Leisure battery not working

Nov 15, 2023
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We bought our first caravan and am learning on the go. I have connected the electrics to the mains to test and all works. I then put a new leisure battery on and nothing works. The volt meter on the caravan does not read anything either. I did notice when I put terminals onto battery there was no spark or crackle like when fitting a car battery (not sure if that matters). 2008 Bailey senator arizona
 
Jul 18, 2017
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We bought our first caravan and am learning on the go. I have connected the electrics to the mains to test and all works. I then put a new leisure battery on and nothing works. The volt meter on the caravan does not read anything either. I did notice when I put terminals onto battery there was no spark or crackle like when fitting a car battery (not sure if that matters). 2008 Bailey senator arizona
Have you used a multi meter to measure the voltage on the terminals of the battery when it is disconnected?
 
Oct 8, 2006
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Find the in-line battery fuse . It is in the cable between the battery and the power box - on Baileys it is usually near the cable entrance to the power box. From personal experience you may have to release the power box mount board so that you can get the front of the power box off if you don't find the cable farther away in the wiring harness.
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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What sort of 'nothing works'?

Do you mean that even with the mains connected as soon as you put the battery in, nothing that used to work now doesn't?

Or are you just using the battery only - so what isn't working? Not everything in the caravan works just on the battery.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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What sort of 'nothing works'?

Do you mean that even with the mains connected as soon as you put the battery in, nothing that used to work now doesn't?

Or are you just using the battery only - so what isn't working? Not everything in the caravan works just on the battery.
They mentioned that when connecting up the battery there was no "spark" etc? I am wondering if it was a brand new battery or a battery new to the caravan? They need to check for 12v at the source which is the battery itself.
 
Jun 16, 2010
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I think you need to take a step back.
Connect the battery, find the control panel and make sure the master switch on the control panel is turned on !
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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They mentioned that when connecting up the battery there was no "spark" etc? I am wondering if it was a brand new battery or a battery new to the caravan? They need to check for 12v at the source which is the battery itself.
May or may not be relevant. Mine doesn't spark when I connect it.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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You need to establish an number of things.

Firstly is the battery charged, If its fully charged it should have a terminal voltage of about 12.8V if its below 12.2V it is not properly charged or it is faulty.

Before connecting or disconnecting a 12V battery make sure all 12V systems are turned OFF. In a caravan you should NOT get a spark! If you do get a spark it means something is still turned on.

It very important that when removing or connecting the battery to the caravan, ensure you do not accidentally cause the battery terminals to be shorted on any metal parts of the caravan. It is also important to observe the connectors polarity matches.

If you connect the battery the wrong way round, you will almost certainly blow the battery fuse (typically a 20A fuse) which is usually fitted in line with the Positive wire close to the battery, just inside the caravan.

If you are not confident with using a multimeter, then you should find someone who is to check thimgs out.
 

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