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agesilaus's avatar
agesilaus
Explorer III
Dec 03, 2020

Wiring te load on AiLi battery monitor

I just got an AiLi monitor and am wondering if I can wire the shunt between the battery and converter, at the converter? It would make placing the meter a lot easier.

13 Replies

  • The neg path from battery to converter/DC panel might be mostly frame, so you will need a real wire from the shunt to the battery however long it has to be. (and it has to have the ampacity to carry the total amps of all the 12v loads--not easy to make that long wire that fat)


    That answers that, I actually have quite a bit of number 2 cable, might be bigger, but the idea of running that under the frame does not appeal very much. I'll break down and buy the extension cable from the OEM for the meter. Thanks for the helpful replies. Next week starts electrical work week on the RV...heh. Assuming I get mechanical work done before then.
  • The battery will be neg grounded to the frame and some things might use the frame as part of their neg paths to the battery.

    You disconnect the neg wire from from frame to battery at the battery post and put that wire to the frame on the shunt with the other load wires. But--you could just leave it disconnected from the battery and run another neg wire from the frame by the converter to the shunt.

    The neg path from battery to converter/DC panel might be mostly frame, so you will need a real wire from the shunt to the battery however long it has to be. (and it has to have the ampacity to carry the total amps of all the 12v loads--not easy to make that long wire that fat)

    It is usually a lot easier to put the shunt close to battery neg post, so the shunt to neg post wire can be short and fat, and the other wires that used to go on the neg post are right there to go on the other end of the shunt.

    But then that is why some monitors have such a long wire that goes from the shunt to the display! Finding a route for that wire can be an issue of course. Could mean putting the display in a less convenient spot, but you don't need to see it every minute. (After you have had it for a while it is less of an attraction :) )
  • What does the documentation for the monitor say? Often they require the shunt to be on the negative side of the battery, and not the positive.

    If you have anything that connects between the battery and the shunt (any loads or ground connections, as applicable), the battery monitor will not be able to see the current that goes through those connections and give erroneous readings for that reason.

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