KGriff Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I have recently purchased a second hand Elddis Autoquest Xpedition 400. 1994. It is a Peugeot 2.0 HDi cab and sadly I am not certain about a couple of things in relation to battery charging, despite having all the manuals. I am hoping someone here may know the answer to a few simple questions. QUESTION 1 Inside the M/H is a 3 position control panel switch for the battery... it can be set to vehicle or leisure or the centre position is off. If placed in the off position will the leisure battery be trickle charged from the electric hook up or do I have to set the switch to leisure to start the charging process? QUESTION 2 Secondly, if connected to electric hook-up and I switch the control panel to the vehicle setting will this then charge the vehicle battery. I believe that the alternator will charge the vehicle battery and then switch over to leisure... but not sure what happens when using the electric hook up. QUESTION 3 Finally assuming that the electric hook up does not charge the vehicle battery... can I simply lift the bonnet and stick a charger onto the vehicle battery without disconnecting it from the vehicle. I am getting too old to start lugging these big batteries around and want to leave them in place and hopefully not even disconnect them... just stick the crocodile clips on for a few hours, if that is safe to do and it wont cause any damage. Many thanks to those who kindly give an answer. It is appreciated. Mr Ken Griffiths Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Check your wiring diagrams. Assuming Elddis supplied them. sorry I have been trying to typ a response, but have lost it somewhere. I feel sure you can use a separate stand alone charger on the vehicle battery, but dont think the on board charger can deal with van battery The switch selects the habitation area power source between van and engine battery, normally on leisure battery. The on board charger normally only charges the leisure battery Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Ken, On a 2008 Elddis 140, which may or may not be wired in the same way as your older 400, it is as follows. Q1. With the 3 way switch in the central 'off' position the leisure battery is still charged while on hook-up. Q2. The charger will not charge the vehicle battery - only the engine alternator does this. Q3. Yes, no problem. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 KGriff - 2013-11-18 3:41 PM I have recently purchased a second hand Elddis Autoquest Xpedition 400. 1994. It is a Peugeot 2.0 HDi cab and sadly I am not certain about a couple of things in relation to battery charging, despite having all the manuals. I am hoping someone here may know the answer to a few simple questions. QUESTION 1 Inside the M/H is a 3 position control panel switch for the battery... it can be set to vehicle or leisure or the centre position is off. If placed in the off position will the leisure battery be trickle charged from the electric hook up or do I have to set the switch to leisure to start the charging process? QUESTION 2 Secondly, if connected to electric hook-up and I switch the control panel to the vehicle setting will this then charge the vehicle battery. I believe that the alternator will charge the vehicle battery and then switch over to leisure... but not sure what happens when using the electric hook up. QUESTION 3 Finally assuming that the electric hook up does not charge the vehicle battery... can I simply lift the bonnet and stick a charger onto the vehicle battery without disconnecting it from the vehicle. I am getting too old to start lugging these big batteries around and want to leave them in place and hopefully not even disconnect them... just stick the crocodile clips on for a few hours, if that is safe to do and it wont cause any damage. Many thanks to those who kindly give an answer. It is appreciated. Mr Ken Griffiths Hi Ken - check the Peugeot manual for charging the vehicle battery - there is a dedicated + (pos) charging connection under the bonnet on the nearside & the - (neg) connection can be placed at any convenient location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGriff Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 Thanks to everyone who has replied. I do have the wiring diagrams but need to look at them closer to see if I can figure those out. I think it is clear from the feedback that the electric hook up charges my leisure battery no matter if the internal switch is set to vehicle battery or leisure battery and it will also charge if it is in the central position which I refer to as switched 'off' ... I have the EHU plugged in at home and it is on a timer switch, to come on overnight during cold spells to operate a small oil filled radiator (thermostatically controlled) so it should trickle charge the leisure battery and keep it topped up at the same time. Tomorrow I will go and look to see if I can find the dedicated pos (+) charging connection, that is something I haven't noticed previously and will be really useful as I have an automatic car battery charger that can be run from an extension lead in the garage. It looks very awkward to get at the battery terminals on the Peugeot. I assume it will be okay to attach the negative to any exposed metal point on the engine. Really useful if I can find this connection. Anyhow thanks very much... really helpful... I am learnin' all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 KGriff - 2013-11-18 10:50 PM Tomorrow I will go and look to see if I can find the dedicated pos (+) charging connection, that is something I haven't noticed previously and will be really useful as I have an automatic car battery charger that can be run from an extension lead in the garage. It looks very awkward to get at the battery terminals on the Peugeot. I assume it will be okay to attach the negative to any exposed metal point on the engine. Really useful if I can find this connection. I know our current Renault and previous Peugeot X250 have/had "allotted" connection points for both...but the batteries on both of those are/were buried beneath the cab floor(so they need 'em! (lol) )... Our previous Compass 120(on X250),as others have said, only charged the vehicle battery from the alternator...and the three-way rocker switch on ours, only selected where it would "draw" from... