Hawkeye Innovations 12V Battery Watchdog

In electric vehicles, there are critical devices that must always be powered by 12 V. These include the BMS, the memory of the car's entertainment system, and other devices. All of them are parasitic on the system's 12-volt battery, often discharging it so much that the electric vehicle cannot turn on. This is a problem not only for converted but also for some factory electric vehicles.

12V Battery Watchdog is a simple solution to this problem. It continuously monitors the voltage of the system's 12-volt battery, and when the preset minimum is reached, it instructs the DC/DC converter to charge the battery to a safe level and then, after a selected runtime (4 minutes by default), turns off the power to the converter. The Watchdog circuitry includes an internal relay with normally closed (NC), normally open (NO), and common (C) contacts that is used as a low-current 12V source to drive a larger high-voltage (HV) external relay or contactor to turn your electric vehicle's DC/DC converter on/off. The LED status indicator will light when it is active.

The Watchdog works smoothly when used with the Elcon DC/DC converter we offer. Special note: All SCMs already have a built-in Watchdog. For proper operation, it is important that your DC/DC converter has a soft start function like our Elcon 1kW converter. If you are using a different brand of DC/DC converter that does not have a soft start function, you will have to add a precharge function to it. This product works best with a DC/DC converter of at least 1 kW, which can quickly charge a 12-volt battery in minutes. If the output power of your converter is lower, you can specify a longer "charge" time in the field below.

The internal relay is rated at 0.5 A at 12 VDC and should be used for signal strength monitoring only. It is triggered at a programmable low voltage threshold defined by the user and remains on for a programmable amount of time.

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