Grumpy Grandad Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Hi. We have a Hymer B544 with two 110 amp leisure batteries and an 80 watt solar panel. After using mains hook-up at home the van control panel shows 13.6 volts and 160 amps. We have been over at the Lakes for 10 days without hook-up and the amps have slowly gone down,while the volts have dropped to 12.5 during the evening then recovered next day to 13.6 volts. The amps eventually dropped to 13 amp and did not go back to 160 until the van was back on to mains hook-up. I am considering fitting a second 80 watt solar panel but obviously don't want to spend money unnecessarily. Any advice would be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'm not familier with your control panel but would suggest it is not monitoring the ah availible from the batteries correctly, can't see how it could show 16ah when voltage is at 13.6. In fact has it ever shown a rise in availible ah during daytime when the panel is charging batteries? if not then it diffinatly is not correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Grandad Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Hi Colin. No it never shows any rise in amps, either during the day, or when the engine is running.We travelled for three hours today and it never rose.As you say there may be a fault in the control panel,as we had lights and blown-air heating on for the last ten days with no apparent drop in performance from either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 If you suspect that your Hymer's control panel may be producing false readings, it may be worth checking whether the panel's underlying settings match your motorhome's current specification (eg. the fact that it has 220Ah-worth of batteries). The Hymer Club International has a section on control panels, though I don't know how relevant this may be regarding your 2007 motorhome. http://www.hymerclub.co.uk/control%20panel%20201.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I suspect the only way that the control unit could show an Amps available display is to monitor the current supplied by the charging system and then conversely measure the Amps used and subtract the current used from the current supplied. However if your solar panel is charging the batteries directly effectively bypassing the control panel it would only monitor the current used as it is unaware of any current being supplied by the solar system. i would be inclined ignore the amps available display and monitor the voltage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Further to Derek & Dave's replies, The Hymer panel does need setting up if an additional battery has been added and unless it was fitted by a Hymer dealer it's unlikely to have been done. If the Solar charge is registering you should see a sunshine image on the control panel, depends on control panel model DT201 will show solar charge symbol DT200 will not, as it's showing ah I assume it's a DT201. Also for the charge to register the solar controller must be the Schaudt one connected via the Elektroblock. You don't say the age of your van if it is less than 5 or 6 years old you can get all sorts of charging problems if you connect a standard solar charger direct to the battery, the newer Elektroblocks get fooled into thinking the battery is charged & shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Grandad Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 Thankyou everybody for all your assistance. When I put two new 110amp leisure batteries on the van, as opposed to the one original, I did alter the control panel to show the increased amperage, although it would only show a maximum of 160 amps. The Solar panel is just connected direct to the batteries though. I will have another look at connecting it to the Elektroblock and get back to you. The Hymer by the way is a 2007 model. We are very pleased with it although the ride does leave a lot to be desired. No comparison to our previous Bessacar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 You really need the Schaudt LR 1218 Solar Charge Regulator to connect to the Elektroblock, they are not cheap about £90 in the UK I got mine from a French dealer online I think it was about £60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Have a look at this link for info on connecting a solar regulator to an Elektroblock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Grandad Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thanks for the link Lenny. I have checked my Electrobloc, it's an EBL 101 which does need a Schaudt Solar Charge Regulator to connect with a Solar Panel. I can get one from Aire and Sun for £74.40. This will hopefully solve my problems. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Brought mine from Ludospace about £23 cheaper including postage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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