Built in charger - replacement

[Gagakev]

Your knowledge required yet again!

Had the van serviced today by mobile engineer, he checked the charger and found it is not charging the battery.

Think it it located behind the control panel at present and he suggested buying a separate one and putting it under the front seat.

Would this be an option, think I would prefer it in it's original position if poss.

Any idea's where I could source a reasonably priced one.

Current model; 12 amp charger/transformer (switch mode) KT 12 SM

Control panel PMS7

Fitted in 1995 Abbey

(Engineer to fit)

Thanks for any help.

 

[Royston]

Hi , not sure what type of battery charger you have in your Abbey,

In my Bailey caravan the the charger is located within the white control panel , which is located under the nearside front seat.

On my last trip in 2009 I discovered because the waterpump stopped working that the charger had stopped and the battery was nearlly flat.

Managed to get the Kindly Warden to charge the battery overnight, need the battery fully charged as I use my motor mover to get the van up our drive.

Contacted my dealer he advised me to check the charger, as the input plug may have become loose, Switched off the electrical supply undid the 4 screws, and the dealer was right the plug which is the same shape as what you get with a Kettle the one that fits into the bottom of the kettle.

Pushed the plug back into the box switched on the mains input switch,battery charger now working.

Not all chargers vhave this type of connection

Dealers do sell the caravan internal battery chargers ,not a cheap item about

 

[SBS]

Talk to Gary at Arc Systems. He has/can get or even fix chargers that will fit in the PMS7

Mike

 

[Gagakev]

Royston, thanks for that will have a look tomorrow, ad yes there not cheap, engineer quoted

 

[gary]

Odd that you can't find me on Google but I'll save you the trouble and answer the question here.

Yes I can sometimes fix your current charger unit, this can work out cheaper in straight forward money terms.

However I'm not sure but a PMS7 might have a standalone charger bolted onto a plate on the back of the control panel instead of inside the control panel, this makes your choice much easier and fitting easy.

I can supply a 3 stage charger then that is far superior to your current 1 stage, 3 stages keeps your battery in far better nick so it performs better and lasts longer, inturn this represents an overall saving over the long term.

This particular charger can also be removed from it's own box and having an identical footprint to your original, will if required fit inside.

The cost is also 20% less than

 

[Gagakev]

Gary, sorry buddy did find your web site, you were top of the list!

Thanks for your reply.

I'm now in a bit of a dilemma as I found the following in the web;

There are various methods to see if your Manufacturer fitted Plug in charger is working.

Starting with the easiest method.

1. Turn the Car/Caravan switch to the center position. With the charger switched on you should have power showing on your battery meter and lights etc should be available.

Or

2. With the Car/Caravan switch in in the leisure battery position watch the battery meter/indicater whilst you turn the charger on. The battery level should improve.

Or

3. With all 12v appliances switched off in the van, disconnect the leisure battery (remove the battery fuse or disonnect the battery terminal) Turn on the charger. You should be able to operate lights etc in the van solely off the charger.

I have done all three checks and found no problems with it at all!!

Was the engineer trying to make more work (and money) or is there a final check I could do?

 

[xtrailman]

If your battery meter is showing 13.7 volts approx, then your charger should be ok.

So next step is to test for the same voltage at your battery, if you don't get 13v plus at your battery, you must assume that some were between the charger and battery there is a break, a fuse may be ruptured, or a broken connection, or both.

 

[Gagakev]

Thanks Ray,

So as I dont have one, my next purchase will be some kind of multi-meter.

Any advice of which type/make I should acquire?

Are they easy enough to use,which setting do I use or should they come with complete idiot proof instructions!!

Kev

 

[xtrailman]

Gagakev

All you need is a cheap

 

[Gagakev]

Ray,

Thanks for that, will purchase one some time next week and I'll keep you informed, cheers

Kev

 

[GrahamDerby]

Hi

The charger went on my Luner Lexon, i got a replacement off Ebay and fitted it myself , dead easy and saved me a fortune.

Graham

 

[gary]

Glad to hear you have half solved the problem, theres plenty of real work about without inventing it and that should go for your service guy?

Easy way to check any battery/charger operation is to switch several lights on, if the chargers already on, then switch it off, if the lights dim a little then the charger is working, if the charger is off switch it on and the lights should get distinctly brighter.

All Plug in Systems car/van switches work the same way, as you would expect, car is for running of car battery, van is for running of van battery.

However, middle is for running off charger alone while hooked up, or charging the van battery while towing, or isolation if neither.

So in your case and while hooked up, if you have lights in middle and van position then everything is fine as long as lights are the same brightness, if their duller on van, then the charger is not connected to the battery.

As for a multimeter, you can get one for a fiver and for most simple checks it will do fine, however for not a lot more you can get an 'auto ranging' meter, this means only one position for each setting, these then take the guess work out of which range to choose and therefore suit the amateur well.

Maplin Electronics is always a good place to suggest you try, they stock a good range of types and price brackets.

 

[Terrence]

Glad to hear you have half solved the problem, theres plenty of real work about without inventing it and that should go for your service guy?

Easy way to check any battery/charger operation is to switch several lights on, if the chargers already on, then switch it off, if the lights dim a little then the charger is working, if the charger is off switch it on and the lights should get distinctly brighter.

All Plug in Systems car/van switches work the same way, as you would expect, car is for running of car battery, van is for running of van battery.

However, middle is for running off charger alone while hooked up, or charging the van battery while towing, or isolation if neither.

So in your case and while hooked up, if you have lights in middle and van position then everything is fine as long as lights are the same brightness, if their duller on van, then the charger is not connected to the battery.

As for a multimeter, you can get one for a fiver and for most simple checks it will do fine, however for not a lot more you can get an 'auto ranging' meter, this means only one position for each setting, these then take the guess work out of which range to choose and therefore suit the amateur well.

Maplin Electronics is always a good place to suggest you try, they stock a good range of types and price brackets.

if you are testing your battery , you will need a drop tester...alternative is to remove battery & take to a battery shop & test

 

[Gagakev]

Glad to hear you have half solved the problem, theres plenty of real work about without inventing it and that should go for your service guy?

Easy way to check any battery/charger operation is to switch several lights on, if the chargers already on, then switch it off, if the lights dim a little then the charger is working, if the charger is off switch it on and the lights should get distinctly brighter.

All Plug in Systems car/van switches work the same way, as you would expect, car is for running of car battery, van is for running of van battery.

However, middle is for running off charger alone while hooked up, or charging the van battery while towing, or isolation if neither.

So in your case and while hooked up, if you have lights in middle and van position then everything is fine as long as lights are the same brightness, if their duller on van, then the charger is not connected to the battery.

As for a multimeter, you can get one for a fiver and for most simple checks it will do fine, however for not a lot more you can get an 'auto ranging' meter, this means only one position for each setting, these then take the guess work out of which range to choose and therefore suit the amateur well.

Maplin Electronics is always a good place to suggest you try, they stock a good range of types and price brackets.

Hi Terrence,the battery is less than 3 months old and was fully charged when fitted.

 

[Gagakev]

Hi Gary, as you said

Easy way to check any battery/charger operation is to switch several lights on, if the chargers already on, then switch it off, if the lights dim a little then the charger is working, if the charger is off switch it on and the lights should get distinctly brighter.

Also did the above and yes, as per your instructions alls well.

So I could'nt wait and got myself a multimeter, and did a test.

Readings as follows;

With charger OFF battery reading 13.1 volts

With charger ON reading climbed to 13.5 volts.

So think I'll be OK. (guess who's lost any future work???)

Once again thanks to you all, for your advice.