2014 T460 Transit minibus electrics

[Monkeybatbear]

Total newbie here, been doing lots of Internet research but there seems to be 300 answers to every question!
What sort of charging system do I need and where do I connect it! Are there 2 batteries, is it a smart alternator, will my wife explode if I do it wrong? Thanks

Also it has a second heater is this like a webasto or does it run off the heater matrix?

Thanks again

 

[SquirrellCook]

Total newbie here, been doing lots of Internet research but there seems to be 300 answers to every question!
What sort of charging system do I need and where do I connect it! Are there 2 batteries, is it a smart alternator, will my wife explode if I do it wrong? Thanks

Also it has a second heater is this like a webasto or does it run off the heater matrix?

Thanks again

Your to early asking how to do something. Make a plan of what you think you want. Also how do you want to use your vehicle? Then if you don't know, ask how you can achieve it. Somethings will be easy, and others not. If it's too much trouble/expensive you might change your mind.
Never start at the beginning. Start at the end and work back with your planning.

 

[Monkeybatbear]

Your to early asking how to do something. Make a plan of what you think you want. Also how do you want to use your vehicle? Then if you don't know, ask how you can achieve it. Somethings will be easy, and others not. If it's too much trouble/expensive you might change your mind.
Never start at the beginning. Start at the end and work back with your planning.

I'm well past the planning stage, it's a 6 berth camper with external shower, kitchen, porta potty thing, the sofa/beds/bunks are built, it's sound proofed and insulated there's a place for water/water pump/drainage. We'll be using it to take the kids to places around the UK initially (they're all homeschooled so it's part of their education) and stay for a week or two then head back for a month then go somewhere else.
If it was a house we'd be waiting for the plumbers and sparkys to do their first fix. Hence the question re heating and electrics.

 

[SquirrellCook]

I'm well past the planning stage, it's a 6 berth camper with external shower, kitchen, porta potty thing, the sofa/beds/bunks are built, it's sound proofed and insulated there's a place for water/water pump/drainage. We'll be using it to take the kids to places around the UK initially (they're all homeschooled so it's part of their education) and stay for a week or two then head back for a month then go somewhere else.
If it was a house we'd be waiting for the plumbers and sparkys to do their first fix. Hence the question re heating and electrics.

Again, that should have been done first. I'm still doing that with the Betty Build. Though, I am being hampered by having to do structural repairs.
Now that you have made it harder, please be specific and help us as much as possible with what you want to achieve and what you have already to help with this.

This isn't FB and full of ****

 

[Monkeybatbear]

Can you explain how I have made it harder? What I need to know is all in the original post

 

[mistericeman]

Total newbie here, been doing lots of Internet research but there seems to be 300 answers to every question!
What sort of charging system do I need and where do I connect it! Are there 2 batteries, is it a smart alternator, will my wife explode if I do it wrong? Thanks

Also it has a second heater is this like a webasto or does it run off the heater matrix?

Thanks again

2014 is a sort of 'Smart' alternator BUT not truly smart in terms of a VSR (Voltage sensing relay) not working with it.

This thread on transit owners forum may help explain https://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=191853

I used a Durite VSR on our Mk6 Transit with no issues to charge our 3 x 100ah leisure batteries... And we were heavy power users relying on all electric cooking.

A Battery to battery charger is generally considered better for keeping the batteries in good order (think of it as a 12v powered multi stage battery charger) though more expensive....
Some battery to battery chargers (C-tek/Ring rscdc30) also deal with solar input too IF you have solar/plan to fit it.

As far as the Aux heater goes.... Could be a wet system (linked to the engine coolant)
Or a dry system (eberspacher/webasto diesel)
Hard to know without actually seeing it.

 

[Monkeybatbear]

Thanks for that, I need to get under the drivers seat and see how many batteries I have! If there's a second auxillary battery can I run b2b off that?
There's a blowy box in the back and a fan motor in the front that powers the passenger compartment heating/cooling. I'll see if there's any pipes to follow!
All this smart alternator/regen braking is confusing as it's hard to get a definitive answer!

 

[mistericeman]

Thanks for that, I need to get under the drivers seat and see how many batteries I have! If there's a second auxillary battery can I run b2b off that?
There's a blowy box in the back and a fan motor in the front that powers the passenger compartment heating/cooling. I'll see if there's any pipes to follow!
All this smart alternator/regen braking is confusing as it's hard to get a definitive answer!

From memory with the twin battery system one is dedicated as starter only.... The other is Aux systems.
Using a B2B charger from the aux battery should be fine as from memory the starter battery has priority charging wise.

Sounds like a wet system run from the engine coolant. (ideal for tapping a calorifier into IF you wanted water heated by the engine whilst your driving along....
I was going to tap a multi plate heat exchanger to allow for a hot shower (with engine running obviously) when we had the transit