has our battery charger failed?

[le canichot depang]

Once again I turn to the experts on the forum for advice.

We have a 3-stage charger in our van,(amperor MV3/250C model), we use the van nearly every week and as usual I always check the state of the battery when preparing to go out. This week it is two weeks since we have used the van and so has not been plugged into the mains either.When I tested the battery it was down to 12.4v and the charger didn't kicked in to top it up when I plugged into the mains (which it normally does), my tester also showed that there was no power going into it either, even though there is power at the charger itself as the light is on and it was warm to the touch. I have it set to the "float" mode to keep it charged at between 13.2-13.6amp.so it should have immediately gone into the charge mode when I plugged in, I also tried manually selecting "charge" on our control panel but still no luck. I duly unplugged my hook-up and started the engine and then on checking the control panel it showed that it was charging through the engine. The battery is holding it's charge as when I draw water the voltage drops but then goes back up when the tap is turned off. It is only just coming up to 2 years old, but could it have failed or am I missing something somewhere.

any ideas gratefully accepted - thanking you

[Clive]

Float charge is VOLTS not amps!

Anyway, the Amperor units have a history of intermittent software problems which can result in your sort of symptoms. Try disconnecting from the mains, disconnecting the leisure battery, go and have a cup of tea, come back , re-connect the battery and try it again. Amperor have pointed fingers at items like water pumps and hob igniters for causing problems and indeed these items can cause EMC spikes, but a well designed bit of kit should tolerate them without any problem. I know of one MHer who eventually removed all the amperor kit, fitted simple switches and fuses and a large CTEK charger. It worked for him!

 

C.

 

[le canichot depang]

Thanks for that Clive, will try that tomorrow - fingers crossed