Leisure Battery Failure.

[jacquigem]

Hi , just checking .

We are on a small camp site with hook up.

Yesterday I had turned off the battery charger , wife went to turn on 12 v tv and low battery alarm sounded and cab radio came on . Tv turned itself off.

Batteries, 2 12 volt lead acid are 3 years old so I am thinking will need replacing. We live in van for 6 months a year and mainly off grid relying on our 2 solar panels.

Is there anything else I should check ?

2010 Autotrail Mohawk . Sargent ec500 control panel . Victron solar controller.

 

[r4dent]

Few questions to give us more information

Are the 230v sockets working

Have you checked the 230v breakers

are the interior lights working

Do you have a leisure battery voltage on the control panel?

 

[merl]

You have 3 charging sources. Mains, solar and alternator.
Turn off the solar and mains, put a multimeter onto the battery terminals and note the voltage, start the engine and note the voltage.
Stop the engine, and repeat the process with the mains charger switched on and off.
Repeat the process again with just the solar being turned on and off.
What happens?

 

[jacquigem]

Thanks Meri , unfortunately I don't carry a multimeter but have identified a local motorhome place and will get them to do this. Haven't switched engine on yet but when charger is off the 12 volt electrics are failing and cab radio comes on.

 

[r4dent]

Before you go to the motor home dealer you should do the checks I suggested.

Two more checks
The battery charger is plugged into a socket using a lead like you have on a kettle.
Unplug this lead and plug something else in... does it work? This proves 230v is getting to that socket
The battery charger lead has a fuse in the plug (just like at home) test this fuse.

If the battery charger has gone Expect to pay £120 for a new one.
hen mine went I used a £20 charger from Halford direct to the battery until I could get the MoHo charger replaced under warranty.

 

[jacquigem]

Few questions to give us more information

Are the 230v sockets working

Have you checked the 230v breakers

are the interior lights working

Do you have a leisure battery voltage on the control panel?

Thanks r4dent.

230 volt sockets are working

Interior lights work , get low leisure battery warning and Sargent control panel shows leisure voltage nil.

 

[jacquigem]

Thanks for this not sure where the charger plug would be pr the 240 bolt breakers. Everything seams yo go thru Sargent control panel.

 

[Nabsim]

When you turn your battery charger on I presume your 12V works ok, (you said it was after you turned the charger off you had problems)? If so I would say its down to battery(s)

 

[jacquigem]

When you turn your battery charger on I presume your 12V works ok, (you said it was after you turned the charger off you had problems)? If so I would say its down to battery(s)

Thanks Nabsim ,

Just been thinking this through.

Everything fine when charger switched on.

12 volt dies when charger switched off.

So think charger system must be OK?

Which means batteries ?

 

[AllanD]

It’s possible that only one of your batteries has failed (one dead cell). Try disconnecting one to see what happens, then if the problem is still there swap to the other.

If that is successful and gets you going for now then one battery working is better than none until you get a replacement.

 

[jacquigem]

It’s possible that only one of your batteries has failed (one dead cell). Try disconnecting one to see what happens, then if the problem is still there swap to the other.

If that is successful and gets you going for now then one battery working is better than none until you get a replacement.

Thanks Alan , if one battery has failed then is it not better to replace both ? Otherwise old battery drags new one down ?They are 3 years old and used pretty regular.

Not a major problem now as we are on hook up , but will be trying to get fixed so we can move on.

 

[AllanD]

Probably better to change both yes. But my thinking was if one is ok now it can be used until you get replacements (if you wanted to come off EHU in the meantime for example).

 

[jacquigem]

Probably better to change both yes. But my thinking was if one is ok now it can be used until you get replacements (if you wanted to come off EHU in the meantime for example).

Fair point , might come to that if I can't get into a garage.

