Radio Van Projects Meter Panel

Radio Van project....Meter Panel/Breaker Box
2001

Battery Box/Generator      Now that the spare tire is moved to the back, I can use the space for something else. I had planned on buying an Eisemann generator but wanted something more than just 24 or 36 volt DC. I got a Coleman 2 Cycle UltiMite 1100 watt AC and 12 Volt-90amp/24 Volt-45amp DC. Its about one foot cube 13x13x13 and weighs 25 pounds. I was going to put it below the radio box but decided it was so small I could store it inside the van. Owners manual says keep it dry so I'd have to build a sealed enclosure for it. Maybe later.
I decided to not put the radio van battery box back inside its left front corner, but mount it below the floor outside. I drilled additional holes in the Radio Box frame and attached the box to the frame using large sheet metal screws. The other end of the box just clears the frame where the spare tire used to sit. I also drilled holes through the floor and the top of the battery box for support anchors. A round rubber shock mount that came off one of the tables, mounts between the floor and the battery box. A large brass screw in the floor and a wing nut and washer inside the battery box hold the rubber mount. Further support provided by 3/8 inch bolts, large washers and "T" nuts.

Too big a hole for such a little generator. Radio Van battery box temporarily mounted. Originally I had the battery box rear lip resting on frame. I later cut the lip off. Concerns about frame flexing changed this approach. Bottom view of the the battery box lip on the frame. Battery box side view, as an original idea. Later I cut the back of the box and put in additional supports through the floor. You can see the old rusty spare tire studs sticking down.

(#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 - Radio Van battery box mounted below the floor. I covered the hole with 1/8" aluminum. (#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 - Frame clearance of battery box rear after cutting about 1 inch from the box and grinding and painting. The lip used to screw the end of the box to the floor inside the radio van. (#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 - The supports for the battery box. Shown is the rubber mount. I used 3/8 bolts, 3/4 inch conduit and "T" nuts in the floor. The large brass screw is for the rubber spacer. The rusty outline shows where the box lip used to rest. The box is directly below.

(#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 The 3/4 inch conduit for spacers (The rusty studs are the old supports for the spare tire.) and large washers inside to spread the load on the box sheet metal. The wing nut mounts to the rubber spacer which holds up the box while I align the rest of the screws and bolts. ** **

My Radio Box Wiring - October 19, 2001      Had a problem getting the truck to start. Somehow I ended up with 24 volts in the radio box without any radio box batteries installed! Hmmn! Found the auxilliary charging relay points stuck closed. It may have happened when I tried to jump start the engine. The Gen light had flashed on and off and the fuel meter was going from zero to half tank and back. Truck ultimately died when batteries went south.
I found I shorted a pair of wires (red and black pair) coming out of the floor. There were three wires, one red and two black. The Red wire comes from the charging relay (tap#87) and one Black wire from the battery disconnect switch. The other single back wire is a chassis ground. The Red and one Black were welded together. Pulled them apart and put them back on the junction blocks were they belong! I found a schematic on the bottom side of the charging relay cover which I copied by hand and later redrew on my computer.
Drawings/Pictures
I also took some pictures of the one device I call an Isolator that was on the front wall of the box. It houses some terminals, a 60 Amp breaker, a huge diode on a heat sink, and connector blocks. It is fed from the radio battery system, the diode regulates the flow to an outside 24 volt terminal called "Anschlusskasten FM" (terminal box). There is a schematic on the inside I re-drew. Schematic drawings of my meter/breaker box and other items posted below. Remember, these are how MY radio box is wired, yours may be different!

This is the drawing I copied from my Mog charging relay cover (engine compartment) . It's accuracy has been triple checked. Photo of the original relay diagram from the relay cover is a little fuzzy but shows the drawing is correct. ** This is the picture of the inside of what I call the "isolator" that connects the Radio Box batteries to the outside connector.
This is a scehmatic drawing of the wiring inside

This shows the wiring inside the "isolator" after I pulled all the connections to my meter box and terminals, outlets, etc. while tearing things apart to remove all items inside the radio box to refurbish the wall panels and insulation. This is a picture of my meter/breaker box which I will use to distribute 24 volts inside the Radio box. !!! I made a drawing of the inside wiring of my meter panel. Here it is. It's rather busy but I think it's accurate and complete. It does not show any connections to the distribution block other than the three original Radio box lights ( two flourescent ceiling lights and one mini spot light at the rear door). I plan on wiring these up later but the other connections will be blank for a while. I can use the side connectors on the panel for 15 and 25 amp devices inside the Radio box. I may just remove the 100 amp connector, I don't see any use for that much capacity - yet! Here is a smaller version of the same thing. I had problems printing the larger one from a web browser!!! Gotta stop messing with this thing.

