The scenario
A coachbuilder is converting a panel van into a front-line ambulance for an NHS trust. The build carries a heavy auxiliary electrical load (treatment-area lighting, medical equipment, heating and cooling, beacons, sirens and communications), all of which must run reliably on scene without flattening the battery that has to restart the engine.
The trust needs three things that ordinary relay-and-fuse wiring cannot guarantee: the vehicle must always start after a long stationary job; loads must shed in a sensible order as voltage falls; and the crew needs clear feedback on the state of the electrical system.
The solution
Intellitec supplies this as an integrated task and power management system rather than a box of parts:
- A programmable task and power management controller (IPLC or PMC multiplex) runs the vehicle logic (switching, load control, monitoring and run-lock) with inputs and outputs mapped to the exact build.
- Battery Guards protect the engine-start battery, isolating non-essential loads before the battery is discharged past the point where it can crank.
- A DC-DC converter manages charging of the auxiliary battery from the vehicle’s charging system.
- Speech warning modules give the crew audible feedback on system status.
The whole system is delivered as an assembled solution: harnesses, electronics, firmware and drawings, tested and ready to install as a plug-and-play unit. Behaviour is set in software, so a spec change is a reconfiguration rather than a re-loom.