Electrical Board

[Verteuil Man]

Morning all

We have just returned from a couple of months in France without the motorhome. A couple of weeks ago our neighbour contacted us to say the alarm was making an intermittent beep. He switched it off with the fob and it would not reset. I surmised it was a flat cab battery.

Went inside yesterday and looked at the electrical board to have a look at the voltages. I assumed (I know that is very dangerous) that this one is the habitation battery.

And this one is the cab battery.

When I checked the cab battery it indicated 13.4 volt. However nothing cab side would work. I checked the level with a multimeter and it was 2.4 volts. Flat.

Are the battery gauges any good?

 

[denisejoe]

Is the 2.4 volts with it on charge

 

[Verteuil Man]

Is the 2.4 volts with it on charge

Hello. Thanks for the reply. The 2.4 was the level it was at before any other checking. I have since put the battery on charge and all is fine.i was just confused the the electrical board showing 13.4 volt when it was clearly flat.

 

[autorouter]

Check the big fuse (maybe 50A) just next to the leisure battery, if that's OK check the small 2A fuse next to it.

The board gets its reading from the thin sensor wires with the 2A fuse. If the fuses are blown or there's a bad connection, the board will probably read the output of the mains charger, which is about 13.4V, if EHU is connected, as indicated on the board. Or the solar controller output if you have solar.

 

[denisejoe]

That will be the charge thats being put in by the charger battery probably not good any more leave on charge for a day then disconnect leave for a couple of hour then check voltage again

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[autorouter]

For the cab battery, there's a couple of fuses right next to the battery. A big one, maybe 50A. Also a smaller one, maybe 20A, that takes power to the fridge 12V heater element while the engine is running. It is also used by the board to get a reading from the cab battery. So although it might at first sound irrelevant, check if your fridge is working on 12V while the engine is running.

 

[Verteuil Man]

Check the big fuse (maybe 50A) just next to the leisure battery, if that's OK check the small 2A fuse next to it.

The board gets its reading from the thin sensor wires with the 2A fuse. If the fuses are blown or there's a bad connection, the board will probably read the output of the mains charger, which is about 13.4V, if EHU is connected, as indicated on the board. Or the solar controller output if you have solar.

Hello

Both of the fuses test fine.

 

[Verteuil Man]

That will be the charge thats being put in by the charger battery probably not good any more leave on charge for a day then disconnect leave for a couple of hour then check voltage again

I have now disconnected the battery charger.

 

[Verteuil Man]

For the cab battery, there's a couple of fuses right next to the battery. A big one, maybe 50A. Also a smaller one, maybe 20A, that takes power to the fridge 12V heater element while the engine is running. It is also used by the board to get a reading from the cab battery. So although it might at first sound irrelevant, check if your fridge is working on 12V while the engine is running.

I have checked both of those.mthe 50 amp is fine. The 20 amp looks OK but does not pass continuity test. Halfords here I come.

As an aside. A lot has been asked before about cab battery charging whilst on hook up. Do Hymer charge systems charge both batteries?

 

[GeoffnDee]

I think you will find that the 20amp fuse at the starter battery which is for 12v fridge heater element operation with the engine running is also used for mains charging of the starter battery when on EHU (if this fuse is faulty , the fridge 12v cooling will not work with the engine running, as autorouter has pointed out , and the starter battery will not be charged when on EHU)

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[Verteuil Man]

I think you will find that the 20amp fuse at the starter battery which is for 12v fridge heater element operation with the engine running is also used for mains charging of the starter battery when on EHU (if this fuse is faulty , the fridge 12v cooling will not work with the engine running, as autorouter has pointed out , and the starter battery will not be charged when on EHU)

I have changed the 20 amp fuse and started the engine. There was only just enough power to turn it over. Fridge runs on 12 volt. Mrs B had said a couple of times in the past that she could hear clicking, so that is sorted.

New problem now. Red cog on display.

 

[1967bowesj]

That’s usually a transmission symbol.
Is you van an automatic?
Or could be telling you to reset the time and date as battery been disconnected.

 

[Verteuil Man]

That’s usually a transmission symbol.
Is you van an automatic?
Or could be telling you to reset the time and date as battery been disconnected.

Yes it's got the Comfortmatic. I have set the date and time which zeroed when I checked the fuses. I have left it on EHU and give it a go tomorrow.

After the engine had been running a while the red symbol starting alternating with the Frost warning symbol. It must have a hangover.

 

[1967bowesj]

Possible that the sensors don’t like a low battery, makes the box a bit twichy lol.
See if it clears after a full charge.

 

[Verteuil Man]

Possible that the sensors don’t like a low battery, makes the box a bit twichy lol.
See if it clears after a full charge.

It has been on EHU for a couple of hours and the battery level is reading 12.7 volts. I will see what it is in the morning.

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[Verteuil Man]

A quick update.

I have been to my local Iveco Commercial agent and they have cleared the faults, found a faulty switch which is going to be fitted tomorrow and uploaded an updated Fiat management software. So far I have not paid anything but that may change tomorrow.