switching on to auxilliary

[ROON]

Help again, Sorry... I have just pushed the button on the panel which has switches for switching on the electricity and the water pump and other little buttons, and it did not light up. I can't believe my auxilliary battery is completely flat as I have not long since been back from North Wales and have been using my van as my runaround as I love it that much and don't want to get out of it.... Is this normal for it to cut out occasionally or am I missing something simple? (Jan don't you dare say 'a brain' :-D )

 

Joy

[Derek Uzzell]

Joy:

 

If your auxiliary battery is flat, then it would be normal - when you switched on the control-panel's main switch - for none of the 'habitation' electrical bit and pieces (interior lights, water pump, etc.) to work. Have you checked whether this is the case?

 

When you've pushed this mysterious button in the past, what has lit up on the control-panel and what was the lighting-up supposed to indicate? Basically, what is the button supposed to do?

 

As was touched on in your 'humiliation' thread, it would be helpful if you could say exactly which model of Peugeot-based Elddis motorhome you own and the year of manufacture. If that information were available, then it's quite likely another forum member who owns (or has owned) a similar vehicle will be able to answer your questions.

 

Motorhome manufacturers don't standardise and regularly change things like control-panels, so, without more specific details of your Elddis, it's hard to comment usefully on what you've asked. (Perhaps you could also check whether there's a maker's name/model type (eg. "Zig MK IV") on the control-panel, as knowing this would help.)

[GJH]

If it's like our Autoquest 100 then all the AUX/VEH switch does is to switch power to the 12 volt circuit between the leisure and vehicle batteries (latter not recommended as we found once by mistake :-D ).

 

There are only two lights on the panel, one is green which only comes on when the water pump is running and the other is red which only comes on when the grey waste tank is full.

 

There is a meter which shows the power in the battery "in use".

 

However, there is also a switch near the floor by the caravan door (on the left as you enter) which isolates the 12 volt circuit whichever battery is on. If that switch has been inadvertently turned off then the lights and 12 volt socket will not work and nothing will register on the meter on the panel.

 

Graham

[ROON]

Thank you both.

 

Graham I don't think it is the same as yours. It is the Eldiss Autocirrus 200 and about two years old. The panel is just the normal panel which you switch on when you want electricity. If the van is connected to hook up then a picture comes up showing this, but if not hooked up then a battery picture comes up and this flashes if the battery is low.

 

I am confused because this time when I pushed the button for the control panel to light up absolutely nothing happened. Last night my neighbour put a battery tester to the leisure battery and it was completely flat!!! Since I had driven all the way from North Wales, and continued to use my van for running around this didn't make sense. However, in the middle of the night I just had a gut feeling..... Often I leave my van in gear when parked overnight to stop it rolling if the handbrake fails (a silly fear of mine) and I wondered if I might have left it in REVERSE gear by mistake. If I HAD done that, then the reversing lights might have been on all night.

 

Is that enough to flatten it, please?

 

Re the switch from Aux to vehicle battery, my van doesn't have one! I looked everywhere for it because it is in the Eldiss booklet but when I phoned Brownhills they said it didn't have one.

 

Can I pick your brains again please. Am I best leaving the control panel switched on when I am driving? Does this benefit me in any way re the batteries? I am not very clever when it comes to understanding the way the system works. thank you again for your help. Joy

[Derek Uzzell]

When my motorhome is parked at home I always leave it in reverse gear. However, doing this will only operate the reversing lights if the vehicle's ignition is switched on and, in any case, the reversing lights are powered by the vehicle's 'engine battery' not the leisure/auxiliary battery. So that's not the cause of your flat leisure-battery.

 

It's possible that there's a fault with your motorhome's charging system or (perhaps more likely) that the leisure-battery has died. Batteries don't last forever and they can develop defects suddenly. They also need regular checking and require topping up if their electrolite level has fallen significantly. While one might expect a battery to last longer than 2 years, it's far from unknown for them to pack up well before that time, particularly if they haven't been given any TLC.

 

Usual advice, I think, is to switch off everything at the control-panel that's not needed before driving the vehicle, but it shouldn't really matter much if you don't and it shouldn't affect your motorhome's batteries.

[GJH]

Hello Joy,

 

Yes, your van is different from ours. I'm not familiar with the control panel on the Autocirrus but I've just had a look at the 2008 manual from the download section on the Explorer Group web site and see that it is rather more complicated than the one in the Autoquest. Brownhills are correct that your van doesn't have the AUX/VEH switch which ours has.

 

I agree with Derek as regards the reversing lights and switching off items when not needed. I'm sure he's on the right track in saying that there is a charging system fault or the battery has died.

 

Only thing I would add is that, given that there are two battery charging facilities (via the alternator when you are motoring or via hook-up when plugged in) I would think it unlikely that both had gone and, as Derek says, more likely that the battery itself is the problem.

 

It probably means buying a new battery but if you can get the charging circuits tested before laying out cash for one then I would go down that route.

 

Graham

[ROON]

Thanks again all. I can't tell you how grateful I am. Will have the battery checked out.