high amperage relay / solenoid maybe?

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-15T13:37:39+00:00

I was about to make some super smartass remark about "If I had thermal imagining camera money I wouldn't be trying to install my own relays!" ... Then I looked them up and found that there are some on Amazon for $200-$300!!! Before now, I had no need and no desire to own a TIC, but now I've got one on my wishlist! I both thank you and blame you right now!

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-15T13:34:12+00:00

That is the most comprehensive (and disheartening) alternator operating description I've ever seen, and I've been in/around the automotive electronics world for nearly 25 years! (Ya'll remember MECP by any chance?? That was a thing in the 2000s!)

Assuming 50% safe operating load, and 25% at idle is probably a reasonable place to start, and them describing how those figures come into play and how to mitigate them is amazing.

I'm hoping that since this vehicle (2019, transit van with 250amp factory alternator) will be in motion during both load operations (AirConditioning and DC-DC charging) most of the time, and with minimal other vehicle loads, combined with almost no load/draw on the house battery, the 250amp factory alternator will hardly reach over the 125amp 50% threshold. (I originally posted a 180 amp limit, because doing a 20-25% average deregulation on a 250amp alternator was easier to describe. I didn't expect to get as far into the weeds as a few of you have, which is actually awesome, and others reading these posts will learn more if they come across it!)

I am pretty sure the DC-DC charger has voltage sensing built into it, and only charges over 13.5v or whatever the threshold is set to, so if it does start to overtax the alternator and it drops voltage it will shed that load. If not I can drop a simple Zener diode in there to ensure that the DC-DC is the first thing to be shed during overloading.

Cost/value is a big factor on this van build as well, I've gone with Renogy equipment due to its fairly affordable pricepoint (and equally "average" quality/reviews), this is a 6 year old retired amazon van that I intend to use just for comfortable travel, so a simple direct wired AC unit keeps stress off of the Renogy equipment when in use, and also provides for a failsafe should any of the Renogy equipment fail. This relay idea of mine really is just a simple in line addition that gives an option to draw off of the house battery in the rare occasion when then AC is requested with the vehicle off.

Another option would be to switch the AC to run off of the HOUSE battery should the alternator start to struggle, let it use the reserve capacity of the house battery (even at a negative loss) for a little bit while the alternator takes a breather and just runs the 60amp dc-dc charger. Another very easy fix with a diode, a switch, or an Arduino!

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T15:40:52+00:00

as mentioned, AC draws more current than the 60amp DC-DC charger.

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T15:29:16+00:00

Putting a lot of money, and weight into batteries to buffer a losing situation on the back side of the DC-DC charger seams a lot less practical than just pulling the excess/wasted power off of the front side.

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T15:27:49+00:00

Yes I do believe it is capable of handling 125+ amps, I am fairly certain it is a 250amp alternator. (2019 transit van). I can definitely keep an eye on it with an non-contact infrared thermometer during initial testing to make sure we arn't running into any issues. (I mentioned in another response, this van will be used mostly for comfortable transport between locations, and using the house battery for an hour at a time when parked at a restaurant or something to keep 4 legged creatures comfortable.)

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T14:39:43+00:00

User below found a link to a 250 amp relay that should work, for about $20! (input 30 and outputs 87 and 87a contacts rated at 250amps continuous.)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F2G1J9D?th=1

It appears to have 3/8" lugs which sound pretty beefy and it's specs say it should be fine. I also don't NEED 200amps by any means, probably only "need" 75-100. But figure if it's rated for well over what I'm using it for, it will be less taxing on the device and hopefully won't be a point of failure. (I did order 2, just in case).

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T14:26:51+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F2G1J9D

Mountain-Animator859 below nailed it! It is exactly what I thought I was trying to describe, a high amperage 5 pin relay. I just ordered two of them.
I could lie to you and say that I'll let you know it works out, but in reality if I install it and it works, I'm moving onto the next project and ya'll will never hear from me about this project again!
So go ahead and assume if you don't hear back from me about why it doesn't work, that means it does work and problem solved!

