MH electrics

cellojane

Guest
Hi Folks
I have a chausson 09 MH and the car battery is completely flat again (also happened last year when I didn't drive it for 2 weeks but thought it was now fixed). I've plugged it in on hook up and the leisure battery is charging but after 3 hours the main car battery hasn't charged at all. If I leave it is it likely to start charging (i thought it was meant to trickle charge the main but does the leisure have to be full for this to work?) or do are need the recovery chap to jump start me again? (Doesn't jump start from my 2.5L volvo estate when it's completely flat - needs the extra battery the recovery guys carry!).
Thanks for any help
jane
 
It's unlikely that the engine start battery will charge from mains hookup.

The engine when it's running charges the leisure battery and the engine start battery through a split relay.

But the reverse doesn't usually apply.

You will need to jump start the van, or use a separate battery charger to charge its battery.

If the van battery is totally flat, it should be possible to jump start it from another car.

However to do this, you will need to rev the car's engine to between 1,500 and 2,000 rpm for several minutes, and keep it running at that speed, before it's likely to work.

The van battery should not go flat in two weeks - you need to find out what's causing this.

Best of luck :)

Chris
 
i suggest you get the battery checked out ,it could be faulty , as i doubt you will have anything running that will flatten a battery in a couple of weeks . you could have an earth leak but i doubt that , the only things that will stay connected to the battery are the alarm ,the imobiliser ,and the memory side of the radio so they will not flatten the battery in a couple of weeks .my van was parked up from xmas untill only last week and i started the van ok the batteries were still ok. ps with new vans as with cars the imobiliser can be connected to the veihcles ecu and can lose its memory if the power from the battery is lost ,and that can run into a very expensive reprograming of the whole ecu and imobiliser system . a recent incedent to a person i know had a diesel renault laguna only a few years old the battery went flat , it was going to cost up to £1000 for the renault dealers to repair it the car ended up as scrap ok it was a car but now the vans have the same systems fitted, and only the main dealers have acces to the codes for the new type imobiliser systems and if that wont talk to the ecu there is no way in hell of starting the engine , even the rac dont have acces to them. you can bypass a aftermarket imobiliser pretty easy if you know how ,even the thatchem insurance approved ones are not hard to kill but the new factory ones naaaaahhhhh
 
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Many moons ago I had a similar problem, not with the MH but my Vectra car. Knowing nothing about electrics I took the Vectra to the garage. Took them ages to find the fault. They said the battery was going flat as the power was being discharged into the chassis, something to do with an earth somewhere.
 
Could you put the battery from your volvo or leisure bat into MH to start it?

I agree with canals man that by leaving a jump lead from the volvo for 15 mins should but some juice into the MH batt before you start .

But why is MH batt dead? Could be that the batt has poor cell and has come to the end of its life.

If you know anyone a little techie, once the batt is charged up again, with everything off disconnect the positive (red) lead from your battery. Use a digital volt meter on amps, usually 10A, you have to move the red meter lead into the 10A socket on most cheapies.

There should be very little discharge showing on the meter, if there is =, go round making sure that there are no lights on in glove compartments, radio left on etc till the discharge drops to zero. Dont try to start the engine with the meter in circuit!!

Failing that, find a battery depot (pref not Halfords!!) get them to test the battery to see if it's that.

Then it's an auto electrician I'm afraid, or start the MH, go have a drive out every week to charge the batt and enjoy it??

My Swift charges both the leisure batt and starter batt on hookup, but if the starter bat is totally flat, I'm not sure how it would react
 
PS,

Make sure your jump leads are OK, many of the cheap ones don't last 5 mins, especially when used on diesels as they use a lot more power to start.

Stating the obvious, dont get the polarities crossed on the jump leads, seen it done with big bang.

To the none techies amongst us positive ,red (+) to positive, negative, black (-) to negative
 
Newer models (post 2007) should not be jump started (check the handbook). If your battery has gone flat a few times, it may be no good now anyway.

Do not disconnect the van battery, charge it separately. Check your warranty and try to get the fault sorted by the dealer. If it goes flat quickly, there is not much you can do yourself, you need an auto electrician to find the fault.
 
I have just replaced the 'engine' battery on our Chausson, it's an 06, but the battery was a year older than that.

The engine battery WILL eventually be charged via hook-up, but ONLY when the leisure is FULLY charged, and then only by a very small trickle. When mine started to give up the ghost I disconnected the hook-up lead and used a small 4amp Halfords battery charger over night - it would then start in the morning without a jump start - just.

I hope you have small hands... the battery is a bitch to disconnect! And is very heavy to lift out - Good luck!
 
Nosha said:
I have just replaced the 'engine' battery on our Chausson, it's an 06, but the battery was a year older than that.

The engine battery WILL eventually be charged via hook-up, but ONLY when the leisure is FULLY charged, and then only by a very small trickle. When mine started to give up the ghost I disconnected the hook-up lead and used a small 4amp Halfords battery charger over night - it would then start in the morning without a jump start - just.

I hope you have small hands... the battery is a bitch to disconnect! And is very heavy to lift out - Good luck!
Click to expand...
with my old diesel bus the battery compartment was small and u always grazed knuckles lifting battery out so got some webbing strap round the battery both way and fasten in center it was lot easier two hand one each side bend knees straight lift and no more scrapes they do do quick releases for battery terminals
 
Chausson Flash09 (Transit) Vehicle Battery dead

I have exactly the same problem with my 2007 Flash09.
1 leisure and 2 vehicle batteries.
What I find is that the Rear Vehicle battery only gets charged off the alternator.
The Front one gets charger from Alternator, and when on mains hookup.
Looking through the documentation for the van, the onboard charger is only capable of charging one battery at a time, I'm guessing that it never charges the second battery.
I think this may be a design flaw in the electrics.

My van has let me down on a few occasions as a direct result of this. I sit at home now leaving the second battery on charge, but should be heading for a weekend away.
 
Maybe I should take it back...
I found a blown fuse coming from +ve on the starter battery (5A) which was blown.
With this fuse removed/blowm, the panel was showing dead for the vehicle battery unless it is hooked to mains.
With the fuse in it seems to be showing on the panel, hopefully it will sort out charging too.
 
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