Fishy
Hard Core 4+
http://www.sleeoffroad.com/products/products_battery.htm
Dual battery LED Indicator should tell me everything I need to know as well.
Dual battery LED Indicator should tell me everything I need to know as well.
IBS Dual Battery System ?
- Thread starter Fishy
- Start date
I get that, but to be clear the only way I'd be in this situation would be by a conscious effort in linking the two, in which case I'd like to think I knew what I was doing. This is like camping with someone's whiny annoying friend who can't relax.
IOW, it was nice of you to loan me your battery so I could run my fridge down a little colder this evening. But if you're going to rub it in my face every 30 seconds then you can just have it back, I'll just cook the rest of this meat right now and drink warm beer the rest of the weekend.
sleeoffroad
Hard Core 4+
I get that, but to be clear the only way I'd be in this situation would be by a conscious effort in linking the two, in which case I'd like to think I knew what I was doing. This is like camping with someone's whiny annoying friend who can't relax.
IOW, it was nice of you to loan me your battery so I could run my fridge down a little colder this evening. But if you're going to rub it in my face every 30 seconds then you can just have it back, I'll just cook the rest of this meat right now and drink warm beer the rest of the weekend.
Yes, I can see that. A simple switch in the main battery sense wire should enable you to do just that. I have to look at the time interval for the warnings and see if it can be set.
I can also see where Fishy is coming from re: the simple switch. My problem is I will forget it on or off and normally that would be the wrong setting. We normally do the dual battery systems for redundancy and having them auto isolate is what we prefer. If you forget to switch the manual switch and one of the kids leave the dome light one, you are also going to loose both batteries and then you are stuck.
I don't exactly have a horse in this race, so just responding for the thrill of continuing the argument. Remember the 100 shuts those domes off for you after a few minutes, even if you leave the door open. And even if they didn't, I have a feeling two AGM's would power an LED dome for days on end.
plus I have jumper cables.
sleeoffroad
Hard Core 4+
I don't exactly have a horse in this race, so just responding for the thrill of continuing the argument. Remember the 100 shuts those domes off for you after a few minutes, even if you leave the door open. And even if they didn't, I have a feeling two AGM's would power an LED dome for days on end.
Replace dome with DVD player, WII, late maker or any other device. I just don't like a redundant battery system that relies on the operator to disconnect. I think it defeats the purpose.
I'm interested in hearing how it works out for you
Cost wise I think you might not come in quite that much under the IBS system...In the kit I received they include battery cables, terminals, etc. Unless you weren't planning to use that stuff anyway, then sourcing this stuff will be an additional cost to your solution...maybe $50-$100 depending on what you source.
Still, I'm still looking for something convincing to go with the IBS system other than my dilemna of not having enough grasp on all of this to put something together on my own
Fishy
Hard Core 4+
I'm interested in hearing how it works out for you
Cost wise I think you might not come in quite that much under the IBS system...In the kit I received they include battery cables, terminals, etc. Unless you weren't planning to use that stuff anyway, then sourcing this stuff will be an additional cost to your solution...maybe $50-$100 depending on what you source.
Still, I'm still looking for something convincing to go with the IBS system other than my dilemna of not having enough grasp on all of this to put something together on my own
Good points, I spent $24 for a Cole Hersee switch. I'm guessing $50 on battery cables. The 8 place fuse panel I would have bought even with the IBS, so I don't count that as extra. Even if I spent $175 dollars on wires/cables (no way will I spend that much) that's still $200 less than what I spent on the IBS + RBM.
I think the bigger issue for me is the reduced wiring, reduced connections and the confidence that i truly understand the very basic system. That IBS system had a lot of connections and small wires plus lights and alarms. Honestly, I'm still not smart enough to understand what it does better than a basic set up.
I like nice stuff as much as the next guy, but if I don't understand how to use it when I need it, it defeats the purpose for me. Granted, I have to be more vigilant to ensure I isolate the aux battery when I pull into our camp spot, but that's as basic as ensuring I have enough gas, or emergency provisions. As long as I wire my camping accessories to the aux battery, and make one flip of the switch, my kids can leave stuff on all day and night, it will only drain the aux battery.
rover67
Rising Sun Member
dont underestimate the cost of copper...
Of course, if you run small gauge stuff it won't be too bad.
Of course, if you run small gauge stuff it won't be too bad.
I had my ibs controller disconnected yesterday for a couple hours, while I fiddled with some other devices it needed to be removed to access. But now that I plugged it back in, it's confused thinking the main battery is dead. The main bettery is most certainly not dead nor was it even disconnected yesterday. I have tried unplugging it and plugging it in, but to no avail- it still says the main battery is dead. Any thoughts?
I'm guessing that one of two things happened:
1--the controller is pooched. You might have given it a voltage spike that killed it perhaps when plugging or unplugging it?
2--you've got a bad connection in the plug. The battery sense wires run straight to the controller typically, so unless you ran it else wise it's only real potential to get a corroded or bad connector is at the plug itself.
Dan
I had #2 above happen to me. Swapped out the main battery and controller said it was dead. I forgot to reconnnect the sense line from the battery to the unit
Hmmm.. I will dig out the rat's nest under the carpet, maybe I bumped something. 
Fishy
Hard Core 4+
Did you try using a multimeter to see where the disconnect happens?
That is a good suggestion. So it looks like the "red" wire is definitely the one that is disconnected, and I'm just going to guess that's the + going to battery #1. I can measure 12.5 using either of the top two "female" terminals in the harness, and the black "male" terminal. But I can't get anything using the red "male" terminal.
And since both are 12.5, I know I'm measuring battery #2, regardless of which ground I pick. But how did I bump that red wire... I swear I wasn't anywhere near that battery
And since both are 12.5, I know I'm measuring battery #2, regardless of which ground I pick. But how did I bump that red wire... I swear I wasn't anywhere near that battery
Attachments
The red wire goes all the way to the battery terminal. When I disconnected the old battery the red wire slipped down where I couldnt see it and I forgot to hook it up when I installed the new battery at the terminal
