Leisure battery issues??

Flook

Flook

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Chelveston, Northants
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Elddis Autoquest 175
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Since 4th January 2015, first registered in January
Hi, some of you may recall a similar post I made about being ‘brain dead’. That was where I found a switch had tripped in the MCB box, the leisure battery was dead and no lights etc working. I asked if anyone had a circuit diagram. Unfortunately know one did, but I did have useful comments.

Now an update. I have a full 240V in all sockets (good), but I needed to check out the 12V side. With an old car battery connected up, I checked out the 12V side to be working fine. So my way of thinking then was the leisure battery charger may well be down. This had happened to me when the van was new, and the charger unit had to be replaced. The charger unit model number is PS276-1-BCSM.

In order to confirm in my own mind this had failed, with my trusty car battery at 12.6v in place, 240v power on, MCB switch on, I checked the leads to the battery. Same voltage 12.6v, now to me this suggests this charger unit has failed.

I have read online that this particular model of charger is known to be unreliable, is this true?

I have looked on the internet and come across ‘Apuljack Engineering Ltd’. Are these a reliable company?

Your help and suggestions would be appreciated.

Flook
 
I bought one of Apuljack Engineering's versions of the PS276-1-BCSM when it looked like our EHU charger had failed.
Very good company and a very good product, but over £200 when you add on delivery.

When I went over to lithium I had to change the EHU charger and I bought a 20A Victron Blue Smart IP22 charger which come in at about £170 and it fits
nicely into the space that the PS276-1-BCSM previously occupied. The IP22 is a 4 stage charger and is suitable for all battery types and you can configure your
own battery perimeters via the bluetooth app.

By the way I have a circuit diagram for the BCA power distribution unit.
 
If you need a replacement charger there are various types listed in the classifieds.
 
I have used Apuljack in the past and found them very helpful on the phone , I think they may be able to test your charger for you and repair it if needed.
 
Paul, I have had a quick look at the one you suggested, it is an option thanks.

Roger, I will look in classified, thanks.

Geoff, I confess I am inclined to go with Apuljak, cost is off putting though.

Thanks guy's

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Just checked out classifieds, nothing there. Worth a visit though.

I have been checking out the Victron blue smart as suggested. It needs a 13a socket, could be difficult to find a socket unless I sort something out with some re-wiring under the seating. I see they have three live sections and one neutral. Seems I would have to cut off the plug with the red and black wires fit, strip these and fit the bare ends into the relevant sections. Mmmm I will have to give that one some thought, as I do not fancy playing about with any wiring at present, though some advice would be welcome.
 
They are on e-bay for £112 brand new.
 
If you want a direct plug in replacement the e-bay one would do it, but although the Apuljack one is more expensive, it has improved features which should stop you having to replace the charger yet again in the near future.
 
Thanks G. I have been reading about these chargers (the one in the van that has failed), it seems this is an issue with this particular model. It has struck me a decent car charger might do the trick possibly short term.

Since posting I have been trying to do some research, so all options are open including an extended mains voltage on/off switch unit with power lead to charger, or a car charger style, or an expensive way of the Apuljack, but being outside of the unit somewhere.
 
Dont forget that I think the unit is also a transformer to run the 12 volt system of the habitation side of things when on EHU, not just a battery charger. Have you tried speaking to Apuljack to see if they have a cheaper alternative option.

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GeoffnDee said:
Dont forget that I think the unit is also a transformer to run the 12 volt system of the habitation side of things when on EHU, not just a battery charger. Have you tried speaking to Apuljack to see if they have a cheaper alternative option.
Click to expand...
The PS276 is purely a battery charge to charge the hab battery that runs the 12 volt circuits on the BCA power distribution unit.
 
Unfortunately the one from Apuljak including delivery about £210. So I have to give that some thought as the hab battery is about £100/110. So expense time ugh...
 
Two on Tour said:
I bought one of Apuljack Engineering's versions of the PS276-1-BCSM when it looked like our EHU charger had failed.
Very good company and a very good product, but over £200 when you add on delivery.

When I went over to lithium I had to change the EHU charger and I bought a 20A Victron Blue Smart IP22 charger which come in at about £170 and it fits
nicely into the space that the PS276-1-BCSM previously occupied. The IP22 is a 4 stage charger and is suitable for all battery types and you can configure your
own battery perimeters via the bluetooth app.

By the way I have a circuit diagram for the BCA power distribution unit.
Click to expand...

Hi, having re-read this has got me to thinking. Do you still have the Apuljack version around? If so, how much would you want? If not, the 20A Victron you have, did you take the mains voltage from the ‘kettle style lead’, or install a socket to plug the Victron into. Also, did you remove the existing battery leads and use the Victron ones as a replacement.

