Re: Under Dash Wiring Diagram for 95 Chinook Concourse
Posted: September 24th, 2015, 9:11 am
Good morning!
Not to get too "caveat-ish" on you, but just to mention that I'm having to assume that your rig is set up similarly to mine. My previous (other brand) camper van was also set up similarly, as are many boats, so I think that's a reasonable guess. Of course seek a professional if you are not comfortable, etc. Anyway....
So yes, a relay (of which the Blue Sea 7622 is one example - a good one) does automatically what you can also do manually with a switch. Automatic is preferable to many, but switches have their place too.
A switch does the same thing but you have to switch it. The 9004e is a simple manual switch, although it's a bit more expensive and slightly larger than some of their other switches. I chose it because it has two small screw terminals that make it really easy to connect LED lights to let you know when you have the switch combined or not combined. It's around $50 with free shipping (for example, see http://www.pkys.com). Another option is their 6010. It's physically slightly smaller, and also has a second set of studs for hooking up lights, but the second studs are 3/8" which makes it slightly less convenient to hook up small wires than on the other one. I do actually have the 6010 though, because it fit better in my space. But I had to attach small wires to 3/8" ring studs, which meant I had to order in some of them (vs. #8 or #10 rings, which I had on hand). The 6010 is around $35. Or there is the 6005, which is a straight on/off, cheaper, but no extra terminals to attach lights. It's around $25. Most of these also come in black (these part numbers are for red ones).
The 7622, in contrast is around $180-$200. In my case, it wasn't about saving money - I just wanted the simple, robust, manual control, and it works very well for my setup. But, it could also be done for other reasons such as cost saving, simplicity, etc.
Essentially what you are doing with any of these is this:
-- You have a positive wire running from the start battery positive terminal to the house bank positive terminal. This is the wire that allows the Ford alternator power to "share" with the house bank and charge when you are driving. Either the manual switch, or the 7622 (or the Sure power 1315) close or open a break in this positive wire. Thus the start bank either does or does not connect to the house bank.
-- The Sure Power 1315 is an older style that doesn't do the job as well as something like the 7622. Without going into details, the 1315 style robs some power whereas the 7622 type doesn't.
On the wires, if your Chinook is like mine was, there is a #4 (4 AWG gauge) wire going from the positive terminal of the start battery, across the firewall up at the hood seam, and then down to the driver's fenderwell where the 1315 sits, to one big terminal on the 1315. Then the "same" #4 wire goes from the other big terminal on the 1315, down by the steering column (under the hood), and along under the van along the driver's side frame rail to just ahead of the battery box area, then into the forward side of the battery box and onto the positive terminal of the house battery.
You *can* just move those two #4 wires to the same terminal on the 1315 (they have instructions for this on their website, to temporarily bypass the recalled separator which can catch on fire...) and that just makes it a join in a long wire. I went a step further and just ran a new wire, a larger one (1/0), and never even made the side trip to the 1315, but just ran the direct route as if the 1315 were not there (which it isn't anymore).
The separator isn't really supposed to be "outdoors" anyway, so even if I had gone with the 7622 I would not have put it under the hood. It can be anywhere along that line (wire) between the start battery and the house bank.
One additional note is that that wire should be fused on both ends. We can talk more about that if you want to, but there is also the option to just leave it as-is. Not ideal, but no worse than you have now. I don't want to totally overwhelm you.
BG
Not to get too "caveat-ish" on you, but just to mention that I'm having to assume that your rig is set up similarly to mine. My previous (other brand) camper van was also set up similarly, as are many boats, so I think that's a reasonable guess. Of course seek a professional if you are not comfortable, etc. Anyway....
So yes, a relay (of which the Blue Sea 7622 is one example - a good one) does automatically what you can also do manually with a switch. Automatic is preferable to many, but switches have their place too.
A switch does the same thing but you have to switch it. The 9004e is a simple manual switch, although it's a bit more expensive and slightly larger than some of their other switches. I chose it because it has two small screw terminals that make it really easy to connect LED lights to let you know when you have the switch combined or not combined. It's around $50 with free shipping (for example, see http://www.pkys.com). Another option is their 6010. It's physically slightly smaller, and also has a second set of studs for hooking up lights, but the second studs are 3/8" which makes it slightly less convenient to hook up small wires than on the other one. I do actually have the 6010 though, because it fit better in my space. But I had to attach small wires to 3/8" ring studs, which meant I had to order in some of them (vs. #8 or #10 rings, which I had on hand). The 6010 is around $35. Or there is the 6005, which is a straight on/off, cheaper, but no extra terminals to attach lights. It's around $25. Most of these also come in black (these part numbers are for red ones).
The 7622, in contrast is around $180-$200. In my case, it wasn't about saving money - I just wanted the simple, robust, manual control, and it works very well for my setup. But, it could also be done for other reasons such as cost saving, simplicity, etc.
Essentially what you are doing with any of these is this:
-- You have a positive wire running from the start battery positive terminal to the house bank positive terminal. This is the wire that allows the Ford alternator power to "share" with the house bank and charge when you are driving. Either the manual switch, or the 7622 (or the Sure power 1315) close or open a break in this positive wire. Thus the start bank either does or does not connect to the house bank.
-- The Sure Power 1315 is an older style that doesn't do the job as well as something like the 7622. Without going into details, the 1315 style robs some power whereas the 7622 type doesn't.
On the wires, if your Chinook is like mine was, there is a #4 (4 AWG gauge) wire going from the positive terminal of the start battery, across the firewall up at the hood seam, and then down to the driver's fenderwell where the 1315 sits, to one big terminal on the 1315. Then the "same" #4 wire goes from the other big terminal on the 1315, down by the steering column (under the hood), and along under the van along the driver's side frame rail to just ahead of the battery box area, then into the forward side of the battery box and onto the positive terminal of the house battery.
You *can* just move those two #4 wires to the same terminal on the 1315 (they have instructions for this on their website, to temporarily bypass the recalled separator which can catch on fire...) and that just makes it a join in a long wire. I went a step further and just ran a new wire, a larger one (1/0), and never even made the side trip to the 1315, but just ran the direct route as if the 1315 were not there (which it isn't anymore).
The separator isn't really supposed to be "outdoors" anyway, so even if I had gone with the 7622 I would not have put it under the hood. It can be anywhere along that line (wire) between the start battery and the house bank.
One additional note is that that wire should be fused on both ends. We can talk more about that if you want to, but there is also the option to just leave it as-is. Not ideal, but no worse than you have now. I don't want to totally overwhelm you.
BG
, maybe another good thing would be a further back "overall" view of your engine area with the hood open. I'd like to be able to mentally place a few of these things in context.