Problems with leisure battery

[JamesD]

Hi All. First shout for help.

My van is two months old and I have a problem with power from my leisure battery.

The scenario is that while I was driving home one day and had put the system in to power the fridge. When I got home the fridge was off and the system looked as though it was flat and no power

So I charged the leisure all day (noting that everything worked when I was hooked up) But when I removed mains and tried again the system was flat and no response from the control panel

Weirdly the gas heater starts but after a minute or two shows an error on the screen. H86 I think

I’ve checked the trip switches and they are all on?

Any thoughts?
Fuse?
Faulty part of the system

 

[Deaky]

We need a bit more info @JamesD

Do you have a control system, if so which one. Maybe post a pic

How is your LB charged while driving

can you measure the voltage directly at the LB terminals when nothing is connected and again when it’s being changed and post the values here.

 

[Dellmassive]

As @Deaky said..

Post some pics so we can see what you got and help.

Pics of batteries, control panels and wires etc.

 

[JamesD]

As @Deaky said..

Post some pics so we can see what you got and help.

Pics of batteries, control panels and wires etc.

Thanks will do. Might be tomorrow morning due to work commitments - But thanks for the reply.

 

[Eclipse Custom Vans]

Hi, I would contact he convertor in the first instance, probably a simple thing if the van is new and they can provide help.

It sounds obviously that the LB is not charging, however it could simply be the fuse to the fridge.

Now, is it not charging on hook up or not on engine run also? Do you have a charger fitted, 240v and/or vehicle run? You should have these in a conversion typically. So you need to determine why the battery is not charging, could be a fuse, there may be a fused isolator for the 240v side input on charger, this could be blown or even switched off. The fridge will also have a fuse.

I would say it’s a simple fix, fuse related, but could not rule out faulty component.

As mentioned a few pic etc would help,

Rgds

Ian

 

[JamesD]

Thanks all. Photos to come when I’m back home. Much appreciated.

 

[JamesD]

So here it is

The pictures are not good as it’s a very cramped space.

One addition is that I can still not get the control unit to turn on but I can get the heater to start for one minute and then I get this error message. Not sure if that’s connected but at least it’s getting power.

I’ll try and get an AMP meter over the weekend.

Thanks all

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Webasto H84 is low voltage. If it hasn't been set up correctly it will be at the default of 10.5v. ( I set it to cut out at 12.1v when I set one up) If at default your battery is flat as hell.

 

[Eclipse Custom Vans]

Looks like all the right components so id say a fuse problem. I'd check all fuses first

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Webasto should be wired directly to the battery which is why you are seeing power, albeit low, there.

 

[JamesD]

Thanks. So I’m told by the converters that they think faulty leisure battery. That sounds logical from what your saying.

 

[Eclipse Custom Vans]

Possible but unlikely battery has just failed. How old is battery? More likely not charging and then this has made the battery fail. If battery is charging ok via testing and battery not holding charge so faulty - unless you have a major drain on battery. If not charging via testing id resolve that first.

I've seen poeple come to me saying battery faulty, replaced 3 times, only to find fuse blown and therefore not charging. Cheers

 

[Salty Spuds]

When the engine is running, does the Sterling charger light up?

 

[JamesD]

When the engine is running, does the Sterling charger light up?

No. It doesn’t actually. I checked that today. How should I go about checking fuses?

 

[JamesD]

Possible but unlikely battery has just failed. How old is battery? More likely not charging and then this has made the battery fail. If battery is charging ok via testing and battery not holding charge so faulty - unless you have a major drain on battery. If not charging via testing id resolve that first.

I've seen poeple come to me saying battery faulty, replaced 3 times, only to find fuse blown and therefore not charging. Cheers

That’s interesting g the battery is brand new. And it did work for 3 weeks and the. Seemed to stop during a drive home.

 

[Salty Spuds]

No. It doesn’t actually. I checked that today. How should I go about checking fuses?

Dunno without knowing how your wiring is configured. I would expect a meaty fuse close to the van starter battery that feeds the Sterling charger. There will also (possibly) be an ignition feed into the charger with another fuse. You need to trace these & check them.

 

[keith baker]

I had a similar problem fixed by reseating one of the fuses in the sterling unit. Mine was set to turn on at 13.6v so I charged the van battery till it reached that point and no lights came on. A bit of wiggling of the fuse and it fired up. I've changed it now so it fires up at 13.1v.

 

[JamesD]

Dunno without knowing how your wiring is configured. I would expect a meaty fuse close to the van starter battery that feeds the Sterling charger. There will also (possibly) be an ignition feed into the charger with another fuse. You need to trace these & check them.

I’ll check all the fuses in the main habitation area today. Should I check all the normal van fuses too?

 

[Nigel W]

Just a thought before you start pulling fuses has the Sterling got itself in a twist?
Below is a YouTube vid on how to do a reset which may be worth trying assuming you have power going to the unit

 

[JamesD]

Just a thought before you start pulling fuses has the Sterling got itself in a twist?
Below is a YouTube vid on how to do a reset which may be worth trying assuming you have power going to the unit

Hi. Thanks for that link. When I put the system on the mains. (Which is the only way to get power to the leisure area) no lights come on the Sterling unit at all. Should there be?