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Leisure battery not charging


Barne

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Hi 

I have a autotrail tracker 2015 and the leisure battery is not charging 

I have been looking for the split charge relay but cannot find it

Does anyone know where it would be so i can check it is working 

It is a sargent ec500 with a ec300 control panel over the door

Hope someone can help 

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  • Keithl changed the title to Leisure battery not charging

Hi Barne,

I'm going to assume your 2015 Tracker is based on a Ducato so there should be a module located at the base of the drivers side 'B' pillar below the seat belt mechanism which is the connection point between the Fiat cab and the AT conversion. I can't remember the name or model number of this module but it should contain fuses and one of them may have blown.

Keith.

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Thanks Keith 

Will check them tomorrow very difficult to get at because handbrake very close 

Did not want to take them out just incase I couldn't get them back in 

Do you know if the split charge relay is one of the relays next to the fuses

Cannot feel any click when I start the van

Thanks for your help will let you know how I get on 

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Hi Barne,

I hold some old information relating to the x250 converter's socket.

Pin 2 of the 15way connector is the D+ output, and is active low i.e, connects to earth when alternator is working.

From what I have read there may be a Sargent relay box fitted somewhere under the seat.  This box among other functions will either convert the signal to active high, or may even contain the split charge relay. It would make sense for the split charge relay to be in that area, as a power feed from the starter battery is also available at the B pillar. (Check for presence of two pole heavy duty connector.)

The split charge relay is provided by the converter, while the relays at the B pillar are fitted as an option by Fiat.

Also the fuses in that area do not include one for the D+ output.

I am wondering whether your vehicle is too old to be fitted with the Sargent EM40 relay module?  I have become aware that there are several reported failures in recent months due to connectors overheating.  I am speculating that the problems are more likely to occur on long drives. This would be due to the high current taken by large fridges running on 12V while driving. - Something to be aware of.  If you do have a similar problem, consider the alternative unit made by Apuljack.

I am sorry that I am not able to attach more details of the converters socket, because this forum does not accept pdf, and most of my document library is pdf. I would need your email via PM to attach documents.

I hope that the above helps you to find the fault.  Please report what you discover.

Alan

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Hi alanb

I was driving through France last week when we had no leasure battery power 

So we decided to turn back it was freezing and no heating

Checked leasure battery not charging with multimeter 

Trying to find split charge relay I took the fuse holder em40 out and found that the vehicle battery input positive had melted the plastic connector 

But Checked if still getting power through to vehicle battery out and was showing OK but still cannot find the split charge relay 

It is a 2015 fiat ducato x290 what is this module from apuljack

Thanks for your help 

How do I pm you with my email address 

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If you need more information about your EM40 fuse module and EC500 PSU the www.sargentltd.co.uk website has this in its support section (I think you could find that the split charging , in your case , may be controlled through the EC500)

Edited by Labby
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I have have diagrams for various older Sargent systems but have been unable to find a diagram for the EC500.  Earlier systems used a split charge relay external to the Sargent unit. As split charge relays are gradually being replaced by B2B (Battery to Battery) chargers, it seems unlikely that Sargent would start to fit an integral relay. This leads me to the following conclusion.

Either there is an external split charge relay, perhaps added under the bonnet, or a B2B has been installed and a  split charge relay has not been fitted.

Without access to a wiring diagram, it is difficult to work out what other effects the EN80 failure may have had on the system.

Alan

When I first mentioned the EM40, I did not know that Barne's vehicle was fitted with one , or that he had been driving across France when the problem was noticed.  I am aware of a recent EM40 failure in similar circumstances.  Previously there have been several reported failures on other forums.  This does seem to suggest a design problem.

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2 hours ago, Labby said:

Sargent have a repair harness for wiring/ connection damage at the EM40 module in their shop  ,if needed . (product No 10001-20)

This seems to suggest that there is a problem with the EM40.  I suspect that a replacement harness is a fix rather than a cure,

Alan

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1 hour ago, Labby said:

Information  regarding the location of the split charging relay in later Sargent  PSUs   can be found in the Sargent support section / search articles /split charging

Labby,

If you have researched and found this, why not post a link.  I spent some time this morning, trying to find a diagram.

Alan

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Sorry ,but I am not able to post links but if you follow the Sargent website information I have shown it leads to the split charging relay location information regarding later Sargent PSU units.(not a  diagram) .As you say , the EM40 can be a problem and I believe Apuljack electronics contacted the Autotrail owners group last year asking people with problems with theirs to get in touch with them as they were developing a more robust unit as a replacement (which they have now  done and it is shown in their catalogue)

Edited by Labby
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Sargent documentation appears to confirm that split-charging was implemented in the PSU (ECxxx) for their electrical systems.

This appears to be consistent with the description of the EM40 unit here:

https://sargent.zohodesk.eu/portal/en/kb/articles/em40-fiat-interface-unit

...which appears to provide the Fiat "Engine Running" signal to the PSU via brown/white wiring in and out. As mentioned above, this signal drops to ground (not positive) when the engine is running, and will be open circuit when it is not. It's relatively safe to assume that this signal is used by the PSU (EC500) to enable split charging internally.

If the EM40 is damaged, then it would be very sensible in the first instance to check for both the input and output dropping to ground with the engine running. The particular connections can be derived from the above link. 

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3 hours ago, Labby said:

Sorry ,but I am not able to post links but if you follow the Sargent website information I have shown it leads to the split charging relay location information regarding later Sargent PSU units.(not a  diagram) .As you say , the EM40 can be a problem and I believe Apuljack electronics contacted the Autotrail owners group last year asking people with problems with theirs to get in touch with them as they were developing a more robust unit as a replacement (which they have now  done and it is shown in their catalogue)

I have followed the path suggested above by Labby, and I have experienced no difficulty in creating a link.

Link here

The article does suggest that Sargent PSUs in general have an integral split charge relay.  This does not agree with my inspection of diagrams available to me, where the split charge and fridge relays are shown external to the PSU. Further I remember being involved with several similar threads, where separately mounted relays where photographed.  I am puzzled by this.

Alan

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The earlier Sargent PSUs  (EC200/PSU2007 ) used separate split charge and fridge relays, often found under the bonnet on X244 Fiat Ducato . I think things may have changed when the  X250 series came out .

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2 hours ago, Labby said:

The earlier Sargent PSUs  (EC200/PSU2007 ) used separate split charge and fridge relays, often found under the bonnet on X244 Fiat Ducato . I think things may have changed when the  X250 series came out .

That is the explanation that I am coming to accept.  My information has been collected when answering previous queries, and these naturally tend to be for older vehicles.

The logical approach  for @Barneis that suggested by @Robinhood.

Alan

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Hi all 

Thanks very much for your prompt responses 

Here is my update

Funnily enough my  wife had said a couple of times that she could smell somthing burning after a long drive 

But as I could not see anything I dismissed it

But she was right (as usual)

As following the very helpful post from Alanb i checked the em40 and found that it had melted the vb in positive plastic connector

so on monday i contacted Apuljack for a replacement and it arrived on Tuesday morning great service recommended

 I fitted it today and everything is working as it should  be bit fiddly took me about an hour

still could not find the split charge relay I think Robin Hood is right 

Thanks again for everyone's input much appreciated 

Barne

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