Battery not charging :(

[needle]

Hi All, looking for a bit of advice please , I recently bought a elddis superstorm crusader 2006 and was away this weekend in it . my problem is It had a 75ah leisure battery in it so decided to upgrade and put a 110ah leisure battery into it.
After a few hours ( first time away in the van and the battery was fully charged and a few months old before leaving) the battery went flat pretty quick ,we had mains hook up and metered out the automatic charger (PS167-13.8-BC, 12A output ) thats installed and found it to be dead ,power going in but nothing out, could the bigger battery have killed the charger ? I've seen replacement chargers but 20 A rated is it safe to fit this instead of a smaller charger?

What was weird is the battery would drop to 0 volts on the the display inside the caravan and when metered across the terminals it would be reading 9 -10 volts is?

could it be just the charger or mayeb something more?

Thanks in advance

 

[Dustydog]

http://www.apuljackengineering.co.uk/chargers.htm
If you have a Nord Electronica charger talk to The guys at the above link.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Needle,

Even new batteries will not hold their charge for ever, so its quite possible that due to internal electrical leakages the battery may have discharged over a few months before you use it.

If the voltage at the battery terminals is only 9 to 10V then it is essentially completely discharged, and it should not be used or even stored in that condition as permanent damage can result.

The meters on the charger units are notoriously inaccurate, so before believing them always check with a trusted meter.

Its very unlikely that fitting a 110AH instead of a 75AH battery will damage the charger, unless the leads were connected wrong polarity. But in most cases this would result in the chargers inline battery fuse blowing.

I do wonder if the fuse has blown, as this would certainly explain why the internal meter shows zero volts, and the battery has not been charging.

Worth checking all the fuses, before spending on a new charger.

As Dustydog points out, a certain model of charger has had a very poor reliability record, and the company he mentions does have a very effective repair service, again cheaper than having to buy new, and you get a much more reliable charger as well.

 

[needle]

Hi John thanks for the reply ,power is going into the charger but its dead on the outlet so the charger is def dead but im wondering is it safe to fit the 20 amp charger instead of the 10 ? for the sake of a few pound ?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello again needle,
Most chargers have some form of output fuse. If that has blown, then you will get the symptoms you are describing. So as a wrote before check you fuses first.

If the charger is definitely defunct, then your options are to get it repaired, or to replace. Most caravans these days fit power supplies ( not just simple chargers) and tend to be 12 to 16A output. The important thing is to make sure the charger is regulated and will not output more than 13.8V to prevent the connected battery from excess gassing Provided the the unit you are thinking of is limited to 13.8, then yes you can safely fit the 20A version.

But I repeat check the fuses first.

 

[Woodentop]

Just to clarify, it doesn't matter what the PSU output is - 10A, 15A, 20A, 100A even - the battery will only take what it needs to charge itself, the current being limited by i the battery's internal resistance. 13.8V is much more important - there is often a small adjuster visible for the sake of looking - it should be set without a battery connected. The current capability shows how much the caravan can draw from the PSU without taking current from the battery (save an instant of surge when say, the pump starts) and 20A will be more than enough for a modern 'van.

If the OP decides to get a smartcharger be careful not to get one that decides itself whether it is connected to a 6V or 12V battery. If the battery is well down, say as low as 6.5V, such a smartcharger will decide that it is a fully charged 6V battery and go no further. If you should find yourself in this position, connect jumper leads from your vehicle to the 'van battery for a few minutes which will take it nearer 10V and the smartcharger will then work correctly.