Caravan Battery we think is dead even though we have solar

[Saxo Appeal]

I think the green light should be solid green AND the red/amber lights should be off. If the red lights are still showing, then the battery isn't fully charged.

It was 100% Solid Green and all the other lights off when I disconnected it from the Smart Charger

 

[otherclive]

I think the green light should be solid green AND the red/amber lights should be off. If the red lights are still showing, then the battery isn't fully charged.

That’s right, as the battery charges the green light comes in and pulses. This can last for quite a while as the NOCO is optimising the battery. When optimisation is complete just a steady green light shows and the NOCO is then “ maintaining “ the battery.

 

[birdman101]

Your controller showing battery LOW when a fully charged Battery is connected points to either the Yellow fuse under the controller blown or the Yellow 20amp fuse on the Sargent consumer unit circuit board connection E9,blown. Either of these blown will have disabled the solar module reading the Battery voltage to know if it is charged up or needs feed to charge
Presume the 20amp Battery fuse has not blown and 12 volt things in the caravan are working when the mains charger is off or you are not on hookup.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Just off the phone to the elec specialist at the dealership

Told him what I had tested working with JTQ, and the last part when I mentioned there was no Voltage with the (-) and positive wire sitting out, he immediately said that’s definitely not right, and said it seems like a faulty panel.

He also mentioned that Swift fit 2 different panels, one which is light and flexible but sits slap bang on the roof, or another which is raised. He said the one slap bang can bring faults as the area it sits in can accumulate with water and with the frost every year faults can happen etc. He much prefers the raised for obvious reasons. He checked my VIN and confirmed I have the light/flex type.

He’s off now to speak to the service dept. and will book this in for a warranty repair. So I’ll fit the battery back (ensuring everything is off), if it’s flat by the time the caravan is with them, they will deal with it.

 

[otherclive]

Just off the phone to the elec specialist at the dealership

Told him what I had tested working with JTQ, and the last part when I mentioned there was no Voltage with the (-) and positive wire sitting out, he immediately said that’s definitely not right, and said it seems like a faulty panel.

He also mentioned that Swift fit 2 different panels, one which is light and flexible but sits slap bang on the roof, or another which is raised. He said the one slap bang can bring faults as the area it sits in can accumulate with water and with the frost every year faults can happen etc. He much prefers the raised for obvious reasons. He checked my VIN and confirmed I have the light/flex type.

He’s off now to speak to the service dept. and will book this in for a warranty repair. So I’ll fit the battery back (ensuring everything is off), if it’s flat by the time the caravan is with them, they will deal with it.

Looks like you have found yourself a good dealership. Hope they can fix it.

 

[Saxo Appeal]

Very much so Clive, they have been really good with us.

Bit of a distance to travel to get the caravan with them (over the fourth road bridge) but it’s certainly worth it.

 

[JTQ]

Thanks JTQ,

Just out of curiosity, would this be the box which is from the Solar Panel to the Battery fuse, which was connected to side of the Sargent main Fuse box?

Looks like a plethora of screws to get into this cage though…

View attachment 10078

No, that unit appears to be the charger Sargent supplied to recharge the battery from mains electricity whilst on an EHU, and nothing to do with the solar system.
Others familiar with the kit you have ought to be able to guide you.

Edit: it seems the "team" already are helping you. As the dealer said you getting nothing like an acceptable open circuit voltage from your panel's feed at the solar controller , is as I said completely wrong. That it is a flexible panel, I have to say having fault issues comes as no great surprise to me either As they, I way prefer in this application the solid glass sheeted type of panel for reliability reasons; pity they are also heavier.
Glad it seems to be getting sorted.
Re the battery, if it fails to hold close to even the poor 12.55V for many more days, then its past its sell buy date.
Then IMO you might be better buying a replacement from a major battery dealer than the caravan workshop. Their massive turnover of stock is decidedly more likely to play out in your interests than the risks of purchasing further down the retail chain as a caravan dealership, and like for like cheaper.

 

[Martin_E]

One of the easiest cheat ways to test the solar panel is with a 21w bulb with wires soldered onto the outer case and the solder base, disconnect the solar panel from the controller and connect the bulb wires to the panel wires, if the bulb on a sunny day lights up nicely the pane is ok, if all you get is a glow it’s more than likely the panel

 

[birdman101]

If you put a meter on the two wires from the solar panel after disconnecting them from the controller,depending on level of light, you usually get around 19 v or higher. If so the panel is working.

 

[Martin_E]

@birdman101 this is true, but it needs testing under load to show it’s working as it should. This is info gained from Sargent when trying to sort out where an issue was in the system

 

[AndrewAventura]

This ok?

View attachment 10077

I know there's been a few further comments since Saxo posted this, but generally along the lines that with the panel open circuit as it seems to be here then a voltage of 19V or higher is expected, and that the multimeter display in this photo indicates practically nothing. But surely the displayed value of OL indicates out-of-range, so that it's sensing something above 20V?

Please shoot me down if I've misunderstood!

What does the multimeter show if you have it set at the 200V range rather than 20V? (With the connections as you have them in this photo, plus also with the panel seeing decent daylight)

From everything you've described, isn't the problem just that you forgot to switch the 12V system 'off' via the black push button on the power control unit when you put the van into winter storage? The battery will discharge relatively quickly if you leave it 'on'.