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Ken, Does the cigar lighter socket in your cab stay live even with the ignition off? If it does you can connect your charger back through the socket to your vehicle battery without even lifting the bonnet. This is how I charge the vehicle battery on our Merc. I use a CTEK charger and they sell a lead specifically for this purpose. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Isnt this the type of scenario that B-to-B chargers were designed for? To transfer charge from a charging battery to one without this facility. Yes, attaching a separate charger via the bonnet connectors or the cigar lighter may do the job but all a bit old hat surely? One cable to plug in, all batteries charged must be the way....yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 KGriff - 2013-11-18 10:50 PM Thanks to everyone who has replied. I do have the wiring diagrams but need to look at them closer to see if I can figure those out. I think it is clear from the feedback that the electric hook up charges my leisure battery no matter if the internal switch is set to vehicle battery or leisure battery and it will also charge if it is in the central position which I refer to as switched 'off' ... I have the EHU plugged in at home and it is on a timer switch, to come on overnight during cold spells to operate a small oil filled radiator (thermostatically controlled) so it should trickle charge the leisure battery and keep it topped up at the same time. Tomorrow I will go and look to see if I can find the dedicated pos (+) charging connection, that is something I haven't noticed previously and will be really useful as I have an automatic car battery charger that can be run from an extension lead in the garage. It looks very awkward to get at the battery terminals on the Peugeot. I assume it will be okay to attach the negative to any exposed metal point on the engine. Really useful if I can find this connection. Anyhow thanks very much... really helpful... I am learnin' all the time. Ken - why run a separate lead ? If the van is on EHU outside the house, use one of the 240v sockets within the van, for the charger & connect to the battery. Saves having multiple trip hazards with more than 1 cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGriff Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 Never thought of using the 240v supply in the vehicle to plug in the separate charger... So obvious .. Guess I am a little stupid. Anyhow I looked under the bonnet today and no sign at all of a charging point anywhere. I decided to go look in the Peugeot Boxer manual and that says the battery must be disconnected before charging and after reconnection to wait one minute to allow the electronic engine management system to reset itself before starting. I have taken some photos and I will get these off the camera and post a couple... There are three leads off my batteries negative terminal and what I can only describe as a gold coloured plate with several nuts/bolts that sits around/above the positive terminal. There is also a white blade fuse in a covered housing ... It certainly looks like it is part of the original manufacturers install rather than anything added but is a little more complicated than most batteries I have seen on vehicles. Anyhow perhaps when I can get the pictures posted someone would be kind enough to have a look and see if they have come across the same thing. The handbook has a warning marker icon in the battery charging section where it refers to disconnecting the cables. I will post a photo of the page. ADDITION - I have posted the pictures here: https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A3532ODWDXg2b Note: The nearest (front) terminal is the negative and the positive terminal is in the middle of the gold plate and has a orange coloured cover over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I suspect a slip of the tryping finger in the OP, from the photos I would suggest its actually a 2004 rather than a 1994 model. This supposition is also supported by the "2.0 litre HDI" as there was no such animal in 1994. A small point perhaps but it might make more sense for some of the replies. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 ...and I'd like to maybe correct what I posted earlier... :$ ...as the "allotted points" I was referring to, were probably only for jump starting(..not sure if they'd have been for charging...?)...Sorry... I'm pretty sure that our Ctek charger states that they're no need to disconnect the battery(..as Keith said earlier, they sell a lead/plug for the purpose) ..Is there any reason why this model of Boxer should be different?(..or are Peugeot just covering their backside?). :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Hi KGriff- I have the 2005 model of yours only 200 designation, and the EHU will NOT charge the starter battery, to have this happen you need to fit a Battery Mate type electronic box, can be sourced from CAK of Kenilworth its their own type, about £30 and quite easy to fit , it allows the starter battery to charge when the leisure is up to 13.6v. The switch panel on mine allows you to use the vehicle battery to work the electrics in the habitation area if your leisure is very low, only use really in an emergency.use the other position for normal leisure battery use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 chas - 2013-11-20 8:27 AM Hi KGriff- I have the 2005 model of yours only 200 designation, and the EHU will NOT charge the starter battery, to have this happen you need to fit a Battery Mate type electronic box, can be sourced from CAK of Kenilworth its their own type, about £30 and quite easy to fit , it allows the starter battery to charge when the leisure is up to 13.6v. ......which was what i suggested earlier. Just get a battery-to-battery 'charger' which ensures that both batteries get charged when you use EHU. No faffing about with multiple devices, just plug in and let it do its job. For vehicles that domt/cant charge both batteries intelligently, a simple device like this takes away the issues of a flat vehicle battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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