What kind of 24 to 12 volt converters do you buy? The ones I have been buying seem like use them for a year or so and then they start pulling voltage and if machine sits they drain the batterys! The last one I tested was pulling 5 amps when the 2-way radio was off and the machine was off. Thanks Jerry
The ones we use when equipment does not come from factory with built in ones are from NAPA, don't have numbers at home but they last many years. As to power drain, we are required by management to have disconnects in all machines to kill all power to equipment when not in use so I can't speak to that question. However a 5 amp draw does sound wrong no wonder you get a short life out of them and it kills the batteries!
Yep, I dont remember the brand, but I got them from the local case dealer. 24v in and 12v out. just running radios, no problems. Used to use the old ceramic Voltage drops for things like rotary beacons, but now we have multi-voltage strobes and those are kind of unnecessary now. And they dont work for low draw radios,etc.
Thanks for the replies! It seems like I just put them on and then they are pulling juice so that's why I wondered. I tried once to put a relay on it so that when the key was off there wasn't any power to it or ground don't remember how I did it. Would that work? Can anybody give me a diagram how to do it so it would? As my name says I'm still learning! The main thing I need to know is which wires hook up where on the relay. Or maybe that wont work. Thanks Jerry
Where and how are you getting your input power? You should be able to take power off the fuse block that switches off with the key switch, and not have any battery drain issues.
Does this help? Hook ground wire to #85, hook power from key switch(hot with key on) to #86. hook fused wire from battery positive terminal to #30 and hook wire to input of voltage adapter to terminal #87. This will keep the load from the converter disconnected from the batteries when key is off. Still seems like the 5 amp load that is killing the batteries is too high. * note if your relay has the terminal that is unmarked in the diagram it would be #87a. This terminal is "Hot" with key off, not needed for you application. For more ideas on uses of relays spend some time doing a google search for "Relay wiring" all kinds of ideas.:cool2
Rzucker the converters I have been using pull power from the 12 volt batt and the 24 volt batt so it pulls even power from both so it don't ruin one or the other is what my understanding is! Khansen yes that helps a lot other question if 86 is 24 volt can I have 12 colt on the 87/30 side? somebody told me that the 2 sides don't have to be the same volts. What I would like to do is switch the 12 volt and the 24 volt of with the key. Thanks Jerry
As long as you use a 24v relay the 86 switch power can be 24v and the 85 frame ground. Run the 30 off positive post on one battery so it has 12 volts. I can't see how this would produce any excessive draw on one battery as long as the alternator is charging and you would not even need the convertor. Anyone please correct me if I am mistaken. I have installed several 12v aftermarket a/c systems on 24v systems this way with no problems. Not to say they don't exist, but have never come across a 24v battery only two 12s run in series. Got run in circle one time trying find out why a 24v system only had 12v. It had two batteries run in series . Come to find out by checking the batteries individually they were 2 six volt batteries that had been recently installed. The complaint was we just put two new batteries in it and it won't do anything.
I may stand corrected, but if two 12 volt batteries are hooked in series, and you have a 24 volt charging system that will charge across both batteries one battery will never completely charge. I have an old 404 UNIMOG that I always had trouble with one battery going dead, freezing, and breaking. Disconnected the 12 volt accessories off the one 12 volt battery and no more problems. A 24 to 12 transformer sounds to me like it is the way to go.
Yes, thats it exactly. No matter how small the draw on the 12v side it eventually catches up. Result... 1 dead battery. As to the OP, I would chuck the multi input convertor and install a newer simple convertor with 24v in and 12v out and be done with it. JMO.
The devices that draw from one 12V battery and then the other are usually called a "Load sharing" device as I recall. Unless you're drawing big power there's no need for that, a small 24-12V inverter is all that's needed. If all you're running is a radio you can probably power it off an accessory fuse in the block.
What I don't seem to understand is why the OP says he has a 5 amp draw on the system when the 12/24 inverter is connected. Maybe I need to try hooking up one of ours through an amp-meter to see what they draw? I know we always hooked them up to a switched 24 volt source so even if they did draw 5 amps full time, which I highly doubt, they would only be powered while machine was running. Did a litle searching and found the voltage reducers we have used with goo results. We get then through NAPA Part Numbers VR-3 and VR-4. The VR-3 is rated for a 2 amp output and the VR-4 is rated for 5 amp output. They are made by Wells Vehicle Electronics. I also sent an email to their tech line to see what they list as in input amps on the 24 volt side. If they respond I'll be sure to note that here.
Myself, I would think that his convertor is defective. A full 5 amps at 24v is the equivalent of 10amps at 12v.
This may be what he's using.... From: http://bus.getdave.com/Docs/12Von24V/ Battery Equalizer / Battery Balancer A Battery Equalizer (a.k.a. "Battery Balancer") is a simple three-wire device that keeps your batteries balanced: Essentially it holds the middle wire at half the voltage of the outer wires. If one of the batteries has a higher charge, current will pass through the equalizer from the higher battery to the lower battery. Most equalizers can also do plain 24->12V conversion and often 12V->24V as well. If it's hooked up as an equalizer, though, then it will keep your batteries balanced even if you aren't using the 12V circuit, which is good for battery life. Equalizers have a max current rating, but that's just the balancing max current. To use an equalizer you would still use the splitting techniques as above. This means that you can actually use more than the maximum equalizer current for short periods of time, as long as the equalizer has a chance to balance the batteries out afterwards. Furthermore, if you do a double split like above, then the equalizer only has to deal with the maximum current difference, so if you can mostly balance two circuits, the equalizer can make up the difference. Side note: Most equalizers need to be connected/disconnected with ground wire last, or you can fry the equalizer! See your manual.
I will have to look what kind we got cause I don't even know some of them we have got from deere and this one that is pulling 5 amps come from deere! Maybe it is just defective because we got them on our excavators and they don't seem to make the batteries go bad! Rzucker one of my coworkers had hooked up his 2-way up to the 12 volt batt on 772D deere grader and he has to change that batt every year or 2! The other thing I will have to look on Monday is if our 2-way's say how many amps they pull. Jerry
The 2 way draw could be interesting. I worked for a company years ago and had a 150 watt motorola lo band that would literally dim the headlights on my service truck when it was transmitting. If yours draw too much, It could have killed your convertor. Or at least damaged it.
http://www.pyleaudio.com/sku/PSWNV7...tep-Down-720-Watt--Converter-W-PMW-Technology So if I would install one of these then I should be able to just hook it thru the key switch or would it need more amps than the key could give it? Jerry
Does his 2 way draw too much for the factory converter in the 772D? All C-II and later graders come with a 12v circuit standard.
It's capable of 30 amps. I would not want to put that much through my ignition. A normally open relay is the way to go to power it. The convertor you point out only takes 0.2 amps no load draw. That points to the other one with the 5 amp draw as probably having issues.
I think the place to start on this is to know the max amps needed by the radio and or other accessories then find a converter that can handle the load with some power to spare.
I used to use Transpo and Astron 24-12 converters, but, when they failed, 24volt would travel thru my $800 2 way radios. For the past 5 years, I have been using these cute little Orion units for my 2 way radios, CBs, backup cameras, etc... For high inductive 12v loads, like when we drive up to my 12v diesel fuel storage tank, my machines are equipped with a battery equalizer.
I looked at a 2-way radio today and it says 14 amps on it so I would take that to mean that's what it needs? it says 13.6 volts and then 14 amps