12v problem...help needed

[Ted_374365514]

Hello evryone

we fitted a brand new 85amp battery to our caravan, battery indicator on zig conrol panel CP3G does not indicate full battery but the battery does.

We have been away for 3 days, the first two days everything worked fine, on the last day waterpump stopped working, lights very dim, on returning home nothing on the 12 volt system works, but battery still shows fully charged.

Does anybody have any ideas of what the problem could be please.

Any help greatly apprieciated.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

How is the battery indicating that its charged?

Have you checked it with a volt meter?

It may be that the battery posts need cleaning with wire woolto give a good contact

 

[Ted_374365514]

Thanks for replying,

The battery is indicating that its charged on the battery itself. By means of a green light.

Now going to make hubby go are clean the terminal posts with wirewool although being a new battery i do not think it will be that.

As for a voltmeter i do nt have one of those.

 

[Dustydog]

Ted

Why did you have to change the battery? Was the old one giving the same trouble as now?

Are you sure the battery is receiving a charge from both the car and when hooked up to the mains?

Cheers

Alan

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I thought that you might say that

I would get a cheap meter and check the voltage coming off the battery accurately

It probably just needs a good charging as indicated by the Zig

Hope that helps

 

[Ted_374365514]

Thanks for your reply Alan,

When we bought the caravan the owner told us that we were going to need a new battery, so we bought one.

We have not as yet had the grey 7 pin plug wired up from our car to the tow bar, but have been using electric hook up all weekend.

A friendly neighbour on the site told us that we may need a tricklecharger fitted if not already.

We are not sure wether this is fitted as standard or not.

We have a 1989 Compass Omeaga.

 

[Ted_374365514]

Thank you John,

does the battery not get charged up through having it connected to the electric hook-up?

 

[Ted_374365514]

I am sorry, I know it sounds dumb, but does a leisure battery need a leisure battery charge or does it charge with a normal car battery charger?

 

[WatsonJohnG]

You don't say how old your van is but it should charge up via the Zig if everything is OK(no blown fuse/wiring etc)

It is showing all the signs of a battery that has just run down

and so the Zig has not been doing a lot

There may be switches that take getting used to etc

You can charge with a car charger but there are different chargers so you need to keep an eye to avoid overcharging if its a basic charger that doesn't reduce the charge

Many older van chargers don't fully charge the battery to avoid gassing etc so its not a bad idea to give a boost charge from a car charger

 

[Ted_374365514]

Sounds like i need to invest in a car charger and go from there.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Ted_374365514]

Sounds like i need to invest in a car charger and go from there.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Ted,

I guess from your questions and answers that you have not got an owners manual for the caravan. If you had, it would tell you how to connect up your caravan to the mains or the car to ensure the battery will be charged. You usually have to set certain switches when towing or on site to enable the battery to be charged.

If the Zig panel is showing low battery power, then this coupled to your symptoms suggests to me the battery is low. The green 'light' on the battery does not reliably indicate the charged condition. It only shows one cell, (there are usually 6 cells in a 12V battery) and it will show green at anything above 75% charge.

My suspicion is that the battery is not being charged, when you tow or when you are on a mains hook up, this might be down to the switch settings, or perhaps something may be faulty.

If you want a separate charger, then it would be wise to consider a three stage charger. These are kindest to leisure batteries and are available from caravan shops or look on Ebay. sometimes Aldi or Lidl have them at very reasonable prices.

If you were to tell us the make model and year of the caravan, someone may be able to supply you with a copy of the owners handbook.

If you are still experiencing difficulties, then ask another caravanner when on site, they are usually ready to offer help, or seek professional help from a caravan engineer.

 

[Ted_374365514]

To all you kind helpful people who helped us out on this subject a big thankyou.

We have been away this weekend with a fully charged battery and no problems.

Ted

 

[TrevorM]

Hi Ted, just in case you only survived the weekend because your battery was fully charged to begin with, and the fault still exists, the following may be helpful.

My ZIG unit failed last year and had to be replaced. Since this was located at the bottom of the wardrobe in a pretty inaccessible position, I had not realised this power supply / charger was fitted with its own on/off rocker switch. This may seem obvious to you, and you may already have checked it, but if not it could be worth a try.

I find an easy way to check if the battery is charging (from mains) is to observe the battery condition meter and switch the ZIG unit on; the meter should move to indicate a slightly higher Voltage.

Enjoy you hols.

Trevor M

 

[PJR]

You might have a faulty battery (if brand new) bring it to a garage to check charge - I purchased a faulty battery a few years ago which they changed without any cost.

We tend to use sites with no electric and a fully charged battery usually lasts between 4-5 days (used for eveything) before needing charged again