No auxiliary power , lighting .

bikerman0346

bikerman0346

Joined
Aug 30, 2021
Posts
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Location
Plymouth, UK
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Fiat ducato lagan
Hello Funsters, before I go to a garage could anyone shed some light ( excuse the pun ) on this problem . Totally useless with electrickery. I have recently got my van back from a garage for an engine problem. Noticed that no power coming into van from leisure battery? When plugged into mains , all good . I have charged the leisure battery and after a week showing 13.2v on multimeter. Changed all fuses I could find , the 20a immediately off the battery and the two 13a in each of the plugs shown in pics . Also all the auxiliary fuses beneath the dining table . Previous posts suggest battery but it is showing 13.2v a full week after a charge ? I should say that although I have x2 solar panels the van was under a tree canopy for 3 months whilst they tried to fix my engine problem but that's another story . Battery probably wouldn't be getting much from the panels in that time .

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It looks like your inverter is getting power as the green led is on, assume that is what it is indicating. Do you leave it on all the time
 
Are you sure the 13.2 is from the battery and not just the solar charging up your battery?
Sounds to me that the repair people have flattened your leisure battery ( under tree and using internal power).
You really need to disconnect the leisure battery ,charge it up and then recheck it if its holding charge.
 
The 13.2v reading you are getting could be from the solar controller power to the battery , it would also be worth double checking the 20amp fuse (near the leisure battery positive terminal ? )
 
Is the 13.2 showing whist still plugged into the EHU?

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Jimbohorlicks said:
Are you sure the 13.2 is from the battery and not just the solar charging up your battery?
Sounds to me that the repair people have flattened your leisure battery ( under tree and using internal power).
You really need to disconnect the leisure battery ,charge it up and then recheck it if its holding charge.
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Ahh yes I've taken the battery out of the van and charged it in the house , held 13.2v 7 days after charging.
 
Agree looks like the inverter is on that will probably be drawing 2 amps and the voltage you are reading is probably from the solar.
Also if you have been running that inverter for anything like its rating that will have knackered your battery anyway, if you want to use that size of inverter at full capacity you need 400 ah of batteries.
 
bikerman0346 said:
Ahh yes I've taken the battery out of the van and charged it in the house , held 13.2v 7 days after charging.
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bikerman0346 said:
Yes it is
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Once charged you need to turn off or disconnect the charger then leave it an hour before taking a voltage reading after that you can put a load on it of say 5 to 10 amps and see how it holds up.

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Lenny HB said:
Agree looks like the inverter is on that will probably be drawing 2 amps and the voltage you are reading is probably from the solar.
Also if you have been running that inverter for anything like its rating that will have knackered your battery anyway, if you want to use that size of inverter at full capacity you need 400 ah of batteries.
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Oh really ? The guy who installed it was the previous owner and an electrical engineer ?? It's all been good since I bought it in 2018 .
 
Lenny HB said:
Once charged you need to turn off or disconnect the charger then leave it an hour before taking a voltage reading after that you can put a load on it of say 5 to 10 amps and see how it holds up.
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Ok sounds good , I'll try that thank you
 
bikerman0346 said:
Oh really ? The guy who installed it was the previous owner and an electrical engineer ?? It's all been good since I bought it in 2018 .
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Ok appreciate your thoughts can't rule that out as a possible issue .

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Yes I've replaced all the fuses I could find . They all appeared intact but changed them anyway.
 
bikerman0346 said:
Oh really ? The guy who installed it was the previous owner and an electrical engineer ?? It's all been good since I bought it in 2018 .
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Obviously he didn't have a clue.
A 1000 watt inverter will draw approx 91 amps at full power, the max you should draw from a lead acid battery is the C5 rate for your 115 ah battery that is 23 amps.
 
Lenny HB said:
Obviously he didn't have a clue.
A 1000 watt inverter will draw approx 91 amps at full power, the max you should draw from a lead acid battery is the C5 rate for your 115 ah battery that is 23 amps.
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Right thank you ...I think I'll pop over to my motorhome service garage and get them to check it all out . Thanks didn't know about those sort of issues.

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bikerman0346 said:
Right thank you ...I think I'll pop over to my motorhome service garage and get them to check it all out . Thanks didn't know about those sort of issues.
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Just to ask ? Is it usual to have absolutely no power coming in at all if there was even some charge left in the battery ? The power panel is dead when on auxiliary? Absolutely fine on the mains .
 
The date on your leisure battery appears to be Dec 2014 making it 8 years old. That is very old for a lead acid leisure battery, even one without the stress of an inverter. Add an inverter and battery life is greatly reduced.
Personally I would replace a lead acid battery at 3 years old as we worked them quite hard - rarely on EHU!
 
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arthur49 said:
The date on your leisure battery appears to be Dec 2014 making it 8 years old. That is very old for a lead acid leisure battery, even one without the stress of an inverter. Add an inverter and battery life is greatly reduced.
Personally I would replace a lead acid battery at 3 years old as we worked them quite hard - rarely on EHU!
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Ok good advice all round ...will do . Thanks to all for your help .
 
bikerman0346 said:
Just to ask ? Is it usual to have absolutely no power coming in at all if there was even some charge left in the battery ? The power panel is dead when on auxiliary? Absolutely fine on the mains .
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The panel might cut off the power if the voltage drops below a minimum value. However that value is usually quite low, maybe 10.5 to 11.0V. So if the battery voltage is above that, you should get some power to the panel.

Is there a separate 12V fusebox and panel, or are the fuses built into the panel? It definitely sounds like there is a blown fuse, loose connection or even a switch that someone has turned off and not switched back on again. Or a wire that's dropped down when disconnected and not been reconnected.

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autorouter said:
The panel might cut off the power if the voltage drops below a minimum value. However that value is usually quite low, maybe 10.5 to 11.0V. So if the battery voltage is above that, you should get some power to the panel.

Is there a separate 12V fusebox and panel, or are the fuses built into the panel? It definitely sounds like there is a blown fuse, loose connection or even a switch that someone has turned off and not switched back on again. Or a wire that's dropped down when disconnected and not been reconnected.
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Yes I think so but I cant find anymore fuses . Think I'll I'll get it checked properly. Thank you
 
Many of our old Motorhomes had a feature tat switched off all habitation electrics when the ignition was on. It was a real pain if you wanted a reading light on in the back while driving. Maybe some kind of relay has failed on yours. Just a thought
 
Blaydon said:
Many of our old Motorhomes had a feature tat switched off all habitation electrics when the ignition was on. It was a real pain if you wanted a reading light on in the back while driving. Maybe some kind of relay has failed on yours. Just a thought
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Still the same on most UK built motorhomes.
 
Blaydon said:
Many of our old Motorhomes had a feature tat switched off all habitation electrics when the ignition was on. It was a real pain if you wanted a reading light on in the back while driving. Maybe some kind of relay has failed on yours. Just a thought
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Thanks Blaydon worth a try ...currently motorhome electrician thinks it may be the panel board circuit that's failed on the auxiliary side . Unfortunately the company which made them no longer exists . Will let others know of outcome incase it's of help to people with a similar issue. I am awaiting for A38 caravans/ Caradoc to get back to me .

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