peterjl Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hi Searching through the MMM re batteries there is often advice to use a multimeter, but having purchased one i am not sure how to interpret the results! Sooo measuring the volts of the battery would you expect to see a different reading with battery charger on & off (reading is 12.2V in both situations on vehicle battery and 12.5v on leisure battery - i switched the charger between the batteries when i checked them)) I have a battery master fitted but it is showing a green light all the time with the readings from the battery Leisure 12.5 Vehicle 12.2v I thought that if vehicle battery lower than Leisure battery one was supposed to charge the other during which the light changes to amber. Can anyone enlighten me?? Confused of Amersham Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dikyenfo Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Try using a charger that works and you should read 14 v. the leisure side may be a tad lower as they are sometimes set to not fully charge to prevent gassing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 A charged battery at rest should read over 12.6v, usually up to 12.8v. When on charge the terminal voltage should be either 13.8v or 14.4v depending on the type of battery charger. It sounds as if the charger is not working or maybe the fuse has blown. A starter battery reading as low as 12.2v shows it is nearly flat and quite likely unable to start the engine or your multimeter is inaccurate. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Battery mate works when the engine battery is app 1 volt lower than leisure battery current will flow from leisure to engine battery whilst this is happening the light will turn red. When the battery charger is charging a battery the voltage should read from 13.8 up to 14.4 or slightly higher depending on type of charger. when charger is switched off there is free surface voltage present so you should allow about an hour before checking the true voltage of t6he battery . allways remember that even a multimeter will create a small spark when connecting to a battery and the cheaper meters are not always 100% accurate ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coachman Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Regarding the charger not performing, I lent mine to another person who had a flat battery who afterwards said it looks like he had to buy another battery.Our camper battery went flat and after putting it on charge it still was flat. AA man said battery naff need new one. Our car battery was showing low volts so tried to charge that up , no luck.Now all the lights on the charger showed so thought it must be still working. Someone on here said about replacing the fuse but as i saw the lights on i disregarded it, however for the first time i did check the fuse and it was broken, so replaced it and connected it to camper and next day that battery was up to 13.8v , then car one and that now is at 12 8 v, i dare not tell the guy who borrowed it as he did buy another battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 Thank you everybody Started engine and volts across battery rose from 12.2v to 14.4v I have checked all the fuses i can find but all OK The battery is charged by a SARGENT unit - I was suspicious it wasn't working and i reckon my suspicion is correct!! It looks like its back to the van supplier to get this sorted!! I will let you know outcome Happy New Year Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 peterjl - 2010-01-03 4:56 PM Thank you everybody Started engine and volts across battery rose from 12.2v to 14.4v I have checked all the fuses i can find but all OK The battery is charged by a SARGENT unit - I was suspicious it wasn't working and i reckon my suspicion is correct!! It looks like its back to the van supplier to get this sorted!! I will let you know outcome Happy New Year Peter Have you checked your mains RCB unit is switched on and power is actually getting to the charger? Also any control panel switches are set correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 Hi yes - checked all switches and fuses and trips - the 15amp mains circuit works so power is getting to the van - its just not coming out of the charger - hence my check of all the fuses etc. Currently i am charging van battery using a stand alone charger pligged into the vans mains circuit. When weather improves its back to the dealer! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBS Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 This may be a silly question but, is it switched on? Second thing, there should be a fuse at the battery or within 500mm and is it intact? Blurb on the Sargent kit is available here: http://sargentshop.co.uk/epages/eshop328964.sf Hope this helps Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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