12v problem Senator Indiana

[v.meldrew2]

Our Indiana is on the drive hooked up to mains from the house. We leave the electric Truma (240v) heater on very low for frost protection, but also with the Trumavent fan (12v) running slowly to help ventilation. On my regular checkup this weekend I found that the mains was working (sockets fine, and indicator light lit on the heater control) but no 12v services at all. Battery condition meter reading zero. I connected a separate charger to the battery (110amph)with mains disconnected from the van and the found 12v services instantly came on, and meter reading about 13.5v. I then removed the battery and left it on charge at 16amps for 12 hours - now showing 100% charge. My conclusion is that the battery is OK but there is a fault with the caravan charger.

Does anyone disagree with this diagnosis? If so what other things could cause these symptoms? Is it a DIY job to change the charger, as it is a bit of a chore taking the van back to the dealer? The van is 13 months old, BTW, but the charger was replaced by the dealer last May following completely different fault symptoms!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Your diagnosis is quite plausible, though it is clearly impossible for anyone on the forum to conclusively confirm or deny it.

I do suggest you double check the position of all your switches to make sure the charger is on, and connected to your battery.

Most modern caravans used cable looms with pluggable connectors, so in theory the wiring should be easy enough, but the physical position of some of these charger units can be quite awkward to get at.

Do consult your dealer they may offer some alternative solutions.

 

[DeliDave]

I lost all 12volt on my S6 Indiana,one of the fuses had blown,15A iirc.Might be worth checking before you buy a charger

 

[v.meldrew2]

I lost all 12volt on my S6 Indiana,one of the fuses had blown,15A iirc.Might be worth checking before you buy a charger

Thanks - I'll check all the fuses tomorrow (ie, today!)

 

[Jason_374358399]

Had the same problem, it was the charger. Had to have a new one fitted. I got a mobile repair man outr and he replaced it under warranty.

 

[v.meldrew2]

Had the same problem, it was the charger. Had to have a new one fitted. I got a mobile repair man outr and he replaced it under warranty.

Thanks for the tip - I'll try the mobile option - would save a lot of hassle getting to/from the dealer.

 

[keith_5081818]

You need to check at the battery terminals without the battery connected to see if theres any power there from the charger.

The charger is in the big grey fuse box located under the front off side seat if i remember correctly.

 

[Chris_374374834]

We had the same problem with our Indiana when we were in France last year. I phoned up the dealer and explained the problem. He told us it was the charger and to get us through the holiday we should buy a car battewry charger and connect to the battery when on site. This we did with success and when we got home they replaced the charger.

 

[v.meldrew2]

You need to check at the battery terminals without the battery connected to see if theres any power there from the charger.

The charger is in the big grey fuse box located under the front off side seat if i remember correctly.

Good idea - I'll try that too

 

[v.meldrew2]

We had the same problem with our Indiana when we were in France last year. I phoned up the dealer and explained the problem. He told us it was the charger and to get us through the holiday we should buy a car battewry charger and connect to the battery when on site. This we did with success and when we got home they replaced the charger.

I do have a charger - 3-stage 16 amp - so I think I will take this on our trips as insurance, as now have had problems twice with charger. In the meantime the dealer has said they will replace the charger if necessary. They have explained how to remove the charger - quite simple 'plug and play' - so I can take the unit to them without having to drag the whole caravan there. I am quite pleased with their helpfulness infact.

 

[padraig_374407420]

I have recently purchased a Senator Wyoming (S5). I too have problems with the 12volt battery. When we disconnect the leads to the from the car we lose all power. I replaced the battery yesterday and it still doesn't work. Following the advice given in this forum, I intend to check the fuse.

We also seem to have a problem with one of the circuit breakers continually tripping - even when the only power been drawn from the sockets was a PSP charger!

Help!!

 

[xtrailman]

It appears that Bailey have not improved since 2004.

My problems were the PSU cooling fan was running, keeping us awake!

The dealer said initially that the unit was working normally.

When i explained that my previous van also had a 20 amp PSU, that also had a cooling fan, that only came in when air temp was hot or load was heavy, he had a rethink. Leave it with me, he said.

Finally service manager got back to me, Yes sir these units have been fitted with a fan cooling thermostat that cuts in too low, the new version comes in higher, bring it back and we will give you the revised version.

This i did, plugged it in and away on holiday again. Dam me if the PSU cooling fan didnt cut in again in the early hours!

After the outing again i got back to the dealer, But sir the fan cuts in higher now it should be ok now, yes i said it should but isnt. I cant remember now what the cut in temp was,but it was 10 degrees higher.

Look i said this PSU fan is cutting in when the unit is only supplying 2 or 3amps to the battery at most, nothing else was on 12v. And at the coolist part of the night.It's a 20 amp PSU it should carry upto 5amp before cooling is required under ambient air temperatures of 20c. I'm a electrician, leave it with me sir.

Finally, sir a completly revised version is now available, the fan now works off current demand now, not unit temperature.

Fitted the new one, never heard from it since.

