Leisure battery flat after two hour journey.

[mama57]

We have a Autocruise Starspirit which we haven't had long, it has a PMS5 control panel. We aren't sure what position the switch should be in to charge leisure battery when engine running. WE did a two hour journey and battery was flat, not sure if battery needs changing or if we have done something wrong. Thanks for any help.

 

[DavidG58]

Do you have a multi meter the real test will be to check what voltage is your leisure battery?

 

[pappajohn]

If it has a 2 or 3 position rocker switch it needs to be pressed at the hab position (or the pictogram of the habitation area)
The cab (or pic of cab) will charge engine battery.
The center (if available) is off but will power 12v from charger without battery

When not on hookup either hab or cab position can be used for 12v supply so if your hab battery is dead switch to cab..... But beware you don't flatten it.

 

[mama57]

Hi so when we are traveling can you confirm what position it should be switched to thanks.

 

[138go]

Perhaps it’s time to get the manual out or look for one online then you will have all the information about the control panel. Also means of course if you are away from home and no internet you at least have a manual you can refer to.

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[mitzimad]

sounds like the battery was flat when you left two hours charging wouldnt put much in whilst driving

 

[autorouter]

Hi so when we are traveling can you confirm what position it should be switched to thanks.

I hope someone corrects me if it's wrong, but I think with this type of system the leisure battery is automatically charged from the engine, whatever the switch position. There is a relay that detects when the engine is running, and automatically connects the leisure battery to the alternator/starter battery. It disconnects when the engine stops running. This is called the split charge relay.

Because there are so many possible faults/points of failure, a little basic troubleshooting will go a long way. First thing to establish is, is the leisure battery really flat, or is it a bad connection/fuse that's stopping the power.

Get a multimeter, any old cheap one will do the job. Set it to Volts. If it's not autoranging, set the range to 20 volts. Check it's doing DC, not AC. Switch everything off.

Put the red probe on the battery positive terminal, and the black probe on the battery negative terminal. You should get a reading between 13 volts (good) and 10 or 11 volts (not good).

That's just the start of the process, so if you can do that and let us know the result we can go on to further simple tests.

 

[tonka]

As Mitzimad says..

2 hours is not really long enough, really it would have been best to have put the battery on charge at home prior to leaving.
With a used s/hand van you are never certain how good the battery is or what abuse it has had, so you could have a crap battery even if you were shown it all working when you bought it.

The position of the switch I think is only important when you come to use the batteries and take power out, the alternator should automatically charge once the engine is running. Unless you have another issue with the alternator / relay.

 

[mama57]

Hi autorouter, we had battery on charge yesterday and hubby just checked it reads 12volts, thanks for all your help.

 

[autorouter]

OK, leisure battery is not totally flat, at least. Next test is, does the alternator charge the leisure battery when the engine is running.

Measure the leisure battery voltage with the engine stopped. Then start the engine and measure again. The voltage should step up from 12 volts to well over 13 volts. 14.5 volts would be good, but if the battery is fairly flat it will take some time to reach that. The important thing is, does the voltage step up. If not, the alternator is not trying to charge the leisure battery.

If you're not sure how it should look, try the same thing on the starter battery. The starter battery voltage should step up when the engine starts. This will verify that the alternator is working OK.