Ignition wire for BCDC Charger

[ontheheel]

Just installed a BCDC 40A and a DCS 100Ah slimline battery.

BCDC requires the blue switch wire to connect to an ignition wire for vehicles with smart alternators, and I assumed I could use an upfitter switch for that purpose. Long story short, that didn’t have the intended effect. What do I need to be wiring it into?

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[RagnarKon]

I used the Aux switch.

What unintended effect did you run into?

 

[cr117]

Yeah, the AUX switch should work fine for this application. With the switch turned on, did you check to see if there was any voltage detected at the end of the wire?

 

[robepa]

I installed the BCDC, it charges just fine without the blue wire connected for me.

 

[ontheheel]

So I used the Aux switch, and it does charge. What I had hoped was that I could also turn the charger off from the driver seat, but since the alternator is frequently output by enough voltage to initiate charging without the switch flipped, it will still charge quite frequently even with the switch off.
I’m thinking I’ll change to a fuse tap for the trigger wire and then maybe wire up a heavy duty relay in the engine bay which is connected to the aux switch.

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