carolh Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Our old leisure battery died last weekend whilst out in the van, so on the way home we bought a new 110amp from Grantham Caravans, we were told they were already charged, and the salesman showed us the very small viewing hole where it shows green to denote there is charge in the battery. And it and still is green. Charles put it on the other day and no power is going to the control panel by the door. We have just half an hour ago, checked it manually, re-cleaned the terminals and checked the fuses behind the control panel, and all the connections that we can see. Everything seems ok. The terminals clip to the battery posts with those lift off battery clamps. Any suggestions as to what else we can check before we return the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 There should be fuses near the battery, have you checked those? edit, maybe be a stupid question, but have you got the polarity the right way round. some batteries have +ve and negative posts in oppositon positions and if in a rush maybe it was not noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Also the engine alternator split charging relay fuses under the bonnet - usually sited where they can get wet and dirty - which causes charging problems leading you to suspect your battery? If all fuses internal and extrenal are clean and sound is power getting to the control panel? Maybe if you take the van to Grantham Caravans a very nice man might check all this for you seeing as how you bought one of his batteries! It is not unknown for new batteries to be duff - often on account of how long they have been in storage - but to have two duff is an unnatural coincidence and you may well have two good batteries and a fault elsewhere. Hope you hung on to the old battery - if not see if you can get it back as a spare battery in the garage is never a bad thing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Brambles - 2010-02-19 11:56 AM There should be fuses near the battery, have you checked those? edit, maybe be a stupid question, but have you got the polarity the right way round. some batteries have +ve and negative posts in oppositon positions and if in a rush maybe it was not noticed. didn't see any fuses near the battery! the battery is under the fixed bed under the floor in one of those underslung boxes. Give me a clue as to where the fuses might be. yes we did check the polarity, its on correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Tracker - 2010-02-19 12:01 PM Also the engine alternator split charging relay fuses under the bonnet - usually sited where they can get wet and dirty - which causes charging problems leading you to suspect your battery? If all fuses internal and extrenal are clean and sound is power getting to the control panel? Maybe if you take the van to Grantham Caravans a very nice man might check all this for you seeing as how you bought one of his batteries! It is not unknown for new batteries to be duff - often on account of how long they have been in storage - but to have two duff is an unnatural coincidence and you may well have two good batteries and a fault elsewhere. Hope you hung on to the old battery - if not see if you can get it back as a spare battery in the garage is never a bad thing!! yes the old battery was dead, it had been suspect for a while, but we just kept on with it. It had been on charge for 48 hours previously and was showing 12.4v and as soon as we put a light on it went Oooooooooo if a battery can go Ooooooooooooo /;o) Charles is at the TA this weekend so has just going in the van and will get one of the REME lads to check the battery and the circuit and lets see what happens, it is such a 'simple' thing to change a battery now isn't it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 The fuse for feed from battery should be near the battery (if there is indeed one) - follow the cable. If you had power before changng the battery and now you do not, then either the new battery is duff, or you have left a cable off. But as you say you have checked all cables. Also check the cable connections into the clamps are sound. Duff battery? quite possible, it may be showing green in the tell tale but if there is a cracked internal connection between cells or the posts..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 "It is not unknown for new batteries to be duff - often on account of how long they have been in storage - but to have two duff is an unnatural coincidence and you may well have two good batteries and a fault elsewhere. Hope you hung on to the old battery - if not see if you can get it back as a spare battery in the garage is never a bad thing!!" Tracker - you have a fixation about two batteries.....they bought one new one...we are not all as well endowed as you having a large pair. ;-) Not a good idea to keep an old battery lying around, they go flat sulphate and can swell up splitting the case. Anyway if it is duff it has limited use, although admitedly if just low on capacity and not a shorted cell is a useful 12 volt supply for testing things. I used to keep an old 12 volt gel battery and case was only slightly swollen and I think it was Dave N quite rightly said get rid of it...I did 'cos I knew he was right. So chuck you old pair of door stoppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Charles rang a little while ago to say when he got