The Victron one looks good, plus it can be seen working on the phone app. This has made me think it may well be the way for me to go.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.
 
Flook said:
Hi, having re-read this has got me to thinking. Do you still have the Apuljack version around? If so, how much would you want? If not, the 20A Victron you have, did you take the mains voltage from the ‘kettle style lead’, or install a socket to plug the Victron into. Also, did you remove the existing battery leads and use the Victron ones as a replacement.

The Victron one looks good, plus it can be seen working on the phone app. This has made me think it may well be the way for me to go.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately for you, I sold the Apuljack charge to a neighbour who's caravan had the same PS276 charge that had shagged his leisure battery.

With the Victron charger, I cut off the mains plug and fitted a kettle type socket to the leads so I can disconnect it if needed.
The 12v out side of the Victron charger I wired straight to the leisure battery via an inline fuse.

1615297058842.png

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Last edited:
Thank’s for that information, the photo helps as well and gives me ideas. Having an in-line fuse I did not think of, so again thanks for that. What size fuse did you use?
 
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Thanks once again.
 
The PS276-1-BCSM appears to be a power supply with a fixed output voltage of 13.8V. If so it is never going to charge a battery properly, I think you would be better off with a proper battery charger if you want to get more life out of your leisure battery.
 
The Victron charger looks the way to go. If it is good enough for Two on Tour that says it all to me.

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I have been checking out the Victron charger. I am concerned it does not come with battery cables. How easy is it to fit the existing cables to this unit.

I have also looked at cables for the unit (on eBay) these appear to be open ended at one end and fit into the Victron, and the other have mate eyelet connections that I assume are fitted to the battery via either screws or bolts similar to my motorcycle battery.

I cannot find anything related to flavor in the Victron range was it a special!

Advice on my best approach about this would be appreciated.
 
The Victron charger can be used in any number of different applications but with any number of cable lengths and terminations possible it is left to the yourself to fit the cable lengths and terminations to suit the particular setup you require.

It's a simple connection on the Victron charger and I used 6mm2 cable which is rated to handle 50 amps to my battery.
You could cut the 12 volt wires from your duff charger and connect them to the Victron charger if you want to go that route.
 
Thanks for your swift reply Paul.

I think going with what you have said, I may go the route of using my existing battery cables, once I have received the unit I would be able to see the places where the battery cables go and see if cutting the existing cables would fit accordingly. If I am also able to fit an inline fuse, then I have a relevant fuse holder and fuses to fit.

However, armed with the knowledge you have given me, I feel I should be able to sort it out. However if I should think of anything else, I will of course let you know.

You have been most helpful Paul, thank you again.
 
Thanks

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Paul, just looked at some video's online, it looks easy enough, the battery leads cut, stripped, and fitted into the base connections of the Vitron and clamped. As you say, cut the mains plug off, strip as appropriate and fit into kettle socket. 1st part done, then fit leads to battery, and connect to the main feed coming off of the unit where the old charger was and that should be that.

I hope:cool:, so what could go wrong!!!
 
I have been looking at the 30A charger, I was thinking of using this to charge the main battery as well.

Any thoughts
 
Just ordered up from Amazon the 20A 3 lead version about £172 inc delivery. Expected tomorrow, also from Amazon the socket as well. That will give me something to do.

I was thinking of trying it out on the old leisure battery first, just to see if I can restore it. I dont give much hope on that, but it is worth a try.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I note that "Two on Tour" mentioned a circuit diagram for a BCA PDU.
Apologies for being a bit of an imposter (for now), because although our unusual caravan (made by the Fifth Wheel Company in N Wales) is apparently type approved as a strange hybrid, neither caravan or MH, it is definitely a caravan - despite costing as much as many MHs! :rolleyes:
We have just switched to a 280AH Fogstar LiFePO4 battery.
For once I thought I'd take the easy, simple sensible route and just drop in an Apuljack charger/PSU with a "Lithium profile" as a straight swap for the BCA unit. This cost me £260 (by the time you factor in VAT and postage) a few weeks ago.
It turns out that "Lithium profile" is a fixed output of 14.6V.
I will probably sell on the Apuljack unit as "used" as I also happen to have a Fogstar charger to go with the Fogstar battery.
The original BCA PSU will supply 12V to the PDU when on EHU.
I know it's not as simple as disconnecting the battery charging output of the BCA unit and a changeover relay looks like it will be needed.
BCA have been reasonably helpful, but a circuit diagram would be incredibly useful as they are understandably coy about advising on any modifications to their products/looms.
I realise that the caravan and MH PDUs aren't the same, but much of the basic architecture should be similar.
Thanks

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