Hello there,
I recently added a smartshunt to my campervan setup which was already using an Orion isolated dc-dc charger for the lithium battery. It is working perfectly fine but i am wondering if it is possible to use the extra connector to measure the voltage of my starter battery. My camper setup currently is completely isolated from the vehicle system.
Do I need to connect the output minus to the input earth for this to work or is there another way?
For the aux battery measurement of the SmartShunt to function, the two battery banks must share a common negative return path, yes.
Thank you for your quick response Justin!
Are there any negative (pun intended) side effects when I change this in my setup?
Not typically; some people running CB/SSB/HAM radios or high-resolution audio setups like to keep their battery banks isolated because current flow through common negatives can put noise on the ground plane of their antennae, so the less current across the chassis the better - but that’s a relatively small cross-section of customers, so unless one of those conditions apply to you, you should be fine.