows except the headlights and maybe the turn signals. Since LED's draw about 1/10 as much current as incandescent lights, the stock turn signal relay thinks the bulbs are burned out and doesn't get the job done. Change the relay for a "LED-capable" relay if you're going to change the turn signal bulbs. While LED kits are on the spendy side, remember it'll probably be about 50,000 hours before they've faded to the point where they need replacement. That's over 5 years of continuous use. [/grin]
+1 on adding an auxiliary battery. I do disagree about the combiner.
KISS. The standard relay kit (from GW, etc.) works well enough (BTDT) with care to use proper connections (clean and tight) and suitable wire gauge (10 AWG stranded) bringing the charging line back from the dash panel.
I strongly recommend using an AGM deep cycle battery for the "house" battery. AFAIK, most kits include (or offer) an AGM battery (sealed, no liquid electrolyte), but may not include the deep cycle design. "Normal" batteries aren't designed to be heavily discharged (e.g., sitting in a campsite with no hook-up for a couple of days) and recharged repeatedly. "Deep cycle" batteries are designed for this type of use.
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Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change. |
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Mikegilday01
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 13
Location: Huntington Beach ca
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank you all for the great answered I really appreciate it!!!!😊😊😊😊 |
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22668
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:24 am Post subject: |
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If you weekend camp or camp one week per year like most working people keep it really simple.
Stay away from combiners, extra battery's and all that over marketed crap and get one good jump pack that you bring with you. Put LEDs in your house light loads, and use the pack if you drain the battery too low to start
Once or twice a year won't hurt a regular battery.
You can use the jump pack on your car, the partners car, the Victoruas secret model next door who can't get her Lamborghini started and needs a jump.
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RBEmerson
Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2011
Posts: 2108
Location: SE PA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:16 am Post subject: |
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Well, yeah, sorta. If you're camping only a couple of times a season, you can get by with using the main battery. 'Course, if the jump pack doesn't get it done and jump starting isn't an option, life just became a bit unpleasant.
Installing the auxiliary battery isn't difficult. The one possible challenge is modifying the back of the fuse panel. Follow the instructions, though, and it's not that hard. If you run that battery flat, you're still good to go with the main battery.
Also, running the engine for an hour or two to "put a charge on 'er" isn't as effective as it might seem, and isn't particularly kind to the motor.
If you're tied to a hookup, Battery Tender makes a good unit that will let you keep the main battery charged, and let you use the lights, radio, etc. without a worry. I've used that setup with good success. The batteries can be permanently rigged with polarized (can swap plus and minus) connectors that can be tucked out of the way when you're not camping.
Either way, think hard about converting to LED's. The current savings make being parked without a hookup much less "gee, I hope this doesn't flatten the battery".
I realize we're all gleefully spending your money for you without worrying about paying the bills for you. If I had to pick one thing as a must have, it'd be the battery. Not cheap but what cost peace of mind? [/grin]
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Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change. |
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thatvwbusguy
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Joined: April 18, 2007
Posts: 1712
Location: Newmarket, New Hampshire
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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Installing LED's for all interior lights is a must do. There are several different color temperatures of LED's ranging from blueish white to warm white, so be sure to choose the color that is most pleasing to your eye.
In my opinion, the GoWesty auxiliary battery kit and an AGM battery is a really bad combination. I have helped dozens of people convert from the GW kit over the past 5 years after experiencing early battery failures (less than 2 camping seasons) with moderate use.
In reality, the problem isn't the GW kit components, but the way that it is wired per their instructions. Using any part of the stock wiring to charge an auxiliary battery is going to be a major bottleneck that will vastly extend recharging times. Early demise of an expensive battery is always the result, especially if it is stored in a discharged state (which will almost certainly be the case when using the GW kit).
For occasional use, a Group 41 starting battery installed under the drivers seat will generally do an equal or better job than any of the small universal sealed lead acid batteries that are routinely sold as part of an auxiliary battery kit for our vans.
Using an automatic charging relay like the Yandina C100 or Blue Sea Systems 7610 makes wiring in a house battery simple and efficient. For a lower cost solution, a simple $25.00 contactor relay like the White Rodgers 120-901 or 120-902 will allow you to choose whatever gauge of wire you want to use to recharge your auxiliary battery and will easily carry more current than the stock alternator will ever deliver.
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion. |
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