Sun Living (1 Viewer)

[intokenny]

Looking for help regarding the attached photo (i hope). the 11.5v red light at the bottom is flashing. Anyone got any ideas? Many thanks.

 

[MikeD]

I do not actually know but I assume the state of your leisure battery.

11.5v indicates it is severely discharged. ie: Flat

 

[Just smiffy]

That’s what it says on the tin....

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[scotjimland]

as said.. dead battery get it plugged into the EHU asap .. otherwise it may not recover..

After charging for 48hrs, disconnect the EHU, it should read 13v..

leave it for 24hrs then re-check.. it should read at least 12.5 V

if you have flooded lead acid batteries, also check the electrolyte level and top up if required.

 

[Lenny HB]

Time for new battery me thinks.

 

[autorouter]

I do not actually know but I assume the state of your leisure battery.

11.5v indicates it is severely discharged. ie: Flat

I agree that's the most likely explanation. But it's a good idea to get a multimeter and measure the voltage at the actual battery terminals, to see if it really is less than 11.5 volts. If you're lucky it might just be a blown fuse or a bad connection somewhere.

Batteries deteriorate very rapidly if left in a discharged state, so get it charged, one way or another, as soon as possible.

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[intokenny]

Hi folks, many thanks for all your help, & as usual you are all correct. The battery is kaput, so now i need a new battery. Its a gel battery & it seems like for like is about £ 270.00!!!! . Still got to have one. Once again many thanks. Ken

 

[138go]

Why does it have to be a Gel Battery. Who fitted the battery. Is it original equipment. If not it maybe that it’s been charged incorrectly so the same will happen to the new battery.

 

[Minxy]

Before you replace the battery you need to do some investigation to see why it went kaput ... eg is your camper's charger working, is there a fault in the system, is it simply down to 'neglect' (ie not keeping it charged up) ... or is the battery faulty (yes it does happen).

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[intokenny]

@QFour yes it is the original battery so want to keep it the same, also its under the seat in the lounge area so not able to vent, 9think that's the right term) @Minxy Girl yes i have had it checked out & the battery has packed up, i have just come home from Cornwall & all was fine whilst away, but noticed the flashing low battery light having been home for a couple of weeks.

 

[Just smiffy]

Before you replace the battery you need to do some investigation to see why it went kaput ... eg is your camper's charger working, is there a fault in the system, is it simply down to 'neglect' (ie not keeping it charged up) ... or is the battery faulty (yes it does happen).

Welcome back Mel

 

[Just smiffy]

Hi folks, many thanks for all your help, & as usual you are all correct. The battery is kaput, so now i need a new battery. Its a gel battery & it seems like for like is about £ 270.00!!!! . Still got to have one. Once again many thanks. Ken

@Lenny HB will give you good advice on what batteries you need.... you’d be a fool not to take advice from this man..

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[Lenny HB]

Hi folks, many thanks for all your help, & as usual you are all correct. The battery is kaput, so now i need a new battery. Its a gel battery & it seems like for like is about £ 270.00!!!! . Still got to have one. Once again many thanks. Ken

What size Gel is it?
Normal fit to Motorhomes is an 80 a/h they are around £140 for a Sonnenschein SL75 or about £165 for an Exide G80 both basically the same battery both made by Sonnenschein an Exide company.

 

[Just smiffy]

What size Gel is it?
Normal fit to Motorhomes is an 80 a/h they are around £140 for a Sonnenschein SL75 or about £165 for an Exide G80 both basically the same battery both made by Sonnenschein an Exide company.

When are you over tomorrow..?

 

[Just smiffy]

When are you over tomorrow..?

Opp it’s today here....​

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[Lenny HB]

When are you over tomorrow..?

Yep tomorrow 10 am Ferry should dock at Dieppe at 3 pm.

 

[pappajohn]

You could press the black rocker switch to leisure battery.
It appears to be in the central position so neither hab nor cab battery is connected to the hab electrics so the panel thinks the battery is dead.
If you were on hookup it would show a full 13v regardless of switch position.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Hi folks, many thanks for all your help, & as usual you are all correct. The battery is kaput, so now i need a new battery. Its a gel battery & it seems like for like is about £ 270.00!!!! . Still got to have one. Once again many thanks. Ken

If it is charged and used properly a gel battery is well worth the higher price. Cheap leisure batteries are false economy.

