michaelmorris Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 I have detailed elsewhere the woes we are having with our transformer/battery charger overheating when charging our leisure battery. We have got around this by simply disconnecting the leisure battery when we are hook up. The transformer then supplies the 12v power when we are hook up and we can use the leisure battery when we are away for the day. We're charging the leisure battery using a mains battery charger for a couple of hours every evening. If we can't get the overheating issue sorted in the next fortnight we will have to use this arrangement for our 2/3 week stay in France. One book I have read advises against this because of potential voltage instability damaging 12v appliances. Is this correct? If so, should we be switching the battery selector switch to vehicle when on hook up? Note - the only 12v appliances we use are LED lights and the water pump. Our stay in France was going to be a mixture of campsites and a few Aires, but could drop the Aires if necessary. Any advice very gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 michaelmorris - 2018-05-13 9:35 AM If we can't get the overheating issue sorted in the next fortnight ........... Hi Michael, if you’ve got 2 weeks then best bet to find a local electrical engineer in my opinion. Definately wouldn’t set off with this unresolved; constant waste of mental effort ! Regards, Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Sorry Michael but I have not seen your other writings, but if it were mine I would not run without a battery in circuit. Doing so might not cause damage, I don't know what if any damage it could cause, but why risk it? You might be able to insert a heavy duty switch in the charge input cable so you can switch the mains charger off when you need to but that might also affect the alternator charge input so would need to be checked? My first checks would be the state of battery itself, and electrolyte, and the voltage going into the battery from the charger? Too much charge can kill a battery just as easily as no charge at all. Could the charger be overheating because the battery is duff and the charger is being asked to work too hard? Are all the connections clean tight and running cool as a bad connection can cause overheating? I have not thought this through to consider the downsides, but could you disable the charger and use a C-tek type smart charger via a mains socked to keep the battery charged? I seem to recall that it is the battery that supplies a stabilised 12v power to lights etc not the charger - assuming the battery is OK? Apologies if all this has alredy been discussed. Apologies, just seen your other thread, really sorry but I have nothing new to add. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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