Lights out in the Snow....

Kwakerman said:

Personally I wouldn't use thinwall unless I had to, it's designed to reduce weight and cable loom thickness as the insulation is thinner than usual (hence the name) and is a lot less robust when it comes to surviving chaffing damage etc. With regards to actual wire gauge, as long as your cable gauge/current rating is on par with (or slightly larger) than the boomslang loom then you shouldn't have any issues.

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hi

see on reading through the manual the loom can support up to 450 watts

funny enough a lot of the web sites only sell thinwall, lol

just wished to ensure with extending the loom that the suitable wire is installed in case the maximum wattage is installed onto the loom, but know the fuse is 40 amps

will be fitting some flexible conduit over the wires, as we all know as u mention in how easy wires can become staffing etc

ps , like a split charge system i’m going to install , it didn’t come with any sleeving and been adding the extra conduit to protect it

Blimey,

That is some fancy stuff .

What you gonna be running from a second battery?

Cheers

neilly said:

Blimey,

That is some fancy stuff .

What you gonna be running from a second battery?

Cheers

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it’s the T max system, with the added dual battery voltage display and if the main battery goes flat can press a button that automatically connects both batteries together

have got a brand new battery , 110 amp / 950cca and if i don’t use the disco for a few weeks the main battery will go flat , everything checks out with the alternator, charging at 15.5 volts with the engine running

as it’s so power hungry i’ve got an enduroline leisure battery so that it can sit there for weeks on end and having the aux battery i won’t have the hassle of a main flat battery

another reason is so that when i finally start going on off road weekends, i can use the aux battery for extra lighting etc for the tent and also a boot fridge that i can then use

gstuart said:

hi

see on reading through the manual the loom can support up to 450 watts

funny enough a lot of the web sites only sell thinwall, lol

just wished to ensure with extending the loom that the suitable wire is installed in case the maximum wattage is installed onto the loom, but know the fuse is 40 amps

will be fitting some flexible conduit over the wires, as we all know as u mention in how easy wires can become staffing etc

ps , like a split charge system i’m going to install , it didn’t come with any sleeving and been adding the extra conduit to protect it

View attachment 136694

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If you are running it in conduit then thin wall should be ok, but you often see people just shoving wires wherever they can which is asking for trouble. That said, as weight isn't an issue in this situation and reliability is then I personally would err on the side of caution and have a thicker insulation wire if available. Just remember to get the fuse positioned as close to the battery as you can (definitely inside the battery box) any wire between the battery and fuse holder isn't protected and any shorting there will generally end with some excitement!

Kwakerman said:

If you are running it in conduit then thin wall should be ok, but you often see people just shoving wires wherever they can which is asking for trouble. That said, as weight isn't an issue in this situation and reliability is then I personally would err on the side of caution and have a thicker insulation wire if available. Just remember to get the fuse positioned as close to the battery as you can (definitely inside the battery box) any wire between the battery and fuse holder isn't protected and any shorting there will generally end with some excitement!

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I was presuming he was using conduit.

gstuart said:

have got a brand new battery , 110 amp / 950cca and if i don’t use the disco for a few weeks the main battery will go flat , everything checks out with the alternator, charging at 15.5 volts with the engine running

]

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You need to look at that, should be about 14.5 max, sounds like the regulator in the alternator is playing up (and may be contributing to your battery going flat) if the alternator has gone 'leaky' and drawing current from the battery when stopped. 15.5 charging will probably boil your battery dry!

Kwakerman said:

If you are running it in conduit then thin wall should be ok, but you often see people just shoving wires wherever they can which is asking for trouble. That said, as weight isn't an issue in this situation and reliability is then I personally would err on the side of caution and have a thicker insulation wire if available. Just remember to get the fuse positioned as close to the battery as you can (definitely inside the battery box) any wire between the battery and fuse holder isn't protected and any shorting there will generally end with some excitement!

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quite agree and we’ve all seen horror installations on lifting the bonnet up, where someone has just run wires everywhere with no regard to damage etc

already got a decent mega fuse to install at the battery so it’s all protected properly

use-to have a series 3 and started to smoke behind the dashboard whilst driving down a high street , had to build a whole new loom as previous owners had added bits everywhere without fusing them

Al2O3 said:

I was presuming he was using conduit.

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Presume nothing unless told otherwise, work on the worst case scenario and it can only get better!

Al2O3 said:

I was presuming he was using conduit.

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oh yes , but u know how it is, never assume , lol

gstuart said:

oh yes , but u know how it is, never assume , lol

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Ok, I'll presume you're not the sharpest

Kwakerman said:

You need to look at that, should be about 14.5 max, sounds like the regulator in the alternator is playing up (and may be contributing to your battery going flat) if the alternator has gone 'leaky' and drawing current from the battery when stopped. 15.5 charging will probably boil your battery dry!

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i thought that at first , but after a lot of checking that is normal for my D3 , will vary the output according to load, before i installed a new battery i checked for any AC feedback

it will run around 15.5 volts for the first 5 x mins then drop to roughly 14.3 volts

many thks and do appreciate the heads up as if it wasn’t normal i could have been in trouble

even got one of these plug ins and suprisingly accurate for what it is

Al2O3 said:

Ok, I'll presume you're not the sharpest

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thats a cert , lol

Kwakerman said:

You need to look at that, should be about 14.5 max, sounds like the regulator in the alternator is playing up (and may be contributing to your battery going flat) if the alternator has gone 'leaky' and drawing current from the battery when stopped. 15.5 charging will probably boil your battery dry!

