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Unless indicated the 3rd set of terminals are usually for a load and often have a light-bulb symbol next to them. The 'load' often has a low voltage disconnect of about 11.1v and a re-connect of 13.1v the idea being that anything connected to it doesn't drain the battery.
It's best to simply not use them unless you really want to.
when you say "switches the load off below a certain voltage to protect the battery", am i correct in understanding that this means the charge controller checks the voltage of the battery using these wires, and once the lower threshold is reached; ? (stops anything taking further power from the battery?)
Thanks
No, (if they are indeed for load) you connect a load to those terminals and it gets provided with the battery voltage as long as it doesn't drop below a certain value. Once it does drop below that the load doesn't get supplied with the voltage anymore (unless it goes above say 12.8V or some similar value, indicating that the battery has been charged and capable of supplying the load again).
So, only stuff connected to those terminals gets disconnected.
It's like a mechanism to add a peripheral item that requires power without connecting it to a normal 12v socket in the van, and as you say; it won't allow it to totally drain the batteries. at first when you said it switches the load off to protect the battery, i thought you meant to the whole 12v system in the van! so nothing would work, i thought; how on earth does it do that!
mine is in fact for a load and has the symbol, god knows what's connected to it though
Jeanluc; unfortunately my hymer isn't that new.
Special thanks to jeanluc, trippytinker and pieterv for the in depth replies, many thanks to everyone for putting up with my ignorance.
Unless indicated the 3rd set of terminals are usually for a load and often have a light-bulb symbol next to them. The 'load' often has a low voltage disconnect of about 11.1v and a re-connect of 13.1v the idea being that anything connected to it doesn't drain the battery.
It's best to simply not use them unless you really want to.
Useful answer, I've just purchased a panel and controller with 3 sets of terminals. The one set indeed has a light bulb symbol, and the instructions (translated from Chinese) say that the load is connected to them, but I had difficulty seeing a 2.5kw inverter running through the unit, so I will do as suggested and not use the 3rd set.
In light of Trippytinker's post, how about connecting a small red LED to the third 'load' terminals, when this LED goes out,it will indicated a low battery.
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