Zig panel/battery issues

[lizwig]

Hi all!

I'm hoping someone can help me. I have just bought a converted Bongo camper, which I am loving, but I am having battery problems. Although it was fine when I test drove it and also when we took it to the beach recently, and had been serviced before buying, the battery has now gone flat twice. The first time the breakdown guy told me to buy a new one immediately, so I've done that and the garage told me they checked the alternator and it's fine. No problems with that showed up in the service either.

Now it has gone flat again which leads me to suspect I may be leaving something on that is draining the power, particularly because on our first trip we fiddled with the buttons quite a lot! Should have remembered the settings.

I have checked all the lights and the fridge, so that leaves the rather confusing zig panel. I was hoping to attach photos but can't seem to do that, but it is a zig CF9. From left to right the buttons sets are 12 volt (on/off, car/caravan battery), battery normal/low, big orange one that says mains at the top and 'on charger & fridge only' on the bottom, then some amp screw things, charger up towing/down on site. Does anyone have any idea what all these switches should be set to to make sure that NOTHING is draining the battery while the camper is just parked up?

I'll be really grateful for your help!

Thanks

Liz

[mikeWalsall]

Site seems very slow today ..

It all depends what the converter as hooked into the leisure battery on mine .. very little ..

The radio .. lecky blinds .. door interior lights 'cigarette / power point are still connected to the starter battery ..





Some one should be able explain a better the best way to have the Zig unit wired in ..

[g8dhe]

Its not clear how many batteries you have ?
With a Zig CF9 fitted I would expect two batteries to be fitted, normally under the bonnet;
The one on the Offside should be the standard Starter Battery (S/B),
the other on the nearside is the Leisure battery (L/B).
When you say a battery was replaced which one was replaced ?

The "amp screw things" are standard cartridge fuses, just unscrew the black cap and replace if they should ever blow.

The manual for the CF9 is available here http://www.g8dhe.net/bongo_images/zig/Z ... Manual.pdf

[lizwig]

Hi

Thanks for your replies. It does indeed have two batteries. The zig unit looks exactly like the picture you have attached. Are those where the switches should be to make sure everything is off?

I have no idea how it was wired as it was the person before me who had it converted. The manual is very helpful, but I don't think it describes definitively how to turn everything off so nothing can drain the battery. But I may be being bamboozled by it.

Sorry to ask such basic questions, it's my first car (age 33!) and I just want to get out and about in it.

Help appreciated.

Liz

[mikeWalsall]

The switches are in random positions .. as mentioned .. nearly all of my (crap) conversion lecky still works from the starter battery ..

[francophile1947]

Should the charger switch be in the towing position for it to charge the battery when the engine is running?

[g8dhe]

It depends! The CF9 was designed for Caravans, where the situation is a bit different than in a Campervan.
First the Caravan tends to be powered most of the time from the Mains from the EHU on site, its only occasionally used when actually connected to the Car. Hence why they suggest that you don't need a split charge relay just parallel up the batteries Yes on a nice drive to the Campsite that is all that is needed, after that the Car is disconnected. In a Campervan its very different, your permanently connected to the S/B, by chance if you leave the switches in the wrong position - like Tow - then you flatten both batteries when the EHU drops out over night.....
Plus as indicated the switches are confusing! The diagrams don't include the internal wiring so I am reluctant to comment myself! I have sorted a couple of people out at rallies, but more by a case of elimination then knowledge
If the installer followed the instructions then there won't be a Split Charge Relay, if he understood what he was doing then there will be a relay!

[mikeWalsall]

The guy who I bought my Bongo from gave me all relevant paper work from Japanese import ..UK conversion .. first UK registration etc: along with this ..

[briwy]

The main thing is to make sure that the Car/Caravan switch is always set to Caravan or else everything will run from the starter battery. We learnt this the hard way in France a couple of years ago when I got the switches wrong and flattened both batteries.

[lizwig]

Hi all

Thanks so much for all your help. I think I have a pretty good idea what to fiddle around with now. Hopefully I'll be able to sort it out.

Thanks

Liz

[Jaws]

Hi. This is all very very confusing because;
1 the Zig unit is designed for caravans, where as stated above, you generally unplug from the car (SB) once you are on site and
2 have connected to the mains (EHU) to run all your toys.
3 Most converters play about with the wiring at the back so it's almost impossible to know what is happening!

In general though, the following should apply:
1 The orange switch in the centre switches on a 240v outlet on the back of the unit to supply a fridge, (assuming you have a fridge which will accept a 240v supply, which I don't and nor do most campers). This only works if you are hooked up to a 240v supply. The fuses next to this switch protect this circuit. Confusingly, this also provides a 12v supply for a fridge via the built in transformer, as long as that has been wired accordingly. With me so far?
2 The switch on the right controls the built in transformer/charger and should be down/on when you have EHU connected. If it is up, depending on how your auto-electrician was feeling, it will connect everything to the SB so that there is a supply from the alternator when the engine is running. The fuse next to it protects this circuit.
3 The other three fuses protect the 12v circuits for your lights, 12v sockets etc
4 The switch on the far left switches the unit on/off and
5 the other switch controls whether you are using the LB or SB (in theory). This allows for the discharged caravaner to hook up his car (SB) to catch the last few minutes of Coronation Street when the LB gives up because he is wild camping without EHU.

But none or only some of this is true according to how the unit has been wired up! The instructions for the unit are all predicated on wiring a car to a caravan and so are pretty useless for a camper van installation IMHO.

Some converters use the Zig unit to charge the LB rather than fitting a separate split charge relay at the front of the vehicle. BUT this means that any charge from the alternator to a front mounted LB needs to travel several meters through possibly under-specified wiring to the Zig and back to the front. Assuming all the switches are set correctly of course. And then it's possible for the accessories to discharge the SB if you forget which switch to switch when. Because naturally you haven't disconnected anything, just arrived on site ready to party.

So I suggest you fit a decent split charge relay kit for the LB (Willinton is very popular) and a separate switch between the SB and Zig so that you always know where you are! Who said life was easy?

Hope that helps

[briwy]

So I suggest you fit a decent split charge relay kit for the LB (Willinton is very popular) and a separate switch between the SB and Zig so that you always know where you are! Who said life was easy?

Hope that helps

I've done just that, with the Willinton kit fitted the Zig connection to the starter battery can be removed as it's not needed.
Makes it impossible to flatten the starter battery by mistake as none of the things like fridge, lights etc can be connected to the SB. Assuming, as Jaws says, that it has all been wired up correctly.

[briwy]

So I suggest you fit a decent split charge relay kit for the LB (Willinton is very popular) and a separate switch between the SB and Zig so that you always know where you are! Who said life was easy?

Hope that helps

I've done just that, with the Willinton kit fitted the Zig connection to the starter battery can be removed as it's not needed.
Makes it impossible to flatten the starter battery by mistake as none of the things like fridge, lights etc can be connected to the SB. Assuming, as Jaws says, that it has all been wired up correctly.
I've also modified it so that the SB is charged as well as the LB when on hook up. Belt & braces.

[lizwig]

Thanks again everyone. I have finally sorted it all out and all your suggestions were very helpful. I also found a garage nearby that used to convert bongos, so he has tested everything and worked out how it's all wired up and told me how to manage the zig. Hopefully I will be running on full battery from now on! Basically I have gleaned keep the car/caravan switch in caravan, mains off and the switch on the right on 'on site' if parked up and sitting doing nothing, but up in towing when driving as that charges the leisure battery.

Liz