Installing Battery To Battery (B2B) Charger with IGNITION LIVE FEED | Crafter Van Conversion | 26 |

This week we've been busy installing our Sterling B2B (battery to battery) DC to DC charger to provide charge to our leisure batteries from the starter batteries when the engine is running. We also used the mode for newer Euro 6 compliant engines which requires an ignition live feed (D+). This ignition switch makes sure the unit comes on automatically when we turn the van on, and turns itself off automatically when the ignition goes off again.
Battery 2 Battery chargers are an upgrade to the older style VSR (Voltage Sensing Relay) approach and enable more efficient charging, even with smart alternators &/or regenerative braking!
We've got the 12V 60A Sterling (BB1260 ) model, although this exact approach will also work for the 30A (BB1230), or any of the 24V (BB2430 / BB2460) models as well as B2Bs from any other manufacturer (e.g. renogy, ring, victron). We've set ours up for LiFePo4 batteries, but you can set it up for any battery type.
Hopefully this information was useful! Make sure to like, subscribe & hit the notification bell to ensure you don't miss our upcoming vidoes on our electrical system and we'll also be doing some tutorials on how to size your system correctly for your needs!
If you want to buy the charger we have you can get it from the link below:
Sterling B2B charger: ebay.us/d3apZ1 *
* We use affiliate links for certain products we recommend. If you make a purchase through these links we may earn a small comission but it won't cost you any extra.
--------- About Us -----------
We're Alex & Ayesha (AKA MountainAdvantures) and together we're building an off grid camper van to tour Europe and maybe further afield! We're complete beginners at DIY and van conversions so follow along to see all the mistakes and the good times as we convert our trusty VW Crafter, Wilson, into our own off-grid tiny home on wheels and head off on a vanlife adventure.
Stay tuned for the future where we hope to take Wilson with us on some snowy adventures in lots of remote places around the world. We enjoy skiing, ice climbing, mountaineering, rock climbing and walking to name a few so there are plenty of adventures on the horizon.
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[@icantfindausernamehe]

I was wondering where to get the ignition feed from and this video explains a great way to do it. Can your lithium batteries take the 60 A input ? I went for 30 A as my batteries prefer < = 50 A.

[@mr.d7372]

Some say B2B chargers can overload the alternator.. do you have an opinion.?

[@Chobie]

It’s almost like you know what you’re doing! Looking bang tidy

[@jamestolfree7607]

Thanks that was a really useful install video. Couple of questions if i may as I've just bought one of these and am scratching my head! 1. you used the 'Mode 2' option of wiring the ignition start rather than using 'mode 1' where it detects the increase in battery voltage and starts. why is that please as I'm wondering what would be best in my Sprinter?. 2. I notice you have a Victron MPPT controller (I have the same one). Are there any issues in running the MPPT controller and B2B charger together? Thanks in advance and keep up the great content!

[@mountainadvantures5968]

Hi James, Glad the video was useful! 1) The reason we used the ignition live is because our van (2017) has a smart alternator. With smart alternators the voltage is more variable and can drop below the B2B threshold so it's better to use the ignition feed as this isn't dependent on the voltage from the alternator. I think the sterling unit we have has a built-in timer to stop it switching off too often when the smart alternator voltage drops below its threshold. This timer allows the B2B to be used in either mode but Sterling recommend using the ignition live feed for better performance in vehicles with a smart alternator. You'll need to check if your sprinter has a smart alternator but there's no harm in wiring up the iginition feed if it doesn't. 2) You can use both charging methods at the same time because they will compensate for each other and so won't cause any problems.

[@jamestolfree7607]

@@mountainadvantures5968 Great info. Many thanks for a very helpful reply 👍

[@chatteyj]

Thanks for including ignition live feed part, what about the connection to the alternator, why do no youtubers show this?

[@DuncanAtkinson]

wouldn't you want the dc dc charger to run when the engine is on, not just when the ignition is on?

[@mountainadvantures5968]

Hi Duncan, Ideally yes, and the instructions booklet does have a warning about draining your starter battery if you leave the ignition on without the engine running. In our case an ignition only feed is fine for us as we have no reason to leave the iginition on without the engine running and this was slightly simpler to find. You could find an engine-live fuse through the same method in the video if that's what you need though. Hope that helps!

[@shamrock245]

Thanks, that was really clear and simple.. Gonna give it a go

[@mountainadvantures5968]

Good luck!

[@rabfraser1234]

hi did you run the common earth to the shunt ? do you then run it to the starter battery ? cant find anything telling me how to install this if a shunt is fitted ,,

[@geofffitzgerald7523]

Excellent

[@mitmamitmus4113]

Great video, I'm baffled as to why you haven't got thousands of subscribers. 👍👍👍👌