Bailey Senator Vermont Battery Issues [Again!]

Jun 25, 2025
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Hello,
I've read through a few of these and can see that there seem to be a fair few people with problems with their Bailey batteries/chargers but couldn't find anything that might remedy my problem, so at the risk of rehashing something that may have already been answered, here we go [again, sorry!]

Ours is an earlier model with the hard-to-get-at charger, not entirely sure of the year, but probably about a 2007.

We bought it without a battery so we have a brand new one on it, so there shouldn't [!] be a problem with that. It can sit in the drive, plugged in to the garage for ages with no problem, but just occasionally, even with everything supposedly turned off 12v-wise, I'll go out and find the battery as dead as a dodo, so I disconnect it, put it on a suitable charger, reconnect it after a few hours of putting a trickle into it and it kicks straight back off. However, it randomly seems to drain very quickly when on site occasionally, so back on a charger etc...

The last time, the 12v switch had been left on all night, but with nothing apparently running from the 12v, I wouldn't have thought that would be a problem, however, we're new to this game, so I actually have no idea if we did wrong with that or not, but I have read where other people turn their 12v on when they hook up and turn it off when they leave with no apparent problems.

I've put a multimeter across the charger and it's got power going in and coming out at 11.5-11.7 volts from the cable connectors actually on the charger. This is echoed at the battery connectors and also by the on-board 12v display.

Now, here's a queer thing; I went to the van today and again - dead as a dodo. So, I disconnected it, plugged it into a charger for 15 minutes, reconnected it and bingo - back up to 11.7v at both terminals. To compound this, I have once just disconnected and reconnected the battery without doing anything else and the power is miraculously back, as if the original connectors had lost contact, but they're clean and have a good, tight connection, so what in God's name is going on with my 12v?
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Welcome to the Forum. The battery voltage between terminals is much lower than the norm. I would expect 13.6-13.8 volts when being charged. 11.5-7 volts is too low. What type/make charger do you have?
 
Nov 30, 2022
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Those voltages suggest to me that your battery charger isn't charging. 11.5volts is basically dead flat in leisure battery terms, and being that flat, for extended time, kills batteries

The very first thing to do to track the issue you have is...........

Take a voltage reading directly from the battery when NOT connected to hook up. Then connect to hook up and take another reading directly from the battery. The second reading should be higher than the first. If it isn't then that shows the battery charger is not working and that needs sorting. If the second reading IS higher then that shows the charger is working and you need to start looking elsewhere.

One thing to check is that the fridge is turned off at the fridge because even with the master caravan switch off the fridge still gets a 12v supply to run the control system (so you can turn all the electrics off if going out for the day but the fridge will still work)
If its still getting power it will drain the battery if no hooked up.
 
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Jun 25, 2025
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Hello,
Thank you both of you; I've just re-checked the voltages as recommended and whilst unhooked it was 10.73, hooked it back up and five minutes later 10.67, so I guess that says it all! I'll have to give it a long off-van charge whilst waiting for a new on-board charger :mad:
The standalone charger is a Noco 2x2 which I'm [reliably???] informed by Halfords will work with our battery which is a Platinum LB6110L 12v wet battery.

otherclive - no longer 'tugging' :ROFLMAO: - love it
 
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Mar 14, 2005
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With a typical 12V lead Acid (LA) battery, it state of charge can be estimated by measuring the terminal voltage after the battery has been disconnected for at least 1 hour. This is to allow chemical reactions, and thermal heating to settle.

If the terminal voltage is below 11V the battery has been fully discharged, and if left in that state for more than a day or so the lead paste in the battery may be permanently damaged. It is always advisable to fully charge a battery before leaving it for any extended periods.

Modern caravans (since about 2000) built in chargers might have a peak charging voltage of up to 14.5V but should settle to 13.8V for long term usage.

