Trickle charger

[Nondisclosed]

2014 transit 2.2
Dual battery under drivers seat.

As its not my daily drive, having the issue of starter battery draining. I've bought a solar trickle charger which comes with an assortment of connections. Cigarette lighter, OBD and alligator clips. Is it suitable to connect to the OBD port as the alligator clips are less convenient. If so, will the OBD charge the starter battery or just the auxiliary battery?

Thanks in advance

[Altransit]

It's hard finding a direct connection to the starter battery, as anything plugged into the power socket will only charge the aux battery.
For that reason, I have a couple of fly leads one attached to each battery, with sockets that emerge at the side of the seat, and I can attach a smart charger to either one.

Battery Connectors.JPG

[Nondisclosed]

I like it! May have to consider something similar myself. Currently hooked the solar panel direct to the battery but will be looking for something a bit more robust in the future. Like what you've done.

[dumper]

If you do Als mod I would also fit the trickle charger to the auxiliary battery to keep it charged so you can use the central locking if you can’t get the drivers door open or park like I have to and it’s not accessible what I did with my last van was something similar to a Al I ran a lead from the auxiliary battery and fitted a plug and wired it up under the bonnet i made two fly leads one I cable tried under the bonnet and could connect it to the jump point and open the van doors the second one was left in the house as a spare.
The only time I did had a problem was when the batteries were weak and needed replacing it had been parked over Xmas for 3 weeks and struggled to start even if I don’t have a car rally to Marshall on I try to give it a run most weekends

[Nondisclosed]

Dumper, I may have got my wires crossed here...( no pun intended) when my central locking stops working, the radio etc will more than likely still work. The battery closest to the steering wheel tends to be the one that goes completely and neither the ignition nor the central locking will work. The one to the rear can still have power and the radio will still work. Does that sound right?

[dumper]

Not sure but it may be that your battery’s are ready for a change I know that they are disconnected when ignition is off but I’ve found over my working life that duel battery systems ether 12 volt or 24 volt if one battery is weak and you charge only one the old battery will kill the new one at work when told to just charge the weak one 9 out of 10 times it’s killed the new battery it’s been always nice to say to so called management told you so

[Kimbyyri]

Custom battery.

[Nondisclosed]

Not sure but it may be that your battery’s are ready for a change I know that they are disconnected when ignition is off but I’ve found over my working life that duel battery systems ether 12 volt or 24 volt if one battery is weak and you charge only one the old battery will kill the new one at work when told to just charge the weak one 9 out of 10 times it’s killed the new battery it’s been always nice to say to so called management told you so

That makes sense. I've got an aftermarket immobiliser fitted aswell, not by me but previous owner so presuming this is adding some drain. It was probably 12 months ago that I had the batteries tested with one needing changing. I'm calling this the starter battery as only when that ones charged will ignition, central locking work. I'll need to look into this further

[Nondisclosed]

Custom battery.

Could you send me the link to that, the compressed image has almost broken my eyes

[Nondisclosed]

Been meaning to update, the solar panel has worked great. I just removed the plastic battery cover and got immediate access to the battery terminals from the footwear. One caveat, either related or not that I could do with some expert insight... all been perfect, starting first time, tonight however I was sat minding my own business and the alarm decided it would give me a fright. What's the common causes for the alarm going off for no apparent reason. I disconnected the solar panel just to check if it was having an affect, to no avail.

[Nondisclosed]

Further to the above... would leave van unlocked, it would eventually lock itself and alarm would go again. Thought I'd go in an investigate further. When it was very quiet, I could hear a high pitch electrical noise which I located to the passenger tweeter speaker. Is that strange in and of itself?

[Altransit]

Random alarms are often related to dropping battery voltage.

When unlocking, you need to open and close the drivers door, otherwise the van will lock itself after a couple of minutes.

Which battery are you charging with the solar?

[Nondisclosed]

Random alarms are often related to dropping battery voltage.

When unlocking, you need to open and close the drivers door, otherwise the van will lock itself after a couple of minutes.

Which battery are you charging with the solar?

That was my understanding.

I've been charging the starter battery as that is the one that has been causing me the grief. Sounds like it would be wise to charge the Auxiliary also. My concern for the aux battery is this static I've just noticed coming out of the passenger tweeter when no systems are on! Can't imagine why that would be live.