 

[r4dent]

Once this is sorted (and from what you have said so far I now think it will be two new batteries)

a) Get yourself a multimeter (under £10). These are so useful when you have problems.
b) Find the 230 v breakers. Apart from anything else you are supposed to est them every month (2 second press a button to test).
They are often near the 12v fuse bank. Typical breakers are shown below so you know what you are looking for.

 

[merl]

So think charger system must be OK?

Which means batteries ?

Probably but not for certain. It depends on how the wiring is configured and if there's a fault with the wiring including fuse/fuses. If you removed the batteries altogether at their clamp terminals you'd get the same fault so it could be a poor connection to the batteries between the point where the charger connects to the system and the batteries themselves thus leaving the batteries not connected to the system. The easiest way to check if the batteries are connected to the system is to read the battery voltage at the battery posts like what I said previously.
A cheap multimeter costs less than a tenner, without one you're fault finding blind, wiggling, faffing and swapping out.

 

[trevskoda]

Before you go to the motor home dealer you should do the checks I suggested.

Two more checks
The battery charger is plugged into a socket using a lead like you have on a kettle.
Unplug this lead and plug something else in... does it work? This proves 230v is getting to that socket
The battery charger lead has a fuse in the plug (just like at home) test this fuse.

If the battery charger has gone Expect to pay £120 for a new one.
hen mine went I used a £20 charger from Halford direct to the battery until I could get the MoHo charger replaced under warranty.

M home so called chargers dont realy charge the4 battery, they just supply around 13.5 volts which in turn keep the lights working, these so called chargers wreck batteries, best to refit with a smart charger with min 10ah output, if living of gride and 2 battery bank then a 20ah or larger would be best.
Or a duel 30ah which will have a seperate output to starter battery.

 

[Nabsim]

Probably but not for certain. It depends on how the wiring is configured and if there's a fault with the wiring including fuse/fuses. If you removed the batteries altogether at their clamp terminals you'd get the same fault so it could be a poor connection to the batteries between the point where the charger connects to the system and the batteries themselves thus leaving the batteries not connected to the system. The easiest way to check if the batteries are connected to the system is to read the battery voltage at the battery posts like what I said previously.
A cheap multimeter costs less than a tenner, without one you're fault finding blind, wiggling, faffing and swapping out.

What wiring fault are you thinking of? Can't be terminals as it works fine when the mains charger its on. Can't think what you mean

 

[jacquigem]

Thanks for all your replies.

Have had charger on for 24 hours and leisure battery showed 13 volts on Sargent panel.
Found the 230v breakers I think , and switched them on and off.
12v tv been on for 40 minutes now and Sargent panel showing 12.6 volts.

One other feature is that we are parked near a pretty big tree. I did not think the shade had reached our solar roof panels but maybe it did ?

With the charger switched off and shadow interference on solar then maybe batteries just ran down and perhaps can be rescued ?

So if tv keeps working for the next hour or so as we pack up ,walk dogs and get ready to move then maybe will delay visit to garage ?

 

[r4dent]

What wiring fault are you thinking of? Can't be terminals as it works fine when the mains charger its on. Can't think what you mean

The 12v hab supply is taken from the PDU rather than directly from the battery terminals.
If hab battery is removed the lights etc will still work if EHU is on.
If a terminal connector is faulty everything works with EHU on, nothing works with EHU off.

 

[trevskoda]

Thanks for all your replies.

Have had charger on for 24 hours and leisure battery showed 13 volts on Sargent panel.
Found the 230v breakers I think , and switched them on and off.
12v tv been on for 40 minutes now and Sargent panel showing 12.6 volts.

One other feature is that we are parked near a pretty big tree. I did not think the shade had reached our solar roof panels but maybe it did ?

With the charger switched off and shadow interference on solar then maybe batteries just ran down and perhaps can be rescued ?

So if tv keeps working for the next hour or so as we pack up ,walk dogs and get ready to move then maybe will delay visit to garage ?

Must be a poor charger as it should hit 14.4v before going into float mode at around 13.7v, is it the silly power/charger fitted to vans, if it is ditch it and fit a proper unit.