zombies Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hi When I'm on elec hook up and switch to mains on the panel, does it automatically charge the batteries or do I need to select car or van (on my panel) to charge selected battery? In my owners manual it refers to Aux and vehicle batteries yet the panel has car or van. if when on mains I select 'van' my ignition lights illuminate (no key in). My owners manual doesn't give specific instructions although I will give it another scan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Type of MH would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Herald insignia transit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 'm sure they're all different but switching from Aux to cabin battery is common, do you switch between to charge each battery or are they automatically charged when on mains irrespective of switch position? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkS Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 We have a Swift Sundance (2007) with the same sort of info, we have to manually select the van battery if we wanted to charge it as it defaults to the leisure when the panel is switched on. You can buy a battery master (google is your friend here) which will automatically charge your van battery once your leisure one is charged when on hook-up. Can be found for around £35 to £65 and not too hard to fit. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Easy enough to check! Just put a digital voltmeter across each battery terminals before and during each charging regime and that will tell you for sure what is happening. As vans go through various ownerships various modifications and 'improvements' are often made so that what it does now may well not be what it did then so it pays to check for yourself that it does what you want and expect it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Cheers. No volt meter as yet. I wanted to charge the engine battery but was concerned about the ignition lights coming on and didn't want to damage anything like the alternator. Despite it being 18 years old it's pretty much how it would have left the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Using a voltmeter to check voltages across two battery terminals or connections will not harm anything at any point. Most volt meters have DC and AC ranges and you will need the DC range which is generally 0 - 20 volts DC. No need for an expensive one as a cheap and cheerful will do the job very well espacially if you can check it against a known to be accurate one just in case it is whoopsie. Does not even matter if it does read a little high or low as many do, just as long as you know. For many of us this is one tool that is absolutely in the 'don't leave home without it' category! Checking amps for DC current is more tricky and unless you know what to do I would suggest not trying as getting that wrong can cause showers of sparks and potentially some damage - probably to the meter rather than the van - plus a fuse or two might blow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Thanks tracker. Am not worried about a volt meter it's the ignition lights coming on when I select engine battery when on mains. I notice a drop in engine turning over speed when left a week or so hence charging. on my car I'm sure it would turn over if I left it a year but I doubt the van would if I left it a couple of weeks, would you say it needed a new battery or do they drain? Am thinking it needs new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Batteries do self drain when disconnected and they also drain when connected although the older the van the less electronic gizmos and probably less battery drain when in situ. The only way to tell is to remove it and bench charge it overnight then check the voltage which, if the battery is any good, should be around 12.7 / 12.8 volts. Leave it stand disconnected for a couple of days and check the voltage again and hope to find around 12.6 ish. Any less any it it probably getting tired but just how tired depends on how low the voltage falls bearing in mind that 12.0 volts is knackered! Personally for what they cost, the lack of a starting handle, and my reluctance to push 3.5 tonnes of metal I would rather change a bettery before it let me down! That said you should check the terminals for security and cleanliness and if they get warm when the engine turns over that would suggest high resistance which equates to poor contact. There is also the possibility to consider that your starter motor may be getting tired as well or instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 zombies - 2015-07-28 11:45 AM Hi When I'm on elec hook up and switch to mains on the panel, does it automatically charge the batteries or do I need to select car or van (on my panel) to charge selected battery? In my owners manual it refers to Aux and vehicle batteries yet the panel has car or van. if when on mains I select 'van' my ignition lights illuminate (no key in). My owners manual doesn't give specific instructions although I will give it another scan. Aux will be your leisure battery. Depending on year you may well have