12 volt TV power source.

[jacquigem]

Had proplem with engine battery thus morning so decided to keep an eye on things.

After a day's driving Seargent panel showed 13 volts in engine battery.

After 1 hours TV engine battery reading 12.4 volts an a draw of 2.4 amps. Nothing else on .Pulled out TV plug ,engine battery volts immediately up to 12.7 volts and current draw reduces to 0.1 /0 amps.

So I am thinking engine battery is powering TV thru 12 volt socket in rear bedroom .

Is this correct ?

We have 2010 autotrail mohawk , 2 solar panels , vicrtron controller , two lead acid 110 a batteries.

Engine battery new 4 months ago.

Off grid, most of time but little else other than 2 phones to charge .Leisure batteries appear to be ok.

Any advice appreciated

Thanks.

 

[RichardHelen262]

Have a look on the Sargent unit to make sure it is connecting to the leisure battery and not the cab battery, if not then change it to leisure

 

[wildebus]

Had proplem with engine battery thus morning so decided to keep an eye on things.

After a day's driving Seargent panel showed 13 volts in engine battery.

After 1 hours TV engine battery reading 12.4 volts an a draw of 2.4 amps. Nothing else on .Pulled out TV plug ,engine battery volts immediately up to 12.7 volts and current draw reduces to 0.1 /0 amps.

So I am thinking engine battery is powering TV thru 12 volt socket in rear bedroom .

Is this correct ?

Very unlikely unless someone has added a socket connected to the vehicle battery. Or you have the control panel set to Vb instead of Lb.

You can check the first bit by turning off the Electrics on the control panel and see if the TV turns off (it should do with a normally configured Sargent system). Also, does the TV go off when the engine starts? Again, it should do, but some people do add sockets that bypass the Sargent distribution so they can use them when driving (handy if say you have a rear passenger who wants to plug in a tablet - or watch TV!).

We have 2010 autotrail mohawk , 2 solar panels , vicrtron controller , two lead acid 110 a batteries.

Engine battery new 4 months ago.

Off grid, most of time but little else other than 2 phones to charge .Leisure batteries appear to be ok.

Any advice appreciated

Thanks.

 

[jacquigem]

Very unlikely unless someone has added a socket connected to the vehicle battery. Or you have the control panel set to Vb instead of Lb.

You can check the first bit by turning off the Electrics on the control panel and see if the TV turns off (it should do with a normally configured Sargent system). Also, does the TV go off when the engine starts? Again, it should do, but some people do add sockets that bypass the Sargent distribution so they can use them when driving (handy if say you have a rear passenger who wants to plug in a tablet - or watch TV!).

Ah yes turned sargent off when tv was on and tv went off.

Also when starting engine all habitation power shuts down and satellite dish retracts so again it stopped tv.

Maybe I have caused something as when engine wouldn't turn this am I manually changed the sargent from leisure to vehicle thinking this was the control to charge battery not direct charge away ?

Having played with power with with sargent set to leisure the draw now seems to be coming from leisure which victron says are ok. Just hope vehicle will start tomorrow .

Thanks for replay any further advice welcome as I find this difficult to get my head round.

 

[jacquigem]

Have a look on the Sargent unit to make sure it is connecting to the leisure battery and not the cab battery, if not then change it to leisure

Thanks,

I think that was the problem. I switched it to vehicle this morning thinking it controlled charge going in . Don't know where I got that from. Everything seems to read a bit better now but still unsure why my 4 month old engine battery failed this morning. Just hoping it starts tomorrow!

 

[Canalsman]

Thanks,

I think that was the problem. I switched it to vehicle this morning thinking it controlled charge going in . Don't know where I got that from. Everything seems to read a bit better now but still unsure why my 4 month old engine battery failed this morning. Just hoping it starts tomorrow!

You are correct.

If you are using the Sargent onboard charger, and have a hookup connection, selecting engine battery will direct the charge to the engine battery.

However you must remember to switch back to leisure battery once the engine battery has been recharged assuming that the hookup is disconnected. Otherwise, as you have found, the on-board 12 volt systems will be supplied by the engine battery.

 

[jacquigem]

You are correct.

If you are using the Sargent onboard charger, and have a hookup connection, selecting engine battery will direct the charge to the engine battery.

However you must remember to switch back to leisure battery once the engine battery has been recharged assuming that the hookup is disconnected. Otherwise, as you have found, the on-board 12 volt systems will be supplied by the engine battery.

