thermidorthelobster Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Righty, I picked up my Kon Tiki 645 yesterday and so far I'm delighted with it. For the money I paid for it, I think it was worth holding out for the 3L Fiat chassis with the 6 speed 'box - it drives like a dream. My previous motorhome was a 1976 Land Rover conversion; it was pretty straightforward, and I could work out exactly what was going on if anything went wrong (which it fairly often did). The Swift turns out to be a little more complicated. Well, I think I've just about sussed out most things now, even including getting the hot water / heating system working. Just one simple question outstanding for the moment! Er... Should the leisure battery charge off the alternator when the vehicle is running? I'd always assumed yes (as otherwise it would only charge off the mains) but after driving 150 miles in mine the leisure battery was pretty low. So I figure either (a) it doesn't, (b) it should but that part isn't working, or © the battery's knackered. Oh, one other thing - a couple of the patented clips which hold the outside locker covers open are broken - I presume it's a standard Swift part, any suggestions where to get such things without being ripped off? Thanks, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 We had the same problem with our leisure battery, which was new, but after a couple of months it is now keeping its charge. I think there is a problem with battery discharge when a vehicle or battery has been stood. As far as the catches are concerned, I would think that most caravan/motorhome accessory shop should sell them, if not try www.leisureshopdirect.co.uk (com). We have just ordered a Remis rooflight winding handle from them just under £4 but the accessory shop over here wanted 60 euros, absolutely scandalous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 David Battery - I would think that you'll need to give it a good charge on a 'bench' charger to get it back into good condition, if it hasn't been fully charged for a while it will probably need a higher rate of charge than your alternator can give it, and if the battery was virtually flat, 150 miles won't do much. Catches - From what I can tell off a photo of a similar van on the internet, it looks like a pretty bog standard catch (some suppliers call them door retainers) so you should have to pay more than a few quid for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Momma Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 David, before you do any of those other very good suggestions with the battery, try this. 1. Locate your leisure battery 2. Locate the fuse holder that sits on top of the leisure battery 3. Change Fuse 4. Check LED readout for leisure Battery Charge Status I had a brand new Swift Kontiki 665. First trip away to France I discovered that the leisure battery was not charged *-) rang man at Brownhills where I bought it from and he told me to do above. Guess what, it was as simple as a blown fuse :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I can't speak for X250s but on the older Boxers it's far more likely to be the fuses in the split charging relays just under the bonnet on the drivers side close to the battery - ideally located where they get all the road muck and water thrown up. Take out the fuses and either clean or replace them making sure to clean the contacts in the fuse holder as well - for which I use either a very thin emery board or a strip of wet and dry folded over a thin strip of suitable width plastic for support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 It seems you got the 2008 model with just 5,000 miles recorded? So, about 3 years old? 5,000 miles in three years is only some 1,600 miles per year, so much standing around. I would suggest you get the tyres checked, as the underlying chassis may also have stood for quite a while before being converted. Most motorhome tyres die of old age somewhere between 5 and 7 years, still with bags of tread, due to age cracking. Standing idle tends to exacerbate this tendency, so worth checking. It would be nice to think the dealer had tested all systems, and put the battery on 24 hours charge, before sale. It seems possibly not. Do check the fuse as above, and also the connections at the terminals, because if totally flat when put on charge, especially via the alternator, the surge may just have blown the fuse. If in doubt, replace the fuse, plug the van into mains, and then, as a preliminary test, leave it on charge for 24 hours. Then disconnect the mains, leave at least 6 hours, and see what reading you get. If it has improved, turn on several lights, leave for an hour or so, and see what you then have. If it has gone back to being flat, or close, the battery is probably knackered from being allowed to fully discharge itself while standing, and then being left flat. If it seems only to have dropped a little, leave the lights on and give it another hour, check as above, and so on, until it shows about 50% charge. Then turn off the lights, re-connect to the mains, and run the charger again for 24 hours. With luck, you should see an improvement over the first time you charged it. If so, it is recovering some of its capacity. You probably won't get near full capacity unless you drive it for about three hours or, even better, do as Mel suggests, and bench charge it with a really good, modern, multi-stage charger - but not with an old single stage job which will not have the subtlety for remedial charging. If this all seems too time consuming, with the mains disconnected, take a voltage reading from the battery terminals, note what make, type, and size/capacity the battery is, and post the results back on here. Then, someone who really knows what's what will probably pop up and help. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Yes it should charge up from alternator but doubt it would from flat on a short journey. On your Swift fuse will almost certainly be next to battery. As has been said replace it and then plug into mains, no need to bother with bench charge your van charger should do the job in a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermidorthelobster Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Thanks everybody, will try various suggestions but have been charging battery off mains overnight so I'll see how long it lasts first - maybe now it's topped up it'll be happy to charge off the alternator! The one I bought wasn't the 5,000 mile one - unfortunately somebody left a deposit literally hours before I was going to - but I bought one with 10,000 miles for a lower price instead. For the price I paid (from a caravan dealer, not a motorhome dealer) I didn't expect to get anything tested or checked - it was basically sold as seen. You may have seen it on eBay, but I didn't pay the price shown on the listing, by a fair margin... Had a run around in it today and had great fun. The only glitch was when I caught the exhaust pipe on a kerbstone on a narrow single track road; hadn't noticed just how far it sticks out the side of the van! Apart from that, the fridge works, the oven works, the water heater works, the awning works, all the lights work, and it drives like a dream, so hopefully providing the leisure battery charges I should be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Good stuff! But, if that fuse has blown, it won't charge from your mains charger either. It is the main12 fuse and, if gone, there is no way in and no way out, for the 12V power. However, if the lights work with mains disconnected, there is little chance the fuse is the culprit. If all else fails, a new battery should cost less then £200, even for a top of the range gel, and a lot less for conventional flooded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I always say that no motorcaravanner should be without a decent multimeter. First thing I would do, (unless you haven't got said multimeter - in which case buying one would be first ;-)) is measure the voltage at the leisure battery without any load. Fully charged should be around 12.7V, it sounds like yours will be less. Now you've got some idea of the state, turn the engine on, and measure again - if the alternator charging circuit is working you will see an immediate rise (usually to in the range of 13.5 to 14.5v). If you get this rise, the alternator charging circuit is OK, if not, the basic checks have been set out above. You can try a similar check with the mains charger - engine off, plug in, turn on the mains charging circuit if it has switches, and check for an immediate voltage rise (again, similar range depending on particular charger). If no voltage rise, then the mains charger and circuit needs testing. This gives you a a way of eliminating circuit problems before looking at the battery. If both circuits appear to be working, leave the battery on charge for a day or so, then take it off charge, leave for a day (without using "domestic" power, and check the voltage. If not 12.7 or more, your battery is knackered and needs replacement. Of course, you could find a circuit problem and fix it, only to find you also have a duff battery. :-( If you're struggling you may find the wiring diagrams at http://sargentshop.co.uk/epages/eshop328964.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eshop328964/Categories/TechData/%22System%20Schematics%22 useful - They do the Swift wiring plans. For your parts query: one place that is generally good for (generic) Swift parts is O'Leary's: http://www.olearymotorhomes.co.uk They have a lot more than is on the website, and are pretty knowledgeble about which parts fitted what - so worth a ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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