to Nottingham all the REME lads had gone home!!!! So will have to wait until the next day with decent weather to go looking for fuses we might not have found! And if that is a no on, then take the battery back to Grantham caravans and get another one and start all over again! And if that does not work well I will have to pay someone to have a look at it - more money!!! thanks for the replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Not quite sure what "no power to the control" implies. However, do any of the 12V appliances, such as lights, work? If so, the problem will be local to the control panel/circuits. If no, there is no juice getting from the battery to the circuits.So, is there a 12V supply master switch somewhere on/near the 12V fuse board/charger unit? This usually responds to the control panel remote master "on" switch/button but, as you've disconnected the battery, I just wonder if it has defaulted to the "off" position. A rummage in the Rapido handbook may tell you where to look.It may also tell you where the main 12V fuse is. This will be very close to the habitation battery, sometimes incorporated into the positive terminal clamp, sometimes in a line carrier near the terminal, and sometimes at the end of the main positive wire from the battery, but immediately adjacent to the battery. Is is quite large, as it is intended to protect the main positive battery connection from overload, and has to be located very close to the positive terminal, otherwise its purpose would be defeated. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhorsf Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Brambles - 2010-02-19 1:33 PM Tracker - you have a fixation about two batteries.....they bought one new one...we are not all as well endowed as you having a large pair. ;-) So chuck you old pair of door stoppers. lmao :D (keeping an eye on evilbay) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 thanks for that Brian, there is a block with all the positive wires going into it and only one coming out to the right of the positive post of the battery, so maybe the fuse is underneath it, which will mean taking the battery out to see cause it's a tight fit!, well it's not tight but there is no room to spare round the battery. So when Charles gets back on Sunday with the van we can have a look. Yes there is NO power at all to the control panel where the main on/off switch is, not lights, no pump - ziltch! lets hope it's something as simple as the fuse, if we can find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 The block you refer to is most likely the fuse, in fact I wil state it is the fuse. If it is all a tight fit it is a possible manouvering the batteries in place has physically stressed the terminals and broken the fuse element. Often it is just a metal strip screwed between two terminals. Where you get a replacement I do not know, but presumably caravan centre will have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 ok all sorted!! Charles now has a red face! When he got back this afternoon, I said there positively must be a fuse in the block next to the battery, Oh no said he, I have had the lot out and checked everything. So I toddles down in the snow and have a look, and yes there is a fuse in there, so we go to the van together and he takes the battery out and I show him where the block comes apart to show the fuse, anyhow, the fuse is fine. Then I get to looking a bit closer and I think - but where is the main blue negative lead, there is a small one, but that is no where near thick enough, and it goes to the solar panel anyhow. And there they were, ends taped up at the bottom of the battery box! They must have FALLEN off when he took the old battery off and he thought they were just ?????? so taped them up and left them.......................................... Ok so tactfully telling him that the big blue cables that he had taped up should be connected to the negative post and getting him to do it. And hey presto as if by magic, it all worked. If you want a job doing - do it yourself, but I am not strong enough to lift this battery, so I do have to rely on Charles for some jobs! Little love that he is. So it could be that the battery we took off was suffering from a loose connection. Anyhow, it's going to be our spare and is on charge as we speak, but I do think it was on its last legs anyhow. So thanks again for all the replies, you just forgot to tell me to double check Charles work LOL You can stop laughing now! :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Good to hear you're sorted Carol ... it's a good job that Charles is a Master Chef in the TA and not an Engineer!!! ;-) If your original batter by any chance IS still working fine, why not see about fixing it up as a second leisure battery? I know others will say not to have an old and a new battery together, but we have and they work fine. PS: How's the little battery operated soldier doing? Still singing and dancing? 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 Mel B - 2010-02-21 8:29 PM Good to hear you're sorted Carol ... it's a good job that Charles is a Master Chef in the TA and not an Engineer!!! ;-) PS: How's the little battery operated soldier doing? Still singing and dancing? 8-) The little soldier is soldiering on, thank you kindly Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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