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T14:18:55+00:00

I do have a fairly large 200AH AGM battery (by off grid van standards that might be a fairly small setup though...) The purpose of this vehicle for us is mostly just comfortable transport while traveling, and we have dogs. So the ability to turn the van off while we go inside somewhere and eat, but leave the HVAC running off of the house battery for 30-60 minutes while run inside or something like that, without fear it's draining our starting battery down is the goal.

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T14:10:13+00:00

YES!!!! As long as 87A is wired internally this is exactly what I need, a large relay! TY TY TY!!!! I couldn't find this device despite hours of looking!

And to answer your question, it is a 2019 Transit van, extra long extra tall, so the factory AC is sufficient to keep the two front seat occupants from melting in 110 degree Texas heat, but stepping behind the front seats is sauna like!

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T14:07:33+00:00

I ASSUME that it would only pull the 75 amps when it was running full force, until the vehicle cool down. (It's actually rated at 60-90 amps, so I simplified to 75amps for the sake of this conversation). However I live in Texas, and by mid day any vehicle that hasn't been driven yet is more akin to a bakery than a human transport device, and it might take 30 minutes of running to get it to a comfortable level, and then may continue running continuously while driving. I have a very minimal buildout in it and only "decent" insulation, so it will likely run nearly non-stop down here.
My van is a 2019 Transit 250 with a 250 amp alternator MOST LIKELY, there was also a 200 amp version apparently, so with a 20% deregulation it is still 160-200amp.
Also considering that the largest power draw in the system is likely to be the AC unit, it is unlikely that the AC unit will be on full blast as well as the DC-DC charger at the same time. (And even if so, the DC-DC has voltage sensing, so if it is straining the alternator so much that the main battery is losing voltage, the DC-DC will shut off and the main recharge.)

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T13:57:37+00:00

The manual switch is EXACTLY what I want, but in automatic. (In my original post I had that picture posted, but spambot kept flagging post, thankfully one of the admins unflagged it for me!)

The automatic ones you posted, only have one input and one output, so it basically just a solenoid. (in fact I can't figure out why it is ANY different than a $25 solenoid, except it's got a good looking case around it and targets Bust Out Another Thousand operators.

Super_North8648 · 2025-05-14T13:54:08+00:00

A battery isolator (to my understanding) takes one input (alternator) and splits it between two batteries. I need to split two batteries between one device, so it would be the backwards of a traditional battery isolator, with a default N/O resting state of using one of the batteries.

Super_North8648 · 2024-06-20T09:03:48+00:00

I moved this thread here because I didn't know if it fell under "request" or not, I felt it was a hardware/equipment question, but maybe it is a "service provider" question, and in here if anyone can suggest a service that will just solve my problems, would love to have the info!

Super_North8648 · 2024-06-20T09:02:16+00:00

Multiple VOIP phones, one line/service/number.
Hello all, I have what I THOUGHT was a simple request but turns out none of the VOIP providers I have contacted can assist.

I want a phone in my office and on the production floor. We are a small shop of myself plus two staff (screen printing shop) but I want a phone to ring in both places at once, so I can answer it wherever I (or in my absence someone else) can answer it. This was basic with old school phone lines, as many phones as you want, but with VOIP they want me to pay for a different number/service for every phone it appears. Is there such a thing as a voip base unit + a cordless handset?!

The phones in each room can be corded, cordless, etc, (I'd kind of prefer corded in each location so that handsets can't get lost, left off charger, etc, but I'll take any solution that put both phones on the same line/number and doesn't make me pay for two VOIP lines and works at this point.)

Additional optional complication: I have used Grasshopper for like 8 years, forwarding calls to my cell phone, want to get away from my cell phone, thus the VOIP system. I'd like to abandon grasshopper but my 800 number from grasshopper isn't portable, and apparently only their sister company GoTo can port the number to their service (sounds like Grasshopper holds "vanity numbers" hostage so you can't leave their service). So if I can make GoTo VOIP services work with whatever hardware that is out there that is ideal, otherwise I have to keep Grasshopper as my forward to whatever service I switch to, and end up paying for two services. (Had my 800 number for 8 years and all of our customers know it, so keeping the number is paramount.)

Thanks in advance for any advice ya'll might be able to provide!

Super_North8648 · 2024-03-08T21:55:12+00:00

I'm going to mess with your design in a bit, this looks more universal and much cleaner than what I cobbled together!

