Split Charge Relay Help (1 Viewer)

[Alan Coster-Mills]

hi. iv just boaght a 1997 1.9 fait ducato granduca and went away in over christmas, on one evening i found that even after putting the 12v gen to home part of my camper the starter battery went flat and i had to jump start the old dear. im i right in thinking that there maybe a fault with the split charge realy and if so does any one now where it is, i have looked every where under the bonnet and checked the fuse bay in the glove box.

 

[Boringfrog]

Get a multi meter on the engine battery with the engine running, should read anywhere between 13-14 Volts.

 

[pappajohn]

Split charge works the other way round.
It is activated by the engines alternator when the engine is running and charges the leisure battery.
It doesn't charge the engine battery when on hookup or generator.
You may also have a knackered engine battery for it to go flat so quickly.

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[EX51SSS]

 

[Alan Coster-Mills]

iv removed the starter battery and put it a charger, i did do a volt check and got 12.6v i just dont under stand how the starter goes flat when its supposed to be disconected, coud it be that the realy was faulty and not isolated the starter battery from the leisure battery.

 

[pappajohn]

iv removed the starter battery and put it a charger, i did do a volt check and got 12.6v i just dont under stand how the starter goes flat when its supposed to be disconected, coud it be that the realy was faulty and not isolated the starter battery from the leisure battery.

Doubtful, or your leisure battery would also be flat.
As I said, you probably have a worn out starter battery.
If possible, disconnect it..put on bench charger..leave on charge at least 24hrs until fully charge then disconnect charger and leave alone a couple of days...do not reconnect it.
If the voltage has significantly dropped it's time for a new battery.

Just reread your last post.....12.6v is fully charged unless you mean it was 12.6v while ON CHARGE.

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[Alan Coster-Mills]

cheers, i will do just that! thank you guys for your help

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[maxi77]

iv removed the starter battery and put it a charger, i did do a volt check and got 12.6v i just dont under stand how the starter goes flat when its supposed to be disconected, coud it be that the realy was faulty and not isolated the starter battery from the leisure battery.

Any battery will self discharge when left standing, and lead acid batteries are amongst the worst at this. Also as batteries age their ability to hold charge falls. You do not clarify how you checked the battery voltage, to be meaningful the voltage really needs to be measured with the battery disconnected from any load and several hours after connection to either charger or load. You need to charge the battery preferably for 48 hours them let it stand a few hours then check the voltage. Whilst on charge the voltage should be over 13.8

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[Reallyretired]

In addition to self discharge, most vehicles will still draw some current from the starter battery when stationary to run clocks, alarms, central locking systems, radio memories to name a few. In some vehicles this may be quite a lot.

 

[Allanm]

You may find the split charge relays under the bonnet, just above the battery. On our 1997 Ducato, there are 2x 30 amp relays next to each other and a small fuse box fixed above the battery. There may also be a couple of 30 amp fuses for the relays.
I just changed the relays in mine because the cab battery wasn’t being charged on hook up.
Depending on your control panel, there could be a switch to change over batteries ( cab or house) and the position of this switch could affect how the batteries are charged when on hook up or using a generator. I found the switch had to be on the cab battery side to charge the cab battery when on hook up.
All 12 v Power is supplied by the control panel using the hook up, obviously you need to be using the house or Hab battery when not connected to external power.