Battery Charger Broken?

Jun 24, 2005
704
1
18,885
Visit site
I recently got my Bailey Indiana out after a month stored away. The previous trip involved quite a bit of running on the battery with no hook up. The battery in the van was flat (only 3.3 volts showing) although it had been plugged into the mains the whole time is was stored. I charged it up using a car battery charger, disconnected the car charger and waited. The battery has shown 12.3 volts for a week so there would appear to be no fault there. I disconnected the battery leads, plugged the mains in and connected a voltmeter to the battery leads. No voltage showing.

To my mind, this shows no output from the caravan charger but have I tested it correctly? Is there any other way to test it? Is there a fuse hidden away anywhere (all the fuses in the fuseboard are ok). In the short term, could I use the car charger to keep the battery topped up or is the correct caravan charger the only one to use?
 
Nov 5, 2006
805
0
0
Visit site
there is a fuse marked battery on the distribution panel, I assume this is ok, there is also an in line fuse between the dis board & the battery,& finaly there is a kettle type lead that plugs into the rear of the charger unit ( situated inside the dis panel) this often comes loose.
if you cannot get to the rear of the dis panel you will need to remove the front of the dis panel,the battery charger is sittuated at the top & slides out.MAKE SURE THE EHU IS DISCONNECTED BEFORE YOU REMOVE FRONT OF PANEL

TD
 
Jun 24, 2005
704
1
18,885
Visit site
Thanks for that TD, the fuse in the dis panel is ok but whereabouts is the online fuse? Is it on the 220 volt side or the 12v side?
 

Damian

Moderator
Mar 14, 2005
7,510
936
30,935
Visit site
The in line battery fuse is located near the battery box, probably tucked under the box.
There are NO blade fuses on the 230v system.
 
Jun 24, 2005
704
1
18,885
Visit site
I've checked and there is no inline fuse but, given that there are only two wires coming from the battery (pos and neg), if there was and it had blown then none of the 12v lights would work if the 240v was not connected.
I've taken the consumer unit apart and, if I disconnect the 12v plug, and test it, I'm getting 9 volts. I presume that I'm not getting the full output of 13v because the "intelligent charger" thinks that my voltmeter is a flat battery and so doesn't push out the full charge - is my thinking correct? If I disconnect the battery completely and connect the mains hook up, then test the battery leads (without touching the battery) I get 8.9 volts so something is getting from the charger to the battery but, again, not the full 13v because the charger thinks it's a flat battery.
My questions are, is there anything in the charger which could fail and prevent the charger from increasing it's output to the full 13v? If so is it something I could replace or adjust? Finally, is there any way to test the maximum output that the charger will provide?
 
Apr 28, 2011
506
0
0
Visit site
Hi PaulT
just a thought here but have you got a mover? if so is the isolation switch in the off position?? only a shot in the dark as this might have been left on by accident when you put it into storage and the mover control box has been draining the battery, it may also be the reason why the charger is not showing the full voltage at the battery leads only a thought.
Cheers
John
 

Damian

Moderator
Mar 14, 2005
7,510
936
30,935
Visit site
The BCA charger units in Bailey caravans are known to be problematic, and that is your problem.
Send the unit to Paul at Apuljack Engineering and he will repair and upgrade the unit for you at a very reasonable cost.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts