Elddis 195 charging

[Joelewes]

Can anybody tell me (Elddis want me to pay for this advice) whether, when you connect you vehicle to the mains supply, it charges BOTH the leisure battery and the vehicle battery. I am worried that overwintering the vehicle may result in a flat vehicle battery. 
 My 195 is 6 years old. 
many thanks

joe

[Keithl]

Joe,

The quickest way to check would be to measure the voltage of the vehicle battery then turn on the mains charger.

If you don't have a multimeter they cost around a tenner for a basic one from the likes of Screwfix, Toolstation, Halfords, etc. Or even online!

Keith.

[Labby]

If you carry out the voltage check suggested and find the vehicle is not being charged when on EHU fitting a Vanbitz battery master would solve the problem , it allows a trickle charge from the leisure battery into the starter battery and is very easy to fit , not expensive and work well.

[Geeco]

Based on the two motorhomes I have had both the Autotrail & the Adria will charge both batteries on electric hookup - one at a time. When one is fully charged the other is then charged. If yours is the same the volt meter test would only show one battery charging. Interestingly the AT factory fitted solar panel worked the same however the dealer fitted solar system on the Adria only charges the Hab battery. Both hookups have advantages & disadvantages, if the system is trying to charge a failing battery then the other battery will gradually go flat waiting for the changeover. Cheers,

[Janeunderwood]

 

The Elddis Autoquest Owners Handbooks for model-years 2015, 2016 and 2017 contain the ELECTRICITY guidance shown in the attachment below that indicates (red underline) that the motorhome's vehicle-battery (ie. its starter-battery) will be charged automatically when the vehicle is connected to a 230V power supply. Conversely, the very similar ELECTRICITY guidance in the Autoquest handbooks for earlier and later model years replaces the words "the vehicle battery" with "the leisure battery".

If the 2015/2016/2017 Autoquest Owners Handbooks are to be believed, a 6 years old Autoquest 195's leisure AND starter batteries should be charged automatically from a 230V power supply.

However, the only way to be sure that the starter-battery is being charged from a 230V mains supply will be to do as Keith has advised above and check for an increase in the starter-battery's voltage. It looks like a 2016 Autoquest would have been factory fitted with a BCA PS276 battery charger. This had a 20A output, but just a 13.8V maximum voltage.

(This 2015 forum thread related to Elddis Accordo battery charging, but might still be worth reading.)

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/topic/35998-elddis-battery-charging/

 

[Philip M]

I have a 2015 built Elddis Accordo 105 which I suspect would be electrically similar to the Atoquest and I can tell you for certain that the power supply unit charges the leisure battery only.

I use a Ctek MSX5 smart battery charger which I have wired to the vehicle battery via a 12 volt plug (which comes with the charger), plus a 15 amp inline fuse to be on the safe side, and I leave this connected all the time, 365 days a year. The Ctek is a bit expensive, but there are several other smart chargers out there which would serve just as well.

You can easily check whether there is any charge to the vehicle battery by putting a meter across the battery terminals. If there is, you would expect to see about 13.8 volts, if not it'll be less than 13 volts. if