battery power (1 Viewer)

[Kent monkey]

Hi my battery is showing it's fully charged but inside the van the master switch is showing nothing and I can't turn anything on its been on ehu for ages any help please need it sorted as we are away for easter

 

[Bluemooner]

Is the master switch turned on i spent ages trying to get my tv working i hadnt switched master switch on

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard Has the master switch fused?

 

[Kent monkey]

Master switch is on.where would the fuse be for the master switch

 

[Bluemooner]

Not sure if you put what van you have somebody will come along and help

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[Kent monkey]

Sorry all new to me I have an auto quest 140.it's only 6 months old

 

[pops]

On earlier ones they had a switch just inside the habitation door as well as the main master switch.

 

[pops]

Just found a video of a 2013 model, is your control panel just inside door on upper left. have you found battery charger to check if there is a switch on it. Could be under one of the seats or in cupboard / wardrobe, have you got 240v at your mains sockets.

 

[Kent monkey]

Hi yes there is 240 power.the switch is just inside the door. The battery is showing 13.6 if I put a meter on it.its just not showing anything inside the van

 

[GJH]

Is there a Aux/Veh switch on the control panel? If there is it should be set to Aux.

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[bertiebasset]

My Autocruise isolates the habitation electrics when the engine is running. Just a thought.

 

[peterc10]

If it is only 6 months old I would phone the dealer. After all it is still under warranty

 

[pops]

I agree with peterc10, Have you checked all the fuses. there should be a battery fuse, it could be near the battery or in the fuse box.

 

[Kent monkey]

Have checked all the fuses all ok.spoke to the dealer he said dont know what that could be.I. Ll get back to you.so he was not that helpful
I.

 

[peterc10]

You are going to have to pay your tenner or you are not going to be able post any more. Believe me it is a good investment and has saved me hundreds of pounds with the advice I have got here.

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[SteveG]

I have an Autoquest (Marquis Majestic) 175 and the battery is isolated when ignition key is turned, or engine running. Caught me out first time

 

[Kent monkey]

Not sure if mine is the same but engine was not switched on or running when I found out I had this problem am waiting for dealer to get back to me.

 

[Flook]

Hi all, this is my first post, and this battery issue sounds similar to a problem I have at this present time.

It sounds like your leisure battery is dead. I have the Autoquest 175 Prestige, and have found if you disconnect your mains power cable so no power at all is being fed to your 140, turn on your master switch, how much power is being displayed. If it is zero, your leisure battery is dead, it may not be charging due to the charger unit having failed, you need to confirm this with your supplier.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a similar issue, this started during a cold snap in February, I had mains power to the 175, had on the internal heating and left it running for a few days, I ventured out into the cold and into a cold MH? the heating had packed up?? I checked the power on the control panel and it read zero. I checked there was mains to the MH by switching on the microwave okay. After speaking to they guy's whome I purchased it from we determined it may be the leisure battery, and the charger may be at fault.

I had permission from Elddis via the supplier to take the MH into an approved auto electricians, who confirmed the charger was naffed and changed it for me. He also confirmed there was a good chance the leisure battery was dead, he advised me what to do so when I arrived home I put the power back on and the MH power switch to OFF so the charger could do the work to the leisure battery and noting else. This was left for a few day's, I turned off the mains power which was reading just over 14v on charge. The reading with the power off was just over 12v. I did not check it again for a few days but when I did the leisure battery power was at ZERO.

I attained permission to replaced the battery as the MH supplier is in North Wales, and I am in Northamptonshire, so a shade too far to travel. This week I replaced the battery with a new charged one, did not see any reason to fit the mains cable, and left it for two days, and now this one is dead, zero reading on the control panel. Have advised the supplier yesterday, now have the leisure battery on charge for over 24hours, and will leave on charge untill tomorrow, when I will recheck the power before I remove the mains, and will again leave for two day's. I am keeping my fingers crossed it won't die again, but I am keeping the suppliers informed at all times.

Sorry my first post is not in the introductory section, anyway, I am Flook, this 175 is my first motorhome ever, I have been away only once, and enjoyed the few days I had. Sorry I say I had, there was my wife as well, and she loved the comfort and was surprised how well she slept in it.

My real name is Dave, but there are so many Dave's around, so Flook is it, as there are not many Flooks around thank goodness.

I hope you get your problem sorted Kent monkey, and your leisure battery is not like mine. Though I have a sneaky suspicion there may be an earth leak somewhere to cause this issue, and I may well have to leave it with an approved auto electrician for a few days, so I will see.

Take it easy one and all

 

[Kent monkey]

Hi floor your problem does sound similar to mine except my battery is fully charged and holding its charge my problem seems to be from the battery to the master switch the dealer I brought the motor home from is in Halifax and I. M in Kent so it's all being done on the phone at the momen they said they will talk to eddies and get back to me when I don't know.cheers

 

[Flook]

KM, might I make a polite suggestion here, get back to your supplier on Monday, give them the morning to midday, then call them around one PM if possible. I have worked in the service industry and I appreciate certain things take time, especially when they have to be looked into.

I have found out one thing about Elddis, they appear to be slow in response, I was fortunate as my problems started around the time of the Nation Exhibition in Birmingham a few weeks back, and they spoke to Elddis at the show, so Elddis pulled out all the stops.

However, should you feel you are not getting anywhere, why not contact Elddis direct, tell them you problems and take it from there.

By the way, what is the amperage of your battery, mine is 110ah and in theory should last 100 hours, though it is not said what you can/cannot use, so I would assume that is a standing time.

I have just re-read your original post, when you operate your switch does it make a click? when you turn it on! You can activate one of your other switches to feel and hear what it is like. It may just be a faulty switch.