Make sure your PSU gets a good circulation of air round it. If required in extreme temperatures leave a flap down, or door open if possible.Dont packup to it, or any other electrical unit.

For what use it is, i have looked at my 2004 circuit diagram, all systems will vary.

My PSU is feed via a 240v mains 5amp CB, this also feeds the 240v lighting, and the hot water heater, and the fridge. If your's is the same make sure these are not tripping your PSU CB.

 

[DeliDave]

been having probs with my battery,charged at home left it a month disconnected and measured lost about 1/10th of a volt connected it and 10 days later its down to 6 volts.I turn the master switch off am wondering if it could backfeed thro faulty charger or if fan is running.will have a look next time I am at storage,really envy people who can just pop out to have alook 'on the drive'

 

[xtrailman]

I had a faulty charger that did discharge the battery, so yes it is possible, but it was one of the old type chargers.

 

[Tony-Porthcawl]

Had the same problem on my wyoming foun it to be the 15amp fuse in the main fuse box check that first.It is labelled caravan Batt.

 

[padraig_374407420]

It appears that Bailey have not improved since 2004.

My problems were the PSU cooling fan was running, keeping us awake!

The dealer said initially that the unit was working normally.

When i explained that my previous van also had a 20 amp PSU, that also had a cooling fan, that only came in when air temp was hot or load was heavy, he had a rethink. Leave it with me, he said.

Finally service manager got back to me, Yes sir these units have been fitted with a fan cooling thermostat that cuts in too low, the new version comes in higher, bring it back and we will give you the revised version.

This i did, plugged it in and away on holiday again. Dam me if the PSU cooling fan didnt cut in again in the early hours!

After the outing again i got back to the dealer, But sir the fan cuts in higher now it should be ok now, yes i said it should but isnt. I cant remember now what the cut in temp was,but it was 10 degrees higher.

Look i said this PSU fan is cutting in when the unit is only supplying 2 or 3amps to the battery at most, nothing else was on 12v. And at the coolist part of the night.It's a 20 amp PSU it should carry upto 5amp before cooling is required under ambient air temperatures of 20c. I'm a electrician, leave it with me sir.

Finally, sir a completly revised version is now available, the fan now works off current demand now, not unit temperature.

Fitted the new one, never heard from it since.

Make sure your PSU gets a good circulation of air round it. If required in extreme temperatures leave a flap down, or door open if possible.Dont packup to it, or any other electrical unit.

For what use it is, i have looked at my 2004 circuit diagram, all systems will vary.

My PSU is feed via a 240v mains 5amp CB, this also feeds the 240v lighting, and the hot water heater, and the fridge. If your's is the same make sure these are not tripping your PSU CB.

Ray,

Many thanks for your advice. What I don't understand is the difference between the PSU and the Circuit breaker box and the Power Supply Unit. Are they the same thing?

In our caravan the 10amp and the 25amp are joined, it's this switch that keeps tripping.

The 5amp that supplies the fridge and the water is fine - it hasn't tripped once, whereas the 10/25amp my trip every 5 minutes.

It is bizzare

thanks

padraig

 

[v.meldrew2]

Things have taken a turn for the worse! I took the charger out of the van's fuse box unit- a very simple job - and took it the dealer, who swapped it for a new one with no quibble (despite the van being a month out of warranty). Confidently put the new unit in the van (after disconnecting the mains). Bang! The 15 amp battery fuse blew! I disconnected the charger and tried putting in a new fuse - it arc-ed across the fitting, and blew again. So now I have a major problem - the twelve volt suppply won't function, and I can't get the van off the drive without the mover - which runs off the 12 volt supply, so I can't get to the dealer. Looks like I'll have to do as suggested by Jason and call out a mobile service person (luckily there is one in our town). I wonder what this is going to cost me!

 

[alunhve]

Motor Movers are normally wired direct to the Battery because of the amount of current they draw so the blowing of the fuse should hopefully not stop you being able to move the caravan.

Alun

 

[v.meldrew2]

Alan - yes you are right, as my dealer told me today, to my considerable relief! Well, you live and learn! Anyway, thanks again to advice from my friendly dealer, I think I have solved the problem. What seems to have happened is that when I plugged in the new charger, I inadvertently managed to connect the 12 volt connector the wrong way round. Now I would have thought that it would have been made in a way to have a one-way fit only, but no. As the polarity was reversed, it is perhaps not surprising the fuse was blowing. I'm still a bit concerned that two chargers have gone faulty within a year though.

 

[v.meldrew2]

been having probs with my battery,charged at home left it a month disconnected and measured lost about 1/10th of a volt connected it and 10 days later its down to 6 volts.I turn the master switch off am wondering if it could backfeed thro faulty charger or if fan is running.will have a look next time I am at storage,really envy people who can just pop out to have alook 'on the drive'

I said 'drive' but in fact the van is discretely parked on a hardstanding behind a high fence in a corner of the garden. It cost us four k quid to get this built, but I hate to see caravans in front of houses. We equally did not fancy leaving the van on a storage site.