Best battery charger for 24v dual battery systems (1 Viewer)

[markthemenace]

I asked them to bring it in...and they did! Charging, and equalizing and all that fun stuff, no need to disconnect batteries etc etc. Waterproof, leave it in the engine bay, come home, plug the car in and forget its there!

Check it out!

I just spent a whole wad of cash on two batteries. I'm hoping this will help them last longer.

 

[Douglas S]

I have a smaller trickle charger from the same manufacturer hard mounted in my engine bay. Really nice little unit.

 

[markthemenace]

Yeah, I've been using the Battery Minder every now and then. But its a royal pain with the dual battery setup...unhook, connect using jumper cables, pray that I connected it right (I once made a big spark...BIG spark, 24v spark is no joke man!) and then suddenly the wife says, I need to use the truck now, scramble scramble.

I started looking around awhile ago...almost got a 24v charger, then realized, well, I'm not charging a 24v battery, but two 12v ones. With an equalization issue as well (my mechanic thinks I'm nuts). Anyway, I stumbled on the Noco site, emailed them, they recommended this one and so I contacted Cndn Tire and they referred me to my local store, who then told me, whaddaya know, we're bringing it in soon!

Well, it looks like no stock yet...

 

[John Galt]

I have a NOCO model G7200 24/12v charger. It's worked just fine for a couple of years so far.

 

[renaissanceman]

So, is battery death a chronic problem for the 24v diesel rigs? I've had my HJ 61 for 6 years, and I'm looking down the barrel of the third set of batteries. I'm definitely NOT an automotive electrical genius, but this seems ridiculous. I have the Solar 12v converter installed, so with all considered, is this just the way it is, or where should I start looking for problems.

 

[John Galt]

I haven't needed a constant trickle charge to keep my 24v system charged. I used to have a problem in the winter after a few days when the 24/12 convertor was hooked up, but since I put it on a relay so it's off when the vehicle is off, that problem went away. I got the 24v charger so I wouldn't have to disconnect the batteries if it needed charging for whatever reason. I check the battery fluid levels once a year and rotate them at that time. I've had pretty good service from the CdnTire marine starting batteries that replaced the Optimas that came with the truck, and failed after one year.

 

[blis]

So, is battery death a chronic problem for the 24v diesel rigs? I've had my HJ 61 for 6 years, and I'm looking down the barrel of the third set of batteries. I'm definitely NOT an automotive electrical genius, but this seems ridiculous. I have the Solar 12v converter installed, so with all considered, is this just the way it is, or where should I start looking for problems.

The problem usually persists if there is un-balanced load on batteries or you're drawing 12v from one battery... As long as the system is true 24v (no un-even loads) the batteries last ages (my cheapo batteries lasted +5 years)...

In your case it can be the 12v converter that slowly drains the batteries, causing them to die early...

 

[77cruiser77]

My thoughts exactly. Its all in the set up so check yours with a multimeter as you likely have a small drain. I got six or seven years out of my cheapo batteries too in my 24v cruiser.

Remember that even maintenance free batteries aren't necessarily maintenance free. They should still be rotated and checked individually to see if they have a dissimilar voltage periodically. Oil change intervals seem to lend themselves to this task.

 

[thenative1]

All,

I've never had a diesel rig. As such, I recently purchased the battery charger linked below to keep a very recently acquired BJ44 rig topped up between my (approx.) weekly drives. My very, VERY newbie question is: which battery do I connect?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002DTV172/?tag=ihco-20

I'm sure to have many more equally naive questions. Stay tuned.

Thanks in advance.

Best,
Evan

 

[shelfboy1]

if its a 24 volt charger positive to first battery and neg to second battery will charge them as 24 volts 2 batteries are wired pos then neg to pos and neg .im sure someone will do this better than me

 

[veggie60]

I haven't needed a constant trickle charge to keep my 24v system charged. I used to have a problem in the winter after a few days when the 24/12 convertor was hooked up, but since I put it on a relay so it's off when the vehicle is off, that problem went away. "

can you describe that relay? i've been killing good batteries in 2 years or less.

 

[John Galt]

Any 24v relay with 30 amp contacts at NAPA or similar parts store
this might be useful
Inexpensive 24V relays

 

[veggie60]

thanks!

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

I believe Canadian trucks have 12V head lights that run a center tap that introduces an imbalance to the system and that's what you all are fighting.
My BJ44 has had pretty cheap batteries for several year snow and they're going strong. I have 24v headlights so the entire system is setup for 24V.
I have never rotated my batteries, though I like the idea and may start doing so semi-annually.

 

[veggie60]

Any 24v relay with 30 amp contacts at NAPA or similar parts store
this might be useful
Inexpensive 24V relays

found a hella relay, now have to wire it in...did you tap into the fuse panel for switched power, or is there a simpler place to wire into?

 

[vujo91]

if its a 24 volt charger positive to first battery and neg to second battery will charge them as 24 volts 2 batteries are wired pos then neg to pos and neg I'm sure someone will do this better than me!

 

[Malahki]

I believe Canadian trucks have 12V head lights that run a center tap that introduces an imbalance to the system and that's what you all are fighting.

Not exactly true. Yes the canadian models use 12v headlights on a 24v system but they are wired in series to operate at 24v

The down side to doing it this way is if ine headlight fails they both fail. Not good if your traveling at night obviously. So they added a centrr tap to prevent this. The only time it will draw ian unvalance the batteries is if one headlight is out

 

[markthemenace]

I use the mini gen 2 by Noco. It can charge two batteries at the same time. I don't need to unhook the batteries at all.

 

[Greg_B]

Not exactly true. Yes the canadian models use 12v headlights on a 24v system but they are wired in series to operate at 24vView attachment 1169042
The down side to doing it this way is if ine headlight fails they both fail. Not good if your traveling at night obviously. So they added a centrr tap to prevent this. The only time it will draw ian unvalance the batteries is if one headlight is outView attachment 1169043

I do know that the Cdn spec BJ40/2 has a center tap system in which one headlight is supplied 24V to the high and low beam pins (and 12V to the neutral pin, so the headlight see's 12V in high or low when selected) and the other headlight is "normal" having a 0V neutral pin and is supplied 12V to the high or low pin when selected.

Therefore the headlights are not wired in series, as all the funkiness is controlled via the "dimmer relay" which has a 24V lead (from the 24V side of the batteries) and a 12 lead coming in (ala the center tap). 78 BJ 40 Headlight Diagram

A buddy who has a HJ60 will be checking to confirm if its the same on his HJ60, as my understanding is all 24V trucks that were built for the Cdn market (BJ40, BJ42, HJ60 and two years of BJ70) use the same method. Will update when I know.

In the meantime and back to the OP link: I bought a NOCO 7200 on sale last year and have been using the 24V charge function to maintain and float charge my BJ42 when in storage through the winter. All good so far...

hth's
gb

 

[Malahki]

Interesting and overly complicated.... but not suprising. Toyota seems to like over complicating their headlights much like the rotating ground system found in my HDJ81 (ground changes pin position on headlight when switching between hi/low beam)