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I quite agree, 15.5 volts is way too high. My D2 charges at about 14.3 to 14.7 volts. The high current side of alternator regulator including the diodes is permanently connected to the battery, so any adverse discharging would indicate a problem with the alternator itself, but more probably with the diodes and regulator pack.

brian47 said:

I quite agree, 15.5 volts is way too high. My D2 charges at about 14.3 to 14.7 volts. The high current side of alternator regulator including the diodes is permanently connected to the battery, so any adverse discharging would indicate a problem with the alternator itself, but more probably with the diodes and regulator pack.

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i was also concerned at first regarding the output and after speaking to a lot of people through the D3 forum the alternator output is ok , will drop to around 14.5 and lower as required

@lynall , his D3 will also run at those outputs, hope u didn’t mind me asking , thks

@Kwakerman I'm I getting even dafter I could have sworn you said something about wiring the boomslang in to the ignition as a possible improvement. Can't find your post though it's probably my age and @neilly will find and quote it in a minute. Anyway, my boomslang harness arrived this week.

It seems very straight forward. The black connector next to the left H4 connector I suspect plugs in to the original H4 connector and takes the signal from there to trigger the relays. How does a connection to the ignition barrel improve on this, or did I imagine you saying that? It's probably my age, but can you educate me please.

Also, is there an easy way to get the connectors out of the fuse holder?

The live feed isn't going to be 10ft short, but it will be short. Just contemplating the easiest way to extend it and get protective sleeve over it. (I know you can get the split type)

Al2O3 said:

@Kwakerman I'm I getting even dafter I could have sworn you said something about wiring the boomslang in to the ignition as a possible improvement. Can't find your post though it's probably my age and @neilly will find and quote it in a minute. Anyway, my boomslang harness arrived this week.
View attachment 137128
It seems very straight forward. The black connector next to the left H4 connector I suspect plugs in to the original H4 connector and takes the signal from there to trigger the relays. How does a connection to the ignition barrel improve on this, or did I imagine you saying that? It's probably my age, but can you educate me please.

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That was probably me saying you can wire the main power feed to the alternator (connecting to the main stud - assuming you have that style alternator) rather than getting it back to the alternator. As the boomslang has a permanently power supply I would assume there should be no need to wire it in to the ignition unless the instructions say so. The existing wiring will perform that function for you as the boomslang should just replicate the LR function. I would guess that when you turn the ignition off power is removed from the headlamp connectors so then the boomslang relays should de-energise and turn the headlights off.

Al2O3 said:

Also, is there an easy way to get the connectors out of the fuse holder?
View attachment 137138
The live feed isn't going to be 10ft short, but it will be short. Just contemplating the easiest way to extend it and get protective sleeve over it. (I know you can get the split type)

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Not normally, many of these style fuse holders you feed the wire through the holder, put the crimp terminals on and then pull the wires back through until it locks in to place. See my last post about the power supply

Kwakerman said:

That was probably me saying you can wire the main power feed to the alternator (connecting to the main stud - assuming you have that style alternator) rather than getting it back to the alternator. As the boomslang has a permanently power supply I would assume there should be no need to wire it in to the ignition unless the instructions say so. The existing wiring will perform that function for you as the boomslang should just replicate the LR function. I would guess that when you turn the ignition off power is removed from the headlamp connectors so then the boomslang relays should de-energise and turn the headlights off.

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Ok, champion. I must have been making that up. That makes the installation easier then.

Kwakerman said:

Not normally, many of these style fuse holders you feed the wire through the holder, put the crimp terminals on and then pull the wires back through until it locks in to place. See my last post about the power supply

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That's a shame. Not to worry. I'll see if I can make it fit as it is, cos it won't be too far short. I suspect I will need to extend it though. Should I just cut the wire and put a joint in? Can you get proper joints off the shelf? I'll need some shrink shield and some small diameter conduit. Thanks for the help so far.

Al2O3 said:

Ok, champion. I must have been making that up. That makes the installation easier then.


That's a shame. Not to worry. I'll see if I can make it fit as it is, cos it won't be too far short. I suspect I will need to extend it though. Should I just cut the wire and put a joint in? Can you get proper joints off the shelf? I'll need some shrink shield and some small diameter conduit. Thanks for the help so far.

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Depending upon how you plan to power it will subtly change your requirements, if you still plan to power it from the battery you need the fuse as close to the battery as possible but definitely in the battery compartment (for safety). Rather than just adding extra wire to the existing fuse 'In' lead to make it longer it would be preferable to cut/remove the fuse holder and position that In the battery bay and then add the extra wire between the fuse holder 'Out' lead and where you cut it. This effectively keeps the fuse at the end of the wire nearest the battery (where it should be) rather than it ending up in some mid position along the wire. Better for safety and also means the fuse will be more accessible than what it would have been if it ended up in the middle of the engine bay or transmission tunnel area