# zig unit charging leisure Battery?



## martyb

Hello again folks,Firstly I would like to thank everyone for the replies.

Well since the last time we went out I have fitted a split charger, as before the main battery was drained and had to be jump started even thou I was pluged into a serviced pitch? . So have not been able to see if it works yet,unless there is a way of testing it before I got again at the end of this month?

How can I test to see if whilst pluged into 240v if the Zig unit is charging my leisure battery?...before I get stuck again?

many thanks

Marty


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## martyb

I have tried to do this but not an expert....could sure do with some guidence...


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## oldiebutgoodie

***** said:


> You need to fit an amp meter that shows the charge rate and discharge rate.
> Maybe our expert electricians can help



No need.
Engine off, mains unplugged,Multimeter for voltage,check battery voltage - appx 12.7v.
Engine off,mains plugged in,charger switched on,multimeter,check battery voltage, anything above previous reading the charger is working!


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> No need.
> Engine off, mains unplugged,Multimeter for voltage,check battery voltage - appx 12.7v.
> Engine off,mains plugged in,charger switched on,multimeter,check battery voltage, anything above previous reading the charger is working!



Thanks,I have tried this, I switched the 12v switch on and a couple of the lights,the voltage starts dropping on the leisure battery. Even with the mains swtiched on the voltage drops? (quite quickly) I can hear the zig unit whirring thou. 12v switch on,mains switch on,what position should the middle switch be on on...?

Also how can I tell if the zig unit is working can I put the multimeter nearer to the zig unit to see if it is working cooretly or the fact it could be a wiring fault from the unit to the battery?
Thanks


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## PaulC

For detailed information about batteries go to Sterling Power Products: Manufacturers of High Quality Advanced Marine and Automotive Digital Power Products


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## oldiebutgoodie

martyb said:


> Thanks,I have tried this, I switched the 12v switch on and a couple of the lights,the voltage starts dropping on the leisure battery. Even with the mains swtiched on the voltage drops? (quite quickly) I can hear the zig unit whirring thou. 12v switch on,mains switch on,what position should the middle switch be on on...?
> 
> Also how can I tell if the zig unit is working can I put the multimeter nearer to the zig unit to see if it is working cooretly or the fact it could be a wiring fault from the unit to the battery?
> Thanks


It depends upon which Zig unit you have - if you could put up a photo of the front and rear of it that would help as what position the switches should be in and which points you could test for voltage.
From memory - mains on, onsite on, leisure battery on.


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## oldiebutgoodie

PaulC said:


> For detailed information about batteries go to Sterling Power Products: Manufacturers of High Quality Advanced Marine and Automotive Digital Power Products



He needs assistance with his Zig unit - not a Sterling product or battery!


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> It depends upon which Zig unit you have - if you could put up a photo of the front and rear of it that would help as what position the switches should be in and which points you could test for voltage.
> From memory - mains on, onsite on, leisure battery on.



Hi, the zig unit is a cf8 please see the link below.  

cf8 

I will try and trace the wires back from the zig? However some seem to be amongst a loom. I am assuming that I cam attach the multi metre to the screws on the plastic strip/ I will wait for the advise as dont fancy zapping myself!


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## oldiebutgoodie

If you send me your email address by pm I can send you the pdf manual for the cf8 which will help a lot.
Rick


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> If you send me your email address by pm I can send you the pdf manual for the cf8 which will help a lot.
> Rick



Hi,and thanks again for all your help.

[


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> No need.
> Engine off, mains unplugged,Multimeter for voltage,check battery voltage - appx 12.7v.
> Engine off,mains plugged in,charger switched on,multimeter,check battery voltage, anything above previous reading the charger is working!



Hi, when you say "chrger switched on" do you mean the yellow 24ov button? Sorry to sound a numpty,but I am assuming that the charger is built into the zig unit,the coil part?

Martin


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## oldiebutgoodie

Yes,and yes the charger is built in.
Follow para. 3 on page 2. If OK:

Then you can check the same with the mains disconnected, engine running and switch for touring on to check that it is charging from the alternator.
Most probably as clear as mud but with the manual by your side it should become clear.
Rick
Ps remove your email to stop the spiders from harvesting it for spam!


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> Yes,and yes the charger is built in.
> Follow para. 3 on page 2. If OK:
> 
> Then you can check the same with the mains disconnected, engine running and switch for touring on to check that it is charging from the alternator.
> Most probably as clear as mud but with the manual by your side it should become clear.
> Rick
> Ps remove your email to stop the spiders from harvesting it for spam!



Thanks again, Well I have 14.2 volts going into the L/Battery when the engine is running,and drops to about 14v with the interior lights swiched on.

As soon as I switch the engine off the L/battery drops to 10v in about 5 mins with the interior lights on?

Tomorrow I will try it all again but with the 240v plugged into the vehicle. Where abouts shall I test with the multimeter at this stage?

Thanks again, very much appreciated

Martin


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## oldiebutgoodie

That's good news, except that the leisure battery is very flat or even dead. I would remove it and get it charged up fully. 
Now for the other one.
With the cf8 set for the mains charging as earlier test between terminals 3 & 4 on the plastic strip - it should read 13v - 14v+ if the charger is working, if it does then check that you have the same voltage going to the battery. If the same voltage isn't present going into the battery there may be a problem with the wiring.


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> That's good news, except that the leisure battery is very flat or even dead. I would remove it and get it charged up fully.
> Now for the other one.
> With the cf8 set for the mains charging as earlier test between terminals 3 & 4 on the plastic strip - it should read 13v - 14v+ if the charger is working, if it does then check that you have the same voltage going to the battery. If the same voltage isn't present going into the battery there may be a problem with the wiring.



Ok that is great, I will try that tomorrow just wanted to besure before I started probing about with 240.....will let you know how it goes.

So could it be possible that the battery is knackered then and that is causing these problems?


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## oldiebutgoodie

Your 240v should go straight into the unit and you will not have any accessible terminals to worry about - so that's safe.
The vehicle battery being flat was most likely to have been because you had the cf8 switched to use the vehicle battery instead of the leisure one.
Quite honestly I don't see why they have that option really - I would rather not have the 12v working due to the leisure battery being flat than have my vehicle battery flattened. ( It's a bit hard trying to push start 4.25 tons of Merc!)


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## martyb

oldiebutgoodie said:


> That's good news, except that the leisure battery is very flat or even dead. I would remove it and get it charged up fully.
> Now for the other one.
> With the cf8 set for the mains charging as earlier test between terminals 3 & 4 on the plastic strip - it should read 13v - 14v+ if the charger is working, if it does then check that you have the same voltage going to the battery. If the same voltage isn't present going into the battery there may be a problem with the wiring.



Hi,thanks for the email also. Well when I went to the van this morning the multi meter was showing 11.6v on the leisure battery.
Once again when I put the 12v switch down with a couple of lights on it dropped to 10v within a couple of minetes? Once I plugged in the 240v I had 13.87 coming out of the zig and 13.82 going into the battery with all three switches in the down position. I am assuming that the battery could be knackered?

Mart


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## oldiebutgoodie

The charger sems OK.
I would still give the battery a charge for two or three days to see if it will charge up and keep a decent charge.


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## martyb

ok will do


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## martyb

Problem solved,followed the wiring and found some very doggy connections. I.e rusted through almost! re-newed and also checkecd all connectiond behind the zig. Been away thise weekend in Devon on a family working farm..fantastic..thanks far all advise. Marty


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