Feb 18, 2002 - I finally got the cables sorted out and the batteries installed. It's amazing how a cable one inch too short can mess things up! It took me a lot longer than I had anticipated to get this done. I shortened the really long positive lead from the NATO connector and used the excess to make a full sized No 2 jumper between the batteries in place of the size 10 that was on the original Mog batteries. This allows full battery power to the NATO connector for jump starting or other needs. Also comes in handy to hook up a battery charger. I used the rest of the excess cable as an extension of the negative lead as it was too short to fully extend the battery tray. I will put a cutoff switch in place of the bolted splice . Things may look busy but it fits. I cut a strap from 1/4 inch baler belt and added a 10" EDPM rubber bungee cord to hold things down. I fabricated a wooden spacer from oak to keep the batteries from moving laterally. The batteries are dual purpose with wing nut connectors as well as normal battery posts. I put a cutoff switch in the negative lead to the NATO connector. I also put in a slightly longer positive lead to the Radio box distribution panel to extend the battery tray completely. I plan to install a 24 Volt mini connector on the back side away from the tire. This will minimize road splash from getting in. Once I get things finalized, I'll remove everything and waterproof the box with silicone caulk.

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Too big a hole for such a little generator. Radio Van battery box temporarily mounted.	Originally I had the battery box rear lip resting on frame. I later cut the lip off. Concerns about frame flexing changed this approach. Bottom view of the the battery box lip on the frame.	Battery box side view, as an original idea. Later I cut the back of the box and put in additional supports through the floor. You can see the old rusty spare tire studs sticking down.
(#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 - Radio Van battery box mounted below the floor. I covered the hole with 1/8" aluminum.	(#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 - Frame clearance of battery box rear after cutting about 1 inch from the box and grinding and painting. The lip used to screw the end of the box to the floor inside the radio van.	(#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 - The supports for the battery box. Shown is the rubber mount. I used 3/8 bolts, 3/4 inch conduit and "T" nuts in the floor. The large brass screw is for the rubber spacer. The rusty outline shows where the box lip used to rest. The box is directly below.
(#)Updated Nov 18, 2001 The 3/4 inch conduit for spacers (The rusty studs are the old supports for the spare tire.) and large washers inside to spread the load on the box sheet metal. The wing nut mounts to the rubber spacer which holds up the box while I align the rest of the screws and bolts.	**	**

This is the drawing I copied from my Mog charging relay cover (engine compartment) . It's accuracy has been triple checked. Photo of the original relay diagram from the relay cover is a little fuzzy but shows the drawing is correct.	**	This is the picture of the inside of what I call the "isolator" that connects the Radio Box batteries to the outside connector. This is a scehmatic drawing of the wiring inside
This shows the wiring inside the "isolator" after I pulled all the connections to my meter box and terminals, outlets, etc. while tearing things apart to remove all items inside the radio box to refurbish the wall panels and insulation.	This is a picture of my meter/breaker box which I will use to distribute 24 volts inside the Radio box.	!!! I made a drawing of the inside wiring of my meter panel. Here it is. It's rather busy but I think it's accurate and complete. It does not show any connections to the distribution block other than the three original Radio box lights ( two flourescent ceiling lights and one mini spot light at the rear door). I plan on wiring these up later but the other connections will be blank for a while. I can use the side connectors on the panel for 15 and 25 amp devices inside the Radio box. I may just remove the 100 amp connector, I don't see any use for that much capacity - yet! Here is a smaller version of the same thing. I had problems printing the larger one from a web browser!!! Gotta stop messing with this thing.
Feb 18, 2002 - I finally got the cables sorted out and the batteries installed. It's amazing how a cable one inch too short can mess things up! It took me a lot longer than I had anticipated to get this done. I shortened the really long positive lead from the NATO connector and used the excess to make a full sized No 2 jumper between the batteries in place of the size 10 that was on the original Mog batteries. This allows full battery power to the NATO connector for jump starting or other needs. Also comes in handy to hook up a battery charger. I used the rest of the excess cable as an extension of the negative lead as it was too short to fully extend the battery tray. I will put a cutoff switch in place of the bolted splice .	Things may look busy but it fits. I cut a strap from 1/4 inch baler belt and added a 10" EDPM rubber bungee cord to hold things down. I fabricated a wooden spacer from oak to keep the batteries from moving laterally. The batteries are dual purpose with wing nut connectors as well as normal battery posts. I put a cutoff switch in the negative lead to the NATO connector. I also put in a slightly longer positive lead to the Radio box distribution panel to extend the battery tray completely.	I plan to install a 24 Volt mini connector on the back side away from the tire. This will minimize road splash from getting in. Once I get things finalized, I'll remove everything and waterproof the box with silicone caulk.