Talbot Express Labcraft BC212 Charger

[Guest Mike]

Whata useful and constructive forum! We Recently suffered from a failure of the original unit likely due to water spray ingress from the gas dump vent under the fridge, I would suggest that everyone has a look behind the cover under the fridge. The damp gradually rotted the legs off the transistors! Replaced with a more modern charger claimed to be about 20amp rating but this went bang when connected to the mains after a prolonged motorway run. Does anyone have any suggestion. Should the 14.4v coming back from the alternator have popped the unit? The Olde charger is no longer available new or secondhand. Many thanks to all

[Guest Clive]

Its dissapointing if electrical components are positioned in areas where damp and water can get in. Can the unit be re-positioned in a better place? 14.4 volts is just a little on the high side. Alternators are designed to produce 14.0 volts plus or minus a small tollerance. Say 13.8 to 14.2. Is your volt meter recently calibrated and traceable to national standards? I would not expect the charging voltage from the alternator to damage a power supply specifically designed for caravan / motorhome use. If its does then its a very poor design.

[Guest Mike]

Mnay thanks Clive, unfortunately the old unit was binned when I got the all singing & dancing new one which has since died. It was suggested to me that the charger output should be isolated from the alternator line when the engine was running to prevent this sort of problem but I've since understood that the 12 v feed to the habitation could well be isolated to prevent emc problems with all these computers on these engine management systems. And they call it progress!