Hi
My Bailey Senator Arizona (2006) is fitted with BCA PS276-1BC battery charger which slots into the top of the PDU housing.
A couple of years ago I replaced this as it had stopped working.
However, after returning from a 3 week trip to Keswick I noticed that
the 12v lights were very dim even when hooked-up on our drive. I
checked the battery with my multimeter and found it was flat despite
being on hook-up after our 100 mile drive back from the Lakes.
Having had problems with the charger unit before I moved on to checking
that next. The mains "kettle" plug showed 240v but there was no output
whatsoever from the 12v lead from the charger. (The "kettle" lead WAS
fully connected - I know that a loose kettle lead can be a problem but
mine is held in with a cable tie!!!) I had taken the battery out by
this time to put it on charge - does it need a battery to be connected
to get an output reading???
I chatted to David Brannon of: http://leisureelectronicrepairs.co.uk/.
He was very helpful and said that it would probably cost around £60 for
him to repair the charger. He did say that my "issue 14" model was
supposedly a model that had been revised so that the fan cut in earlier
to prevent overheating.
I think that an inherent problem is that the ventilation in the fuse box housing is very limited.
I'm now in a quandary as to what to do. The cheaper new replacement
BCA unit I could find on the internet costs c£110, with delivery, but I
don't want to be spending that every couple of years.
My electrical skills are not really up to fitting an alternative type of charger in better ventilated position.
I replaced the battery in the caravan today having charged it in the
garage for 24 hrs with my Halford's smart charger. The battery gave a
reading of 13.3v on my multimeter. I tested the charger again with the
battery re-installed. 230 volts from the "kettle" plug. 0v on the
charger output cable connector. 13.3v on the other side of the 12v
connector - presumably from the battery. So it appears that my original
diagnosis is correct.
I'm now wondering about possible solutions:
(1) Having the existing charger repaired by David Brannon
(http://leisureelectronicrepairs.co.uk). He estimated c£60 plus postage
costs so a "bit" cheaper than the internet prices of c£100 for a new
one.
(2) Having an alternative charger fitted outside of the PDU but space is rather limited.
(3) Fitting an additional "computer type" fan to blow some air through the new/repaired charger.
There are vents built into the PDU casing above and to the sides of
where the charger is currently located. There is, also, a large floor
vent just behind the PDU and so it is hard to see how the airflow could
easily be improved without an additional fan.
I am surprised that the charger could have overheated given the low
temperatures we experienced during our recent 3 week stay in
Keswick. On the other hand it is quite close to the heater and one of
the blown air pipes runs close behind it in the bed locker. All in all,
it does not bode well for any replacement charger I may fit when we go
to warmer climes in the summer!!!
Now that I've established that the charger is "dead" I will be getting
in touch with John of Caravancare my, mobile, service engineer to
discuss the best solution.
I'm pretty disgusted both with the BCA chargers and the design of the whole PDU - hardly fit for purpose.
Any helpful comments would be appreciated.
Tim
My Bailey Senator Arizona (2006) is fitted with BCA PS276-1BC battery charger which slots into the top of the PDU housing.
A couple of years ago I replaced this as it had stopped working.
However, after returning from a 3 week trip to Keswick I noticed that
the 12v lights were very dim even when hooked-up on our drive. I
checked the battery with my multimeter and found it was flat despite
being on hook-up after our 100 mile drive back from the Lakes.
Having had problems with the charger unit before I moved on to checking
that next. The mains "kettle" plug showed 240v but there was no output
whatsoever from the 12v lead from the charger. (The "kettle" lead WAS
fully connected - I know that a loose kettle lead can be a problem but
mine is held in with a cable tie!!!) I had taken the battery out by
this time to put it on charge - does it need a battery to be connected
to get an output reading???
I chatted to David Brannon of: http://leisureelectronicrepairs.co.uk/.
He was very helpful and said that it would probably cost around £60 for
him to repair the charger. He did say that my "issue 14" model was
supposedly a model that had been revised so that the fan cut in earlier
to prevent overheating.
I think that an inherent problem is that the ventilation in the fuse box housing is very limited.
I'm now in a quandary as to what to do. The cheaper new replacement
BCA unit I could find on the internet costs c£110, with delivery, but I
don't want to be spending that every couple of years.
My electrical skills are not really up to fitting an alternative type of charger in better ventilated position.
I replaced the battery in the caravan today having charged it in the
garage for 24 hrs with my Halford's smart charger. The battery gave a
reading of 13.3v on my multimeter. I tested the charger again with the
battery re-installed. 230 volts from the "kettle" plug. 0v on the
charger output cable connector. 13.3v on the other side of the 12v
connector - presumably from the battery. So it appears that my original
diagnosis is correct.
I'm now wondering about possible solutions:
(1) Having the existing charger repaired by David Brannon
(http://leisureelectronicrepairs.co.uk). He estimated c£60 plus postage
costs so a "bit" cheaper than the internet prices of c£100 for a new
one.
(2) Having an alternative charger fitted outside of the PDU but space is rather limited.
(3) Fitting an additional "computer type" fan to blow some air through the new/repaired charger.
There are vents built into the PDU casing above and to the sides of
where the charger is currently located. There is, also, a large floor
vent just behind the PDU and so it is hard to see how the airflow could
easily be improved without an additional fan.
I am surprised that the charger could have overheated given the low
temperatures we experienced during our recent 3 week stay in
Keswick. On the other hand it is quite close to the heater and one of
the blown air pipes runs close behind it in the bed locker. All in all,
it does not bode well for any replacement charger I may fit when we go
to warmer climes in the summer!!!
Now that I've established that the charger is "dead" I will be getting
in touch with John of Caravancare my, mobile, service engineer to
discuss the best solution.
I'm pretty disgusted both with the BCA chargers and the design of the whole PDU - hardly fit for purpose.
Any helpful comments would be appreciated.
Tim
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