Replacement Battery Not Working

[MAM]

Help / Advice Required Please

I have just bought a replacement leisure battery. I was told when I bought it that is was fully charged and suitable for my caravan. When I connected it to my caravan, the volt meter in the van didn't move and the lights don't work. I've checked the trip switches and they're all correct and I briefly arc'd the battery to get a spark so I know that it has power - I'm just not getting any in the van. I can't even switch on the fridge control panel.

Is there anything else I need to do to 'introduce' a new battery? Is there a switch that says take power from the car/mains/battery that I need to force? I plugged the caravan into the car for a few minutes but I still couldn't get any power inside the van (the ATC system did come on though). I disconnected and reconnected the battery terminals to ensure I had a good connection.

Any thoughts / help would be most appreciated.

 

[Raywood]

Sounds odd if your old battery was working and a new one will not if that is the case, despite the battery having power. If you have a volt meter you could check just what the level is to make sure it has a decent charge.
You do not say what caravan you have, some models have a battery switch to go from caravan to car. and back. Do check if you have one and try both settings.
You may also have an isolator switch or button on the fuse box apart from the fuses, on ours it is on top but other models might have it on the front.
If neither of these solve it I would look at the terminal connection to see f it is loose or corroded or for a loose wire.

 

[Damian]

Short circuiting a battery is the most stupid thing to do at any time !!!!!

Use a Multimeter as that is the only true way of checking any electrical fault.

As you have shorted the battery you have probably blown the main in line fuse.
You say you checked the trip switches,,,,,,,,,the 12v circuits do not use trip switches, it uses , generally, blade fuses, which to check you need a multimeter.

I would strongly suggest you get an engineer to sort it out before you do something that you will later regret.

Also, when buying a new battery they are never "Fully Charged", they need conditioning, but most sales people omit to tell you that bit !!!
When made they are dry charged to stop the plates being damaged, the battery needs to go on an overnight charge on a smart charger.

 

[Hutch]

MAM, which caravan do you have?. That will help us, as for Flashing the battery, I think I know what you mean, a bit of wire between the terminals just to make sure there is power, Iti s a bit daft but tells you have power in the battery, as Damien states use a multi meter. But doing that would not blow any fuses as they would not be in the circuit. But Check for master fuses and also Is the master switch for the 12 volt electrics switched on.

 

[ProfJohnL]

As Damian writes, new batteries will have some charge, but its rarely a full charge.

Even a battery that is considered to be fully discharged is still likely to be able to cause a spark if teh terminals are shorted, but as stated that is not a good idea.

The symptoms you describe, suggest to me that for some reason the caravans battery connection fuse has been blown. But as to how that has occurred is unclear. It could certainly blow if you accidentally connected the battery the wrong way round even just for a fraction of a second.

If you are not confident with whats going on, it may be best to call an expert in to check it all out.