# Hymer Leisure Battery Charging Problem.



## Greytop (Apr 23, 2013)

I wondered if anyone could help me with my leisure battery charging problem.

I have a 2002 Hymer Swing on a Fiat Ducato base. My leisure battery charges no problem when I am connected to mains hook up, however when I am driving it does not seem to charge at all. yesterday I did a 3 hour trip in it and the leisure battery had not charged up at all, I would have expected it to charge a fair amount on a 3 hour trip.

I see the battery has a 50 amp fuse but that must be OK because it charges OK on hook up. The starter battery charges OK from the alternator when I am mobile and I understand the leisure battery and starter battery are in parallel so cannot see why the leisure battery is not charging.

Any ideas anybody, I am obviously missing something here !!!!


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## shortcircuit (Apr 23, 2013)

Have you checked the fuses at the split charge relay in the engine compartment?


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## maingate (Apr 23, 2013)

There is usually a 2 amp fuse alongside the 50 amp fuse at the Van and Leisure battery. This small fuse is on the charging circuit and worth checking.

You probably have an EBL 99 fitted. Have you checked the fuses on it as well?


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## Smaug (Apr 23, 2013)

May not be relevant, but I find that if I have the fridge on 12v while driving it seems to take as much out of the leisure battery as the alternator puts in. Consequently, I turn the fridge off when travelling if I need charge in the domestics. 

Unless you have an expensive B2B charger set up, the alternator output will fall off once the starter battery is recharged so the leisure battery takes a while to recharge if it has had a bit of a pasting.


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## Greytop (Apr 23, 2013)

shortcircuit said:


> Have you checked the fuses at the split charge relay in the engine compartment?



No I haven't and did not even know the split charge relay was in the engine compartment, Thank you for your advice and I will look for it and check it out.


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## Greytop (Apr 23, 2013)

Smaug said:


> May not be relevant, but I find that if I have the fridge on 12v while driving it seems to take as much out of the leisure battery as the alternator puts in. Consequently, I turn the fridge off when travelling if I need charge in the domestics.
> 
> Unless you have an expensive B2B charger set up, the alternator output will fall off once the starter battery is recharged so the leisure battery takes a while to recharge if it has had a bit of a pasting.



Very interesting as I do have the fridge on normally when mobile. I will try travelling with the fridge off. I am unsure of what the charging rate would normally be from the alternator when mobile. Maybe there is not a problem at all !!!!


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## Greytop (Apr 23, 2013)

maingate said:


> There is usually a 2 amp fuse alongside the 50 amp fuse at the Van and Leisure battery. This small fuse is on the charging circuit and worth checking.
> 
> You probably have an EBL 99 fitted. Have you checked the fuses on it as well?



Yes I have an EBL 99 fitted. Surely the charging circuit must have a fuse greater than 2 amp though!!! What rate should the leisure battery charge up at when travelling? I know there are lots of variables here.


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## maingate (Apr 23, 2013)

Greytop said:


> Yes I have an EBL 99 fitted. Surely the charging circuit must have a fuse greater than 2 amp though!!! What rate should the leisure battery charge up at when travelling? I know there are lots of variables here.



The leisure battery will get up to 16 amps and the van battery a 2 amp float charge on hookup and the leisure battery gets 18 amps once the van battery is recharged after starting.

The 2 amp fuse is not on the cable that the 18 amps runs through. It is a safety device. My van is not here at the moment and neither are my wiring diagrams, so I cannot give you a more exact answer. I am going from memory and it aint wot it used to be.


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## shortcircuit (Apr 23, 2013)

Greytop said:


> No I haven't and did not even know the split charge relay was in the engine compartment, Thank you for your advice and I will look for it and check it out.



If its like mine it will be in the centre above the rocker cover. Black plastic cover held on by two nuts with relays and a 4-way fuse block.  Should be a heavy brown wire from battery going to it.

Yours may be different but this may help.


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## Greytop (Apr 30, 2013)

*Solved*



Smaug said:


> May not be relevant, but I find that if I have the fridge on 12v while driving it seems to take as much out of the leisure battery as the alternator puts in. Consequently, I turn the fridge off when travelling if I need charge in the domestics.
> 
> Unless you have an expensive B2B charger set up, the alternator output will fall off once the starter battery is recharged so the leisure battery takes a while to recharge if it has had a bit of a pasting.



Thanks Smaug, this seems to have been the problem !!! I had only a 90 minute journey back on Sunday and decided to try the journey without the fridge on. Hey presto the leisure battery had charged up a little. I presume the charging rate from the alternator to leisure battery is such a low rate that if you travel with the fridge on, it is as you say the whole current is taken up by the fridge and zero amps (or close to it) available to charge the battery. 
I must admit even with the fridge off the leisure battery does not seem to charge at a great rate.


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