Thanks for confirming, still unsure about thus mornings problem.

Have not been on hook up for a week and no problems.Had not been checking sargent panel as thought all was good with engine battery , 4 months old and plenty of regular mileage.
Just wondering if sargent could have switched itself last night to vehicle. We did watch a good few hours TV which would have run down engine battery ?

 

[trevskoda]

I have one of these voltage bucks as my 12v tv had no sound on load below 12.4v, so input set to 12v and output to 14.3v, i put it in a ventolated plastic box with a volt meter on it, i have seen them on temu with or without the meter but no box, they work very well and no tv drop out.

 

[jacquigem]

I have one of these voltage bucks as my 12v tv had no sound on load below 12.4v, so input set to 12v and output to 14.3v, i put it in a ventolated plastic box with a volt meter on it, i have seen them on temu with or without the meter but no box, they work very well and no tv drop out.View attachment 122970View attachment 122971View attachment 122972View attachment 122971

Thanks Trev , not really understanding but tv has worked well.

I think problem was a week ago I had a day on hook up and switched on Sargent charger. Did not know that I had yo switch it off when I unplugged so for last week it would seem that my engine battery has been running 12volt habitation system. Hence it failed this morning. Amazing that I have been semi full time for 9 years and not picked up on this !

 

[trevskoda]

Thanks Trev , not really understanding but tv has worked well.

I think problem was a week ago I had a day on hook up and switched on Sargent charger. Did not know that I had yo switch it off when I unplugged so for last week it would seem that my engine battery has been running 12volt habitation system. Hence it failed this morning. Amazing that I have been semi full time for 9 years and not picked up on this !

So you are sorted, i had to use a votage up buck because i used a tv which had a 230v to 12v transformer, when i pluged into van the sound went of below 12.4v, so a buck keeps it at whatever you set it at untill the battery comes down to a preset, mine is 12v or just below, but the output stays at 14.3v.
You would not want a tv to stop working when corrie is on, more than your life is worth with my missus.

 

[jacquigem]

Thanks for explanation Trev and you are right keep missus happy and all is well. Just hoping van starts tomorrow, voltage stable for now on engine battery so fingers crossed.

 

[r4dent]

The thing people forget is that electricity flows through wires and these wires are easily rerouted by an owner who wants something non standard.
So the only ways to find out what is connected to what is to use a test meter or follow the wire.

 

[wildebus]

Ah yes turned sargent off when tv was on and tv went off.

Also when starting engine all habitation power shuts down and satellite dish retracts so again it stopped tv.

Maybe I have caused something as when engine wouldn't turn this am I manually changed the sargent from leisure to vehicle thinking this was the control to charge battery not direct charge away ?

This is an interesting point.
In your age and model of Autotrail, I would guess you will have probably the Sargent EC328 or possibly the Sargent EC325 Power Distribution Unit. You are also bypassing the solar input (if a 328) by using the Victron Solar Controller
With the 325/328, the Battery selection on the Control Panel has two functions:

1) All 12V habitation power comes from whichever Battery is selected​

2) The AC Charger (active on EHU) will charge whichever Battery is selected​

So the switch actually controls the power flow both ways. (If on a campsite or on EHU for a few days, selecting vehicle battery for a time can actually be useful as it allows you to charge the vehicle battery while parked up).

I can't remember if it remembers which battery is selected after you turn the unit off via the Control Panel or when the engine is started? I think it does, but something to check I think just to make sure you are aware of the behaviour.

Having played with power with with sargent set to leisure the draw now seems to be coming from leisure which victron says are ok. Just hope vehicle will start tomorrow .

Thanks for replay any further advice welcome as I find this difficult to get my head round.

 

[Canalsman]

Just tried it on my EC325.

I selected Vehicle Battery then switched off control panel.

The power source reverted to Leisure when switched on again.

 

[jacquigem]

Thanks guys , my recollection from getting the van 10 years ago is that the Sargent would work out for itself which battery was needed and their would be no need to get involved?
I have always checked the voltage on my Sargent panel and switched to engine if on hook up and if it looked low .
Since fitting the Victron leisure batteries have always seemed to look after themselves.
Wondering if the auto.atic switch back to leisure failed or or is faulty ?
Will have to keep a closer eye on it .
Control panel Satys EC500

 

[wildebus]

Thanks guys , my recollection from getting the van 10 years ago is that the Sargent would work out for itself which battery was needed and their would be no need to get involved?
I have always checked the voltage on my Sargent panel and switched to engine if on hook up and if it looked low .
Since fitting the Victron leisure batteries have always seemed to look after themselves.
Wondering if the auto.atic switch back to leisure failed or or is faulty ?
Will have to keep a closer eye on it .
Control panel Satys EC500

TBH, I think your recollection is faulty based on the age of your Motorhome. Some of the later Sargent units fitted in some Autotrails have a "smart mode" which will alternate charging between Leisure and Starter Batteries but I don't think a 2010 model will be fitted with one of those units (maybe they came in around 2010 though?). The EC500 does not have that feature I am pretty sure (although it DOES have a better mains charger than the EC32x units).