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[intokenny]

@Lenny HB the battery is a Sonnenschein GF 12 94 Y which seems to be anywhere from £260. 00 upwards.

 

[intokenny]

From what i have been told & understand when i'm on mains hookup & use say lighting n tv these take their power from the leisure battery & is replaced into the leisure battery at the same time by the mains hookup, is this correct? Also going back to the control panel when i'm on mains hookup i still have to have the 12v switch switched on, is this how most vans work or is it peculiar to my Sun Living? Again many thanks.

 

[Speve]

Also going back to the control panel when i'm on mains hookup i still have to have the 12v switch switched on, is this how most vans work or is it peculiar to my Sun Living? Again many thanks.

Yes that’s what most of us do

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[Lenny HB]

@Lenny HB the battery is a Sonnenschein GF 12 94 Y which seems to be anywhere from £260. 00 upwards.

A big one 110a/h, Gel's tend to get expensive over 80a/h. If you have space you can get 2 X SL75 ( they are actually 78a/h ) for the same money. If buying 2 Tayna will do a deal on the carriage at least or register for their newsletter and you often get 5% off voucher.

 

[Minxy]

From what i have been told & understand when i'm on mains hookup & use say lighting n tv these take their power from the leisure battery & is replaced into the leisure battery at the same time by the mains hookup, is this correct?

If you are using a piece of equipment, such as a TV, which is plugged into a 240v socket then it will take the power via the charger/hook-up, not the batteries, if however it's plugged into a 12v socket it will be powered via the batteries. The power for the lighting is taken from the leisure batteries which are then charged up by the main via the charger/hook-up. In the past it was usual to have 2 sets of lights, one set was 12v and one 240v, but nowadays there's only one lot powered solely via the batteries regardless of whether you have hook-up or not.

Also going back to the control panel when i'm on mains hookup i still have to have the 12v switch switched on, is this how most vans work or is it peculiar to my Sun Living? Again many thanks.

Yes as this controls the hab electrics, regardless of whether it's being powered by mains or battery. Even if you have a boiler/heater with a 240v electric option you still need the control panel on for it to work.

 

[pappajohn]

Did you check the rocker switch to the right of the battery LEDs re my earlier post.

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[intokenny]

@pappajohn , sorry missed your post. If i understand what your sayiing you mean the switch on the control panel? The switch on the right is either on 12v or in the middle position if you press it down it just breaks the power. The switch next to it stays in that position if you press it up it shows the charge of the engine battery & if down the charge of the leisure battery, but it actually sits in the middle. If i understand you right of course?!?!?

 

[Minxy]

You could press the black rocker switch to leisure battery.
It appears to be in the central position so neither hab nor cab battery is connected to the hab electrics so the panel thinks the battery is dead.
If you were on hookup it would show a full 13v regardless of switch position.

PPJ on some control panels (usually older MH ones) you can sometimes select to use the cab or hab batteries for power, but on the control panel the OP has it is just a simply 'sprung' switch which you press at the top to show the cab state of charge and press at the bottom to show the hab state of charge, when you take your finger off it, it always returns to the central position. The right hand switch is simply the on/off for the panel itself.

 

[pappajohn]

PPJ on some control panels (usually older MH ones) you can sometimes select to use the cab or hab batteries for power

Yep, exactly what I was thinking when I saw the switch in the central position.
I didn't realise it was just a voltage check switch.

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[pappajohn]

@pappajohn , sorry missed your post. If i understand what your sayiing you mean the switch on the control panel? The switch on the right is either on 12v or in the middle position if you press it down it just breaks the power. The switch next to it stays in that position if you press it up it shows the charge of the engine battery & if down the charge of the leisure battery, but it actually sits in the middle. If i understand you right of course?!?!?

See my reply to Minxy above.
Thought it worth mentioning though.