martin h Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 The vehicle battery on our 2006 Autotrail Dakota has gone flat and I could not start it using one if the power packs. The motorhome is not kept at home but in storgage and the site owner (plug for - Burton Hill in Malmesbury) has very kindly connect 240V and I have turned on the PSU. My question is does the PSU charge the vehicle battery and if it does any ideas how long it might take. Also the display on the control unit is very distorted, is this because the batteries are falt. Thanks in advance. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi If its like my autotrail you charge direct to the vehicle battery by using the control panel. select vehicle as battery source and the charger charges direct. I had a problem when my van was new - using a multimeter to check charge rate i identified the Sargeant charging unit was faulty. I spoke to Sargeant direct, had great service and an exchange unit under warranty albeit it was a pain to plug in as wires short. The downside was that a lack of charge killed both batteries (vehicle & leisure) that had to be replaced. Also the faulty vehicle battery upset the ECU until the battery was changed (the symptom was occasional and sudden loss of power when van went into "safe mode") I would try plugging in, switching panel to Vehicle battery, and cross your fingers. Good luck. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi Martin, I'm fairly certain that the control panel on your Dakota will be similar to if not the same as our Cheyenne. Operation will almost certainly be the same. To charge the Vehicle Battery you will need to turn on the Red switch on the PSU (as you have already) and this will start charging the leisure battery only (unless someones modified the wiring or added a B2B of course :D ) Then turn on the control panel with the top left button and then press the button immediately to the right showing a picture of a battery. This now switches charging over to the Vehicle Battery. For info you cannot charge both batteries at once. If you scroll through the display you will be able to see by voltage readings which battery you are charging. Let us know how you get on. Keith. Edit. Post crossed with Peters so hopefully you can now start charging.. And if it's that flat it'll probably take 24 hours to get a decent charge into it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 You may or may not get away without having ruined the battery by it having been left that flat - depends on how flat and how good it was to start with - and if it is the original battery it may well just have reached it's use by date and be about ready to be replaced anyway? In an emergency you can always take one of the leisure betteries off and with jump leads get the van started - but only if you carry a set of jump leads in the van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Momma Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 At the risk of repeating what has already been stated. When you turn on your power and onboard charger it will by default charge your leisure battery but as already informed you must press the button that is indicated with the symbol of a battery to charge the vehicle battery. If it is the same set up as mine, once the vehicle is fully charged it should then start to charge the leisure battery. You also said that you had distortion on your control unit. Is there a beeping sound ? I ask this as when my battery went flat on a previous M'Home all the LED readings were distorted/incomplete and I had a 'chirping' sound. If you remove the cover (two phillips screws), you may have to ease it off with a small flat head screwdriver, you will see a push on wire connector. Unplug, leave for 10 seconds and then plug in again. You should find that your LED information comes back to life again and the 'chirping' noise will disappear (If you had it in the first place). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 If the display panel plays up very often unplugging the multi plug from the rear of it and reconnecting after a few seconds will reset it. If problems persist Sargants are very knowledgeable and helpful and a replacement panel is readily available from them by phone or online at their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corky 8 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Hi Martin, We have a 2006 Autotrial Mohican, which we have only had since November,During my crawl all over-it inspection before purchasing it I did note it has a 240v outlet socket fitted behind the drivers seat and this has a Halford,s Maintenance Charger permanently plugged into it, this is connected to the Vehicle Battery,so when on electric hook up it charges then Maintain,s the vehicle battery, so I take it the original owner may have found need for this to Maintain the Vehicle Battery,?Halfords Charger Model No 188946-BFJ 012-230 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin h Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Big Momma - 2011-01-05 8:50 PM At the risk of repeating what has already been stated. When you turn on your power and onboard charger it will by default charge your leisure battery but as already informed you must press the button that is indicated with the symbol of a battery to charge the vehicle battery. If it is