multiplamum Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 As novice motorhome owners we are still learning the ropes. We have let our vehicle battery go flat and the last time we did this we were able to charge it up by hooking up to the mains and switching it to charge the vehicle battery on the control panel. We have just tried to do this again but it will not switch from leisure to mains. The leisure is fully charged but it will not switch over. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 You don't say what van you have but if it has an internal engine battery you could try disconnecting the leisure battery to avoid any power surges and, if you have decent jump leads, jump start it across to the engine battery. It has got us out of jail free and should work as a temporary solution to get you going as long as the leisure battery has enough charge. Sorry but I know nowt about the internal gubbins of the control panel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
multiplamum Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Thanks Tracker. We have a charger so can connect that to the battery to get us going but I am bemused as to why it won't switch to charge the vehicle battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 multiplamum - 2015-03-15 3:27 PM As novice motorhome owners we are still learning the ropes. We have let our vehicle battery go flat and the last time we did this we were able to charge it up by hooking up to the mains and switching it to charge the vehicle battery on the control panel. We have just tried to do this again but it will not switch from leisure to mains. The leisure is fully charged but it will not switch over. Any ideas? The vehicle battery voltage is below that needed for the charge unit to operate automatically. As Tracker said I would disconnect the vehicle battery and try and revive it separately with a car battery charger. If the battery then comes up to full charge / voltage then reconnect to the motorhome and see what happens. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 AlanS - 2015-03-15 3:46 PM multiplamum - 2015-03-15 3:27 PM As novice motorhome owners we are still learning the ropes. We have let our vehicle battery go flat and the last time we did this we were able to charge it up by hooking up to the mains and switching it to charge the vehicle battery on the control panel. We have just tried to do this again but it will not switch from leisure to mains. The leisure is fully charged but it will not switch over. Any ideas? The vehicle battery voltage is below that needed for the charge unit to operate automatically. As Tracker said I would disconnect the vehicle battery and try and revive it separately with a car battery charger. If the battery then comes up to full charge / voltage then reconnect to the motorhome and see what happens. Alan Actually Alan that is not what I said! If you use an external battery charger to recharge the engine battery there is no need to disconnect the battery first and I would only disconnect the leisure battery before using it to jump start to prevent the possibility, however remote, of any current surge damaging the very expensive control panel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Apologies for misquoting you ! To be on the safe side I myself would be happier to isolate the cab battery completely to try and revive it. We all do things different ways but it is not worth arguing the toss when all the OP wanted was some advice. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 AlanS - 2015-03-15 5:50 PM Apologies for misquoting you ! To be on the safe side I myself would be happier to isolate the cab battery completely to try and revive it. We all do things different ways but it is not worth arguing the toss when all the OP wanted was some advice. Alan No apology needed Alan and nobody is arguing, we are discussing in order to determine best advice which will always vary from person to person according to their own experiences and perceptions! Garages regularly apply a really heavy duty starter unit to fire up a vehicle with a dead flat battery seemingly without problems and I have never had any issue charging any battery in situ with a normal Ctek type charger which can take quite a few hours to do it's job fully although it is sensible to leave the ignition turned off whilst one does so! There is of course nothing wrong with a belt and braces approach however if one does choose to disconnect the vehicle battery one may need to be aware of any reconnection procedure including the potential loss of radio codes etc? My jump lead suggestion was a get you going now solution and as well as a digital mutimeter we never travel without a decent set of jump leads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
multiplamum Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 We have applied a trickle charge to the battery and lo and behold - the control panel will now switch across to charge the vehicle battery. I assume when it happened before the vehicle battery was not as dead as it was this time. It's all a big learning curve for us so thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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