Also, yes the Sargent units will self-select a battery based on a low voltage state, but I would suggest you NEVER rely on that feature. Yes it works as designed, but the voltage level it checks and switches at is so low, if you are running the battery that low you could be causing it damage if it ever got down to that voltage.

 

[jacquigem]

TBH, I think your recollection is faulty based on the age of your Motorhome. Some of the later Sargent units fitted in some Autotrails have a "smart mode" which will alternate charging between Leisure and Starter Batteries but I don't think a 2010 model will be fitted with one of those units (maybe they came in around 2010 though?). The EC500 does not have that feature I am pretty sure (although it DOES have a better mains charger than the EC32x units).

Also, yes the Sargent units will self-select a battery based on a low voltage state, but I would suggest you NEVER rely on that feature. Yes it works as designed, but the voltage level it checks and switches at is so low, if you are running the battery that low you could be causing it damage if it ever got down to that voltage.

Thanks, I think you are right about my memory and will certainly check in the future
So just thinking this through, I arrive at hook up after a week off grid and put engine battery charger on to give them a boost. Also wife wants tv on so do I need to switch battery charger off or will mains do both or does it not matter till o move from hook up when I must make sure seargent is on leisure battery for future off grid tv watching ?
Hope ti's makes sense !
It is a complicated world we live in !
Thanks again.

 

[wildebus]

Thanks, I think you are right about my memory and will certainly check in the future
So just thinking this through, I arrive at hook up after a week off grid and put engine battery charger on to give them a boost. Also wife wants tv on so do I need to switch battery charger off or will mains do both or does it not matter till o move from hook up when I must make sure seargent is on leisure battery for future off grid tv watching ?
Hope ti's makes sense !
It is a complicated world we live in !
Thanks again.

On the Sargent systems, the "Charger" that you can turn on and off with the switch on the EC main unit has two functions:
1) Charges the Battery
2) Supplies 12V power
If you were to switch it off, then the EHU will provide you with all your 240V needs, but ALL the 12V devices - water pump, TV, most of the lighting (except the pair of 240V lights you probably have), 12V and USB sockets - will be via the Battery alone.

Basically, it has a 25A (I think) output and whatever is left after it supplies power to all your 12V devices is used to charge the battery. You need to leave the charger on to avoid draining the battery even when on EHU. There is absolutely no reason NOT to use the Vehicle Battery to supply the habitation electrics when on EHU if you wanted to give the vehicle battery a boost. On a van with standard electrics, If I were staying for a few days, I would be inclined to have Leisure Battery Selected for the first night, then switch to the Vehicle battery on the second night, and then back to the Leisure Battery after that so you have by day 3 both batteries fully charged.

You could plug the TV into a 240V socket also I guess (most have both a 12V and 240V adapter supplied). And would think you do have the 240V lights in the Lounge area? (I always forget to use them even though they do actually give a nice light).

 

[jacquigem]

Thanks again for that,

Not sure on lights, they came when I purchased the van 10 years ago.

More concerned with engine battery which did start this morning.

If leisure go down I guess it will affect tv first which is not really my problem !

Will follow your advice re alternate days and see how we go.

 

[wildebus]

Thanks again for that,

Not sure on lights, they came when I purchased the van 10 years ago.

More concerned with engine battery which did start this morning.

If leisure go down I guess it will affect tv first which is not really my problem !

Will follow your advice re alternate days and see how we go.

There is an interesting "tell" about batteries in many motorhomes and campervans .... As the battery voltages drops, the water pump can often become slower, so if the tap seems slower than usual, check the battery voltage
And of course, the opposite becomes true - higher voltage, faster pump. A few years ago I actually sent a custom an LED light dimmer to use on his water pump after he installed a Lithium Battery and the pump ran too fast for his liking . With an LED Dimmer (which work by simply lowering the voltage) he could tweak the pump speed to just what he wanted