the same set up as mine, once the vehicle is fully charged it should then start to charge the leisure battery. You also said that you had distortion on your control unit. Is there a beeping sound ? I ask this as when my battery went flat on a previous M'Home all the LED readings were distorted/incomplete and I had a 'chirping' sound. If you remove the cover (two phillips screws), you may have to ease it off with a small flat head screwdriver, you will see a push on wire connector. Unplug, leave for 10 seconds and then plug in again. You should find that your LED information comes back to life again and the 'chirping' noise will disappear (If you had it in the first place). Thanks, had the chirping noise so followed your advice and now seems OK, lets hope come 3.30 tomorrow it starts. And thanks to all the other replies. Both the leisure and vehicle batteries were shwoing around 11v so should be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 martin h - 2011-01-06 6:40 PM Both the leisure and vehicle batteries were shwoing around 11v so should be OK. NO - 11v is dead flat and you will be very lucky to recover them from that. When fully charged you are looking for 12.8 volts for both. When charging the leisure battery you want to see around 13.5 volts or so from the onboard charger or the engine and the engine battery should charge at around 14.4 volts from the alternator when the engine is running. If I were you I would take a decent spare battery and a set of good quality jump leads with me for this trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin h Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Tracker - 2011-01-06 8:00 PM martin h - 2011-01-06 6:40 PM Both the leisure and vehicle batteries were shwoing around 11v so should be OK. NO - 11v is dead flat and you will be very lucky to recover them from that. When fully charged you are looking for 12.8 volts for both. When charging the leisure battery you want to see around 13.5 volts or so from the onboard charger or the engine and the engine battery should charge at around 14.4 volts from the alternator when the engine is running. If I were you I would take a decent spare battery and a set of good quality jump leads with me for this trip! THANKS - 24 hrs on the Sargent chargered sorted the engine battery and started OK, and again 2 days latter to come home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartJ Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi I have an AT Tracker registered Sept 2010, like you have to keep it in storage, first time in November for 30 days, vehicle battery totally flat. Phoned Dealer told it should be charged every 2 weeks, then phoned AT direct, very helpful but no further forward. Went into storage again last week and have bought a 12w solar panel at Maplins (on sale at mo) I published the following on another forum last weekend, the link and my observations may be of help (or not!) Guidance needed, I purchased a small 12w solar panel yesterday from Maplins to help alleviate battery discharge problem :- http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...C=SO&U=Strat15 Have wired it directly to engine battery (small terminal crimps) with the +ve through a 5 amp fuse and the cable through a double pole switch so both sides can be isolated, this is a rush job and temporary till I get home next leave and can make a more professional job, MH goes into storage for 30 days tomorrow. My question is will I need to purchase and fit a battery manager or will the 12w panel just keep abreast or slow down battery discharge? Don't want to overcharge and damage the battery but I'm thinking this time of year panel will not provide continuous maximum rated output. On checking panel discharge unloaded with it facing North in shade this afternoon output was 17.65 volts this dropped to 12.55 once on battery load, so quite impressed. Solar panel is on top of dash raised at rear so at about 40 degs to windscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartJ Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 If anyone with more expertise (not hard) than I wishes to comment/ criticise or answer the question I raised in the post and was never answered please do. ATB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 "My question is will I need to purchase and fit a battery manager or will the 12w panel just keep abreast or slow down battery discharge? Don't want to overcharge and damage the battery but I'm thinking this time of year panel will not provide continuous maximum rated output. " No you will not need a regulator. 12 watts if it ever manages that is 1 Amp and battery will be fine as I doubt you wil ever achieve max output. It will probably not be enough in winter months to keep battery fully charged, in fact certainly won't be, but will certainly slow down the discharge dramatically leaving enough in the battery to start. Ideally you should be looking to maintain the voltage above 12.6 volts. You did not mention what the battery voltage was before you connected the panel, so 12.55 is not very meaningful except to say your battery needs charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartJ Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Many thanks Brambles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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