prewelli Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 If the leisure battery is dead should the lights still work if the van is plugged into mains - or is it because the leisure battery is dead nothing will work. Lights ork whn engine is running. When engine switched off and power connected to mains the electricity is coming through to the van but nothing will work - is it the leisure batteries or have I a more serous problem> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetahdavie Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Give the details..vehicle,year,any details you have. There are some fantastic people on this site,with great knowledge about all things concerning motor homes..but they need detail' Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Also, can you clarify whether it is only lights that will not work, or lights plus mains sockets? Is the fridge working on mains? Do you have a voltmeter, or a multi-meter, you can use to test the battery voltage with the mains off, and with them on, and again with the engine running? If so, can you note the readings, and which condition they relate to, and let us know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I believe Jan's motorhome may be a pre-2002 Fiat Ducato-based Murvi. Even with dead leisure-batteries, there's still the potential for habitation electrics (eg. interior lights) to function when the motorhomes engine is running. Similarly, with the motorhome connected to a mains electricity supply, if the vehicle's battery-charger is operating there's a reasonable chance the lights will still work. The problem may be due to something simple (like a fuse failure) but, as Brian suggests, remote diagnosis will be extremely difficult unless some testing is carried out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 With respect, given that it appears that you know not a lot of matters electrical may I recommend that you take the van to an auto electrician for diagnosis. I doubt it is too serious or expensive and maybe just a blown fuse, dirty contact or a duff battery. The knack is knowing what to check and where to look and a good auto electrician should! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Thanks to all for help - we decided to take it to Murvi today as we are not very bright with anything electrical and they are testing the battery for 24 hours to see if it holds a charge or why it should have run down. We drove to Murvi about 40 miles for us and the battery did appear to charge slightly but it wouldnt charge when plugged into mains. What I am not sure about for further reference is whether as a geneal principle even when you are on site and 'plugged' in to the electricity does it still go thru leaisure batteries and if they were flat would nothing work -in reply to the qustion nothing worked - lights sockets or fridge but when the engine was running fridge charging and lights worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 and you were correct it was a 2002 Murvi Morello 0 how did you know! Love it to bits and I am so sad when things go wrong - just getting ready to go to France end of March! Jolly nice of everyone to reply though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 prewelli - 2013-02-18 5:18 PM ...What I am not sure about for further reference is whether as a geneal principle even when you are on site and 'plugged' in to the electricity does it still go thru leaisure batteries and if they were flat would nothing work -in reply to the qustion nothing worked - lights sockets or fridge but when the engine was running fridge charging and lights worked. A typical system would have the 230V mains power-supply coming into the motorhome and connecting to a 'consumer unit' like a smaller version of the one you have in your house. There's an example here: http://www.towsure.com/product/Caravan_Mains_Consumer_Unit?gclid=CJn1x-azwLUCFW_KtAod0ywAuw What happens after that will depend to a large degree on how many 'outlets' the consumer unit has. If it has several outlets, one might provide mains power to the 230V sockets, another to a fridge, a 3rd to 230V lights, a 4th to the battery-charger, etc. In practice, there will be a limited number of outlets and the consumer unit in the example I mentioned above has just one (referred to as a "10A Double-Pole Miniature Circuit Breaker") If the consumer unit has several outlets and there's a problem with the unit, some parts of the motorhome's 230V system may be affected and some may not. If the consumer unit just has a single outlet, then the whole of the motorhome's mains-powered system will be affected if a problem occurs. Did you check/test the consumer unit? I know you said at the beginning that, when your motorhome was hooked-up, "...the electricity is coming through to the van..", but I wondered how you knew that if nothing electrical was working. If the 230V sockets had been working, there would have been no doubt that mains electricity was available within your motorhome but, if the sockets weren't working, this might suggest that the consumer unit had 'tripped' (Unless you are referring to non-working 12V sockets rather than non-working 230V ones.) When your motorhome is hooked up, anything powered by mains electricity (eg. a domestic 230V kettle/TV/microwave) will be running from the hook-up. Off hook up, anything 12V-powered (eg. living-area lighting) will be running from the leisure batteries and, if the leisure batteries have failed, then nothing 12V powered will work. However, if the motorhome is on hook up and the on-board battery-charger is working, 12V-powered things may well work even if the leisure batteries have given up the ghost. The hook up will provide 230V power to the battery-charger, the battery-charger will convert