How do you know your battery is up to full power? what checks have you done to check the actual amp hour rating?

In your van there should be a bank of switches, similar to the ones you have in houses but smaller (these are called MCB's for Miniature Circuit Breakers), these should be referenced to in your Elddis hand book. Read that book on that section, check it out to your van, see if any switch in that unit looks different to the others. If I recall correctly they should all be in the up position, so visually checking these will give you an idea of what is what. If one is in the down position, check first what switch it is by taking either a mental note or a written one. then with the main van power switch in the off position go back and flip the the switch to the up position, turn the van power switch on, check the MCB's to visually check if any have been activated. If the same one has been activated you know you have an issue with that circuit, of they are all as they should be then try the power to your home.

One way of making sure the van power can be taken off your battery is ensure your mains cable to the van is disconnected (not van side), otherwise you may be using the mains power as the power back up and not the battery, with the disconnection you will be relying solely on the battery to power up your lighting/heating and all other 12v items.

Sorry I seem to have gone on a bit, possibly said things you have already checked out. It may come down to having an approved Elddis auto electrician to look at it, if you have to wait too long, ask Elddis or your MH supplier (prefered) if they would accept if you paid for an approved auto electrician to check it out for you, and ask them if they would then re-reimburse you your cost, especially if a problem was found and rectified, especially as time for you is of the essence.

Flook

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[Wildman]

By the way, what is the amperage of your battery, mine is 110ah and in theory should last 100 hours, though it is not said what you can/cannot use, so I would assume that is a standing time.
Flook

you have a 110 amp/hr battery that should not be discharged below 50% so in fact at 1amp current draw it should last approx 55 hrs, no idea where you get 100 hours from without specifying a load.

 

[Flook]

Wildman, I got that info from a battery site. Also the replacement NEW battery went flat/zero (within 2/3 days) according to the power indicator, also no power to the lights either which was only to be expected. Spoke to the dealer in North Wales who suggested I put it on charge for a while, that was Friday so I will check the power again around 5pm today, when I will read the Voltage of the power indicator. I will remove the battery from hookup, and keep a continuous twice daily check to see what happens until Tuesday/Wednesday, if the power fails I will have no other recourse but to notify the MH supplier in North Wales for there records and ask my local MH place where I purchased the battery from to have it replaced, or have them carry out a full check as to why it does not hold its power.

However, the dealer of the MH did say sometimes new batteries are or can be duff? but I will have to wait and see.

However, as I have said in my previous post this is my first Motor Home, and I expect some teething problems but this is now like a continuous round-a-bout, and I am surprised that on a brand new MH there should be a leisure battery issue.

Wildman if you have any suggestions that I could look at to possibly rectify the problem or what may indeed be the cause then I appreciate it as you seem to know a thing or two about batteries

Flook

 

[Wildman]

take it back to the supplier to rectify and make sure they cover your out of pocket expences under their warrenty. Any number of things can be causing the problem from duff battery to mouse damage to wiring and can be expensive to get sorted. At 6 months old unless you have it parked in a field that is infested with mice that have caused the damage the onus is on the supplier to sort it out.

 

[Flook]

Thank you Wildman, the MH is on my drive and has been since the wife and I brought it back on the 4th January 15, I suspect there are no mice, as there are no tell tail signs of droppings, and I have checked all the visible places by daylight and torch light in those small places.

I think I will leave it so I prove a point to myself, also so I can satisfy the supplier of the battery that I have done all that is possible to do within reason.

I hope I am wrong, I have a sneaky suspicion there may be a slight earth leak with the MH not hooked up and the MH power switch in the off position, this would or should not cause the MCB to activate, as in theory no power should be passing through it. However I will see, and of course I will keep you posted accordingly, only if anyone is interested that is.

Hey I am getting used to using the smilies here.

Keep up the Fun

Flook

 

[Kent monkey]

Hi flook I have disconnected the battery and put a volt meter on it and it's reading 13.6 volts.whitch when I spoke to the dealer he said that was fully charged.its a 110ah and its only 6months old as we got it with the van when we picked it up. It's just a shame we brought it from a dealer at the show and they are 240 miles from our home,.but we will wait and see what they have to say this week or I will go direct to elddiss to get the problem sorted as we are not sure if we can go away at Easter if it's not sorted.will keep you all posted as to what they say

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[Flook]

Nice one

 

[pappajohn]

this would or should not cause the MCB to activate, as in theory no power should be passing through it.

The only thing which will cause an MCB to activate is an overload current at 230v ac.
an RCD will trip if there is an earth fault but only at 230v

There is no relationship between 12v and 230v...even at the charger.

No 230v ac power....no MCB trip

 

[Flook]

I like your post pappajohn, though either MCD or RCD breakers as you say only protect the 240v AC, but I have found that theory at times does not apply, though with these protection devices the low DC volts would not affect these as they do not pass DC current through them.

Sadly though there seems to be nothing that I am aware of protecting the leisure battery from earth leaks or 12v issues. This is contrary to my motorcycle which has at least one fused protector for the satnav, another for the 12v outlet aux socket, and I have introduced a 12v fuse box to the canbus system, so I could have other 12v devices attached and fused protected. Also on the bike when the ignition key has turn off the engine and removed, all 12v systems close down around 30seconds later, except for background electronics of running the clock etc, but even that does not run down the bikes 12v battery for many weeks, where as the leisure battery as far as I am aware of, has nothing to run in the background when switched off at the control panel, so the volt/amps reduction should be minute over a similar period.

I am comparing the leisure battery to my bikes one, though I appreciate it is built for a different purpose, but should still last at least two weeks off of hookup in an unused situation, should it not?

Keep up the fun folks

Flook