an internal battery charger and your leisure battery will only charge on EHU if that is switched on. As you have a manual for it, it should tell you in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Zombie I share your concern about the dash lights. Maybe you have a stuck relay contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Charles - 2015-07-29 1:15 AM Zombie I share your concern about the dash lights. Maybe you have a stuck relay contact. Perhaps. Am thinking its related to the immobiliser that is fitted!? I don't want to select the engine battery via the control panel to charge it while they are on. I will keep to the occasional run out for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I owned a 1996-built Transit-based Herald Templar motorhome for 6 years. The Templar did not have a ‘car/van’ switch on its control-panel and its onboard battery-charger could only charge the leisure battery. To circumvent this I fitted a “Battery Mate” (equivalent to the “Battery Master” device that is still available: http://www.vanbitz.com/product/battery-master/ In those days control-panels with a ‘car/van’ switch normally just allowed 12V habitation electrics (lights, water-pump, etc.) to be powered from the vehicle’s starter battery or leisure battery. The arrangement was the norm for UK-built caravans (hence the “car” and “van” labelling) and starter-battery charging from a 230V hook-up was not possible. It might be helpful to know the make/model of control-panel fitted to your Insignia, but ZIG-made units were often used by Explorer Group and I think the ZIG CP-400 panel had ‘car/van’ switch-markings. This link refers to the 400 series and describes the BATTERY SELECTOR switch’s function http://www.holdsworth.vwt4camper.info/ZigControlPanel_3G_3V_400_800WM.pdf As Tracker has advised, the best way to confirm what happens regarding the control-panel’s switch is to use a voltmeter and (as he has also said) there’s no guarantee that a previous owner hasn’t fiddled with the motorhome’s electrical system. (Like Charles, I don’t like the fact that the ignition lights come on spontaneously if you select “van” on the control-panel when on 230V hook-up.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks Derek Uzzel According to the manual I have PMS7GC - Panel state PMS7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 To add - Car / Van switch. The manual states being able to switch between the two when not on mains. When switched to Van (engine battery) the 12v lights etc do nothing, only when on Car do they work but, if on mains nd awitched to van, the 12v lights work but as said the ign lights show, odd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I’m not sure if a manual for the Plug-In-Systems PMS7 control-panel is available on-line, but user-instructions for the PMS3 panel can be found here: http://www.olearymotorhomes.co.uk/ekmps/shops/olearys/resources/Other/pms3-instructions.pdf The use of the 3-position Battery Selector Switch is explained and you’ll see that the switch’s “VAN” position is used to select the caravan/motorhome battery (ie. the leisure battery) to power the 12V electric circuits, whereas the “CAR” position should select the starter battery of a caravan’s tow-car as the 12V power-source (assuming the car is connected to the caravan, of course) or the motorhome’s starter battery. That’s the norm for this type of system and the opposite to what you seem to be saying. You might try contacting this company for advice http://www.expluginsteve.co.uk/index.htm They specialise in Plug-in-Systems equipment and there are photos of PMS7 units here http://www.expluginsteve.co.uk/Unit-identifier(2448008).htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-07-29 2:19 PM I’m not sure if a manual for the Plug-In-Systems PMS7 control-panel is available on-line, but user-instructions for the PMS3 panel can be found here: http://www.olearymotorhomes.co.uk/ekmps/shops/olearys/resources/Other/pms3-instructions.pdf The use of the 3-position Battery Selector Switch is explained and you’ll see that the switch’s “VAN” position is used to select the caravan/motorhome battery (ie. the leisure battery) to power the 12V electric circuits, whereas the “CAR” position should select the starter battery of a caravan’s tow-car as the 12V power-source (assuming the car is connected to the caravan, of course) or the motorhome’s starter battery. That’s the norm for this type of system and the opposite to what you seem to be saying. You might try contacting this company for advice http://www.expluginsteve.co.uk/index.htm They specialise in Plug-in-Systems equipment and there are photos of PMS7 units here http://www.expluginsteve.co.uk/Unit-identifier(2448008).htm Thanks I'll check them out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombies Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 I ordered a cigar lighter plugin voltage reader as mentioned on Trackers tips and it's reading 12.3 volts whilst not running and 14.2 running Waiting for another volt reader I'm putting in more permanent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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