Simple Campervan Wiring : Auxiliary Battery Charging System

September 30, 2018 by Ben Leave a Comment

The process of converting your van can be daunting, especially the electrical portion. To make things a little easier for our build we have drawn up some Simple Campervan Wiring Diagrams. In this first part of our wiring diagram series, we look at a Basic Auxiliary Battery Charging System. Charging two batteries from one alternator.

*Electrical work should only be done by a qualified service professional. These diagrams are here for use at your discretion*

The Sideways Movement Simple Campervan Wiring Diagram Series Part 1

Basic Auxiliary Battery Charging System

No one likes having a flat battery, to prevent this you will need to install some type of house battery system. We have discussed portable power stations in this previous post but if you want a more “simple” permanent installation, this Basic Auxiliary Battery Charging System will work. This will allow charging two batteries from one alternator.

Parts Required: (See the bottom of the post for some tips and pointers)

Tips and Pointers

Batteries; AGM type batteries are one of the best options for this situation. They don’t spill or produce dangerous gasses. The capacity of your battery will be dependent on the system load.
Fuses; Be sure to use fuses on all positive wires and install as close to the battery as possible.
VSR; The VSR or Voltage Sensing Relay is very important, this will automatically separate your house battery from the vehicles starting battery. This is needed so when the engine is off, your house systems do not draw power from the start battery.
Wire; The size of the wire you use is dependent on the system capacity. Although you could get away with using a smaller gauge wire, I recommend using the largest possible. This will allow for the quickest possible recharge once you start the engine. It will also prevent the possibility of burning wires.
Grounding; Although you can get away with just grounding the Auxiliary battery. I recommend running a neutral back to the start battery as well as grounding to the chassis at both batteries.