this to 12V and pass 12V power to the batteries and (even though the batteries are dead and won't accept a charge) the power will (if you are lucky!) continue on past the batteries to supply the living-area lights and any other 12V-powered items. How did I know you owned a Murvi? I read your earlier postings and looked at the photos on your blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Thanks you for such a comprehensive reply - no we didnt check the sockets - I just assumed as the lights were not working nothing was - the fridge wouldnt show its green light but had a red light on when the engine was running. The orange light which indicates electricity is coming to the van was illuminated. Hopefully Murvi will track down the problem and sort I just hate all things electric! twoyears ago the leisure batteries nearly caught fire in France and we limped home having disconnected them, We then had two new ones so the batteries in the van are only 18 months old but we do stay away for three months at a time but nearly always on hook up. We did notice the zig for the ersbacher was illuminated - that may have been draining it. We have never had a problem over the winter before. I did understand your reply which was really helpful. Neither of us are very practical but have learnt a lot! The first time we came across reverse polarity we had to change our fitting and we had about a dozen helpful dutch people giving advice - now we have a connection or reverse and one for normal! Hope you liked the blog and we might run across one another one day! We are off to the South of Frane as soon as we get sorted. ( First we are going to Glastonbury to make sure everything is working- I have an aunt in a home in Bristol so we thought we would try the adults only at Glastonbury) Again many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 just to let everyone know - the batteries were shot - Murvi reckoned we had left the zig switch on the rocker panel down and this had drained them over 3 months but I am not so sure - we are taking it out this weekend to test everything ( unless it snows) Batteries have been replaced and they have checked the battery charger. Lets hope all is ok. Many thanks for everyones input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thanks for coming back with the outcome Janny and I'm glad it's sorted for you. Batteries do drain naturally and the rate often depends on the age. Leaving the Zig unit switched off is always best as it prevents anything else from draining the battery - including the unit itself. It's always good to hear the outcome of problems as it can sometimes help others with similar issues to decide the best course of action. Happy camping!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 It is also worth noting you should never lay the vehicle up for long periods without making sure the batteries are fully charged. Say for example you spend a night not far from home then the drive home may not be enough to fully charge. Even an 8 hour drive is not enough although will get most of the charge back in. So worth puttng on hook up when home for 12 hours to fully charge before putting van into 'storage'. This will help maximise life of the batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 many thanks that is helpful advice - will certainly make sure we do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 And then at least once a month top them up to ensure they don't self discharge. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 these are sealed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Keithl - 2013-02-20 3:40 PM And then at least once a month top them up to ensure they don't self discharge. Keith. Really? I have had my two Varta batteries for several years now and although I check them whenever I remember, I have never needed to add any water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 and my varta are definetly sealed - how would we top them up? The last ones were only 18 months old but somehow we managed to completely discharge them which then completel shot hem - an expensiv mistake but I will double check everything in the van before we garage for the winter in future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 The one thing that kills batteries is being left discharged. We use a solar panel and regulator to keep ours topped up all the time as 'modern' vehicles and conversions all consume 12 v current just keeping everything on stand by. Another alternative is to disconnect them when not in use and a battery isolator switch is the best way to do that rather than faffing about with battery terminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 prewelli - 2013-02-20 4:19 PMthese are sealed The 'top up' comment probably meant a 'charge top up' not electrolyte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewelli Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 thanks - blonde person thought top up meant distilled water!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Sorry that my post wasn't clear, I was rushhing to post it before I left work :$ Yes, I did mean a charge top up and not electrolyte. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Sorry - my misunderstood!! Rushing about? Wassat I don't do rushing about any more!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Tracker - 2013-02-20 6:02 PM Sorry - my misunderstood!! Rushing about? Wassat I don't do rushing about any more!! Didn't realise you were 'blonde' too Rich! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Mel B - 2013-02-20 11:16 PM Didn't realise you were 'blonde' too Rich! (lol) More 50 shades of grey than blonde!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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