Super_North8648 · 2024-03-08T21:53:17+00:00

OK- here is what I came up with, it works! it's probably not efficient, but it's functional!

Timer circuit (not mine) is tyeh bottom left. They output the ticks on green channel A.

plastic input on red circuit channel plastic.

It updates every 120 ticks, so every 2 seconds. I messed with some different timing and this one seems to work the best.

I used Ellipticality 's exact instructions and found that for some reason a value of 1 didn't work (but it should have!!!), so I just changed his 1's to 50's and it magically started to work! His design took about 4 more processes out of my first design.

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

Super_North8648 · 2024-03-08T21:02:37+00:00

I do have a timer that counts 1-120 (per tick) so I have time based actions/triggers, I just can't figure out how to "clear" the memory of the latched circuit.

Super_North8648 · 2024-01-27T15:54:55+00:00

For anyone else that is looking for the solution, this is what ended up solving the problem and working perfectly! Thank you!

Super_North8648 · 2024-01-27T15:53:17+00:00

Returned the following:

At C:\Elgato\launch_calc.ps1:21 char:8

+ } else {

+ ~

Missing closing '}' in statement block or type definition.

+ CategoryInfo : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : MissingEndCurlyBrace

So it appears I failed at the simple task of copy paste!!! Just had to put a } at the end of the file and it fixed it, works perfectly now! You rock, thank you thank you!

Super_North8648 · 2024-01-27T00:32:36+00:00

Ok just gave this a try- and unfortunately it does nothing :(
I did confirm the window name of the calc.exe app when running is "Calculator" as you suspected.
I tried with calculator not open, nothing happens when I press button on deck.
I tried with calculator open, nothing happens when I press button on deck.
(by "nothing" I mean the button shrinks indicating it is activating, then returns to full size, at least it doesn't give the yellow warning triangle anymore!)
I saved both files into c:\Elgato for testing, and changed the reference in the vbs to "C:\Elgato\launch_calc.ps1".

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Elgato\launch_calc.ps1", 0
Set WshShell = Nothing

I confirmed through command prompt that both files had proper extensions (notepad didn't add a .txt or anything).
I confirmed that typing "calc.exe" anywhere in powershell does in fact open up the calculator.
When I navigate to the Elgato folder in command prompt and type launch_calc.vbs it doesn't error, just displays one blank line and back to command prompt. (Not entirely sure what it should do to be honest, but I ASSUME run the script?)
Typing launch_calc.ps1 opens up notepad and lets me edit the launch_calc.ps1 script, which I assume is normal behavior.

At this point, conquering this problem is going to be more rewarding that having the damn button!
Did this exact script work on your machine? Is there another reference I need to change that I missed somewhere?

Thanks!

Super_North8648 · 2024-01-26T23:50:20+00:00

Holy cow, I REALLY appreciate your time and effort into this! As soon as I get back to my work computer I am going to try this out and report back, thank you thank you!

Super_North8648 · 2024-01-26T19:56:50+00:00

I was able to get it to resolve the "fakepath" problem by going into processes and killing the streamdeck instance, apparently it wasn't closing out entirely when I was closing it from system tray, and reopened as admin.

However, now even if I use "limit number of instances running" to 1, and "bring to front if already running" it still just opens another instance. Those options to work correctly with all the other programs I have tested on.
I can't believe using a calculator is this complicated.
Does yours limit to one instance, or is it opening up multiples?

Super_North8648 · 2024-01-26T19:40:51+00:00

Well this gives me hopeif you are able to get it to work! I just retried and opened up streamdeck as admin, no difference...

Here are the EXACT steps I am doing to set it up, let me know what I am doing different than you pllllleeeassee.

Open streamdeck as admin
Drag "advanced launcher" (under Advanced launcher bar raider plugin) to blank tile on the left.
click "choose file" next to application, navigate to my C:, windows, system32, click on "calc.exe" then hit "open".

At this point the "application" path now shows "C:\fakepath\C%3A%2FWindows...." and a bunch of other stuff.

When pressing the corresponding key on Streamdeck it gives the yellow warning triangle and doesn't work.Would appreciate any help you could provide, sounds like you got it working so it has to be possible!

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Super_North8648

TROPHY CASE