The standing terminal voltage of a fully charged LA battery should be about 12.6 to 12.8Vdc. If its significantly below this value, the battery must be considered to be worn out or faulty.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Hello,
Thank you both of you; I've just re-checked the voltages as recommended and whilst unhooked it was 10.73, hooked it back up and five minutes later 10.67, so I guess that says it all! I'll have to give it a long off-van charge whilst waiting for a new on-board charger :mad:
The standalone charger is a Noco 2x2 which I'm [reliably???] informed by Halfords will work with our battery which is a Platinum LB6110L 12v wet battery.

otherclive - no longer 'tugging' :ROFLMAO: - love it
NOCO are a well respected make. They are “ intelligent “ chargers and can be used to charge and maintain a battery if it’s at home. I always removed my battery when in storage and took it home and connected it to my CTEK charger (4 amp) which maintained the battery whilst off of the caravan.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Welcome to the Forum.

Both my Bailey’s from 2003 and 2008 were fitted with BCA basic chargers. The present one lasted without problem 12 years before packing up.
New BCAs are available or even used ones on E bay.

Thanks to our good friend Parksy, I contacted Apuljack who sold me their own state of the art modern version charger. A bit more expensive but an excellent piece of kit.
 
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Jun 16, 2020
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The last Bayley I had, a 2011 Unicorn, had a charger built into the consumer unit. Mine failed. I read that this happened often, so I purchased a good quality charger. It would not fit into the same housing. But it was not too hard to install it next to it and wire it into the original. Not to be recommended unless you are confident, But easy enough for any electrician.

John
 
Apr 23, 2024
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Remember the charger in the caravan is not just a charger for the battery it is also a power supply unit (PSU) - hence why you can run the caravan 12V systems without a battery when on EHU. Some good battery chargers aren't rated at 100% and may fail prematurely when used as a PSU in a caravan/camper or Motorhome. Victron do a nice charger/PSU which also comes with bluetooth. I would recommend you get a 100W solar panel and controller fitted to the caravan to keep the battery topped up when not on EHU ( in storage over winter) so you won't have keep taking the battery off and charging it at home.
 
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Nov 11, 2009
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Remember the charger in the caravan is not just a charger for the battery it is also a power supply unit (PSU) - hence why you can run the caravan 12V systems without a battery when on EHU. Some good battery chargers aren't rated at 100% and may fail prematurely when used as a PSU in a caravan/camper or Motorhome. Victron do a nice charger/PSU which also comes with bluetooth. I would recommend you get a 100W solar panel and controller fitted to the caravan to keep the battery topped up when not on EHU ( in storage over winter) so you won't have keep taking the battery off and charging it at home.
The reason I took my battery home was to stop it being hoisted when in storage. 🙈
 
Apr 23, 2024
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more likely they will steal your windows as they are a lot more expensive, and lighter to carry of than a lead acid battery ,which sounds like it just so much scrap now . 10.7 V indicates a dead cell which will never recover - shorted out so won't accept a charge and may explain why you onboard battery charger was struggling to raise the voltage above 11.7V (it may have been in current limit mode or even thermal limiting mode.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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The last Bayley I had, a 2011 Unicorn, had a charger built into the consumer unit. Mine failed. I read that this happened often, so I purchased a good quality charger. It would not fit into the same housing. But it was not too hard to install it next to it and wire it into the original. Not to be recommended unless you are confident, But easy enough for any electrician.

John
I did similar with our 2001 Bailey - unusually, the on-board power supply could be switched off - so I did and used a Gunsons smart charger - an old car battery lasted a decade more doing that.
 
Nov 11, 2009
23,974
8,376
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more likely they will steal your windows as they are a lot more expensive, and lighter to carry of than a lead acid battery ,which sounds like it just so much scrap now . 10.7 V indicates a dead cell which will never recover - shorted out so won't accept a charge and may explain why you onboard battery charger was struggling to raise the voltage above 11.7V (it may have been in current limit mode or even thermal limiting mode.
Not that easy though to remove and transport eight windows, store them safely then return and refit them . Got to retain some sense of proportion. 😂
 

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