Newbie electrical issues

Daveyfos07 said:


3. Would I be better lifting the battery out altogether and charging it fully with an external battery charger and if so does anyone know if these batteries are sealed or not so I know which setting to put my charger to as my charger is one from Halfords that has 2 settings, sealed or standard. It also says it is suitable for batteries up to 2L so does anyone know how big these platinum batteries are?
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If the battery has removeable caps on each cell for topping up with distilled water it's a standard battery. If it doesn't have them it's a sealed battery.
I have two of the chargers pictured below and use them for all my motorhome and car batteries (incl my 3.2 litre Audi TT battery). It'll be fine for your Platinum LB 6110L batteries.
There is no need to disconnect or remove a battery to charge it.
If a battery is difficult to access (e.g. under a seat) a remote charging lead and plug can be added and fixed at a more convenient access point.
1652028241214.png
 
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Hi folks,



So did a bit of testing today.



I removed the seat and put multimeter on leisure battery. It read approx 12.7v.



I then started the engine and it read 13.9v approximately. So all good there.



I then hooked the van up to the house.

Checked the battery and it was still 12.7v.



Checked the lead going into the charger and it was showing 240v going in so all good there.



Checked the lead coming out of the charger and got a reading of 3v. Then Checked again and got a reading of 6v. Then Checked again and got a reading of 12.9v. So I realised there is something not right with the charger.



I unscrewed the charger box and lifted it out. Its model is a Airsilicii Ar600 fuseless switching power supply. When I lifted it out it was all burnt underneath hence the sparking and the burning smell. I have attached some pictures.



I now have the charger unplugged from the MCB under the sink and lifted it out of the van. The battery seems to charge OK still when engine is running so I've messaged campers ni with a video showing the problem and asked them to organise me a new or upgraded charger.



I have 3 questions if you don't mind answering.



1. Why did this happen? Did charger/switcher just get overloaded when I plugged on kettle and switched heating on? Was there just not enough power from the generator?



2. Is it safe to just leave everything unplugged and just allow the engine to charge the battery?



3. Would I be better lifting the battery out altogether and charging it fully with an external battery charger and if so does anyone know if these batteries are sealed or not so I know which setting to put my charger to as my charger is one from Halfords that has 2 settings, sealed or standard. It also says it is suitable for batteries up to 2L so does anyone know how big these platinum batteries are?



Thanks again everyone.
I will eventually not be a newbie anymore lol 😅
Spriddler said:
If the battery has removeable caps on each cell for topping up with distilled water it's a standard battery. If it doesn't have them it's a sealed battery.
I have two of the chargers pictured below and use them for all my motorhome and car batteries.
There is need to disconnect or remove a battery to charge it.
If a battery is difficult to access (e.g. under a seat) a charging lead and plug can be added and fixed at a more convenient access point.
View attachment 615786
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That's the exact charger I have. So can I just kill all power to the van, leave everything connected and just leave it on charge overnight without damaging anything?
 
That's the exact charger I have. So can I just kill all power to the van, leave everything connected and just leave it on charge overnight without damaging anything?
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I'm not familiar with the set-up on your m/h but yes, you can charge the battery in situ and still connected. In practical terms it's no different from when the engine's alternator is charging the batteries and when driving I assume you don't turn all the electrics off.
The only caution I would add is that the overheating/burning of the onboard charger *may* have introduced a wiring fault associated with that issue but it won't be a problem for charging the batteries with the external Halfords charger.
 
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I have the switcher/charger disconnected from the van and unplugged from the MCB, hook up out and kill switch to the off position. Was able to thread the prongs from the hallfords charger through holes in the seat casing and have plugged it in via an extension from the house. I'll get this fully charged then hopefully driving will keep it topped up until it goes to campers NI on the 23rd.
 
Hi Daveyfos07, looks like you are making progress!
The battery charger may just have been at the end of life and might have failed even if plugged in to EHU, nothing lasts forever.
Did you remove any covers from the battery terminals? they should be covered, they also appear to be corroded, and would benefit from a clean and battery terminal spray. I would definately get the hover out and remove an debris, paper etc.. if there were any sparks you don’t want a pile of kindling in there!
Take care stay safe.

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Hey! No the terminals weren't covered. It's just exactly as it was in the pictures.

From searching on Google the charger I have was discontinued in 2009 so goodness knows how old it is. The new version is £350 so not too bad to replace.

Everything 12v is working 100% so I think I will top the battery up with the external charger and hopefully that will do for a few weeks until the guys at NI campers can take a look. It's booked in with them for the 23rd for a full front to back check up prior to us going to England for a week.
 
Can anyone recommend a website or supplier in the UK where I can buy a replacement charger/powerfully supply/switcher?

I've looked online and can see the new upgraded version on Airsilicii website but can't seem to find anyone that sells it.
 
These people supply and repair a whole range of Airsilicii units, apparently.
Look under 'Leisure vehicles' and 'Repair service'.
Worth at least a phone call.

Arsilicii | Apuljack Electronics

Caravan and Motorhome Control Systems for Rimor Vehicles
www.apuljackelectronics.co.uk www.apuljackelectronics.co.uk
 
Just copy and paste this into the Amazon search bar then…..

Pennine Caravan BCA Dual Stage Power Unit Transformer/Battery Charger 240v - 20amp​

 
Just looked at it. That looks almost identical to the thing I just took out except its a different manufacturer. Thanks mate
 
Daveyfos07 said:
I'll need to find out how much power the charger draws when on EHU.
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As an estimate, it will probably be between 15 and 20 amps at about 14V. So the power output will be between 15 x 14 = 210W and 20 x 14 = 280W. That's not very much.
Daveyfos07 said:
does anyone know if these batteries are sealed or not
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There are no screw caps on the battery cells, so it looks to me like it's a sealed battery.

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Yeah then combine that with kettle, hot water switch and the heating. Think I've well cooked it lol 😆.

That thing on amazon looks like it will do as a replacement for a few weeks however it's got a kettle type input lead. I've no problem wiring a kettle lead on but they are all only 10amps. Will this be enough you think to power the charger?
 
Daveyfos07 said:
does anyone know if these batteries are sealed or not
Click to expand...
Daveyfos07 said:
That thing on amazon looks like it will do as a replacement for a few weeks however it's got a kettle type input lead. I've no problem wiring a kettle lead on but they are all only 10amps. Will this be enough you think to power the charger?
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That kettle lead will take10A on the 240V input side, and that's good for 240 x 10 = 2400 watts, which is way more than any battery charger will ever take.

The charger output is 20A, but that's at 12V, so the power is 12 x 20 = 240 watts. The power input to the charger will be about the same, ie 240 watts, so at 240V the amps will be 240 / 240 = 1 amp. Due to inefficiency that will increase by about 10%, so the amps will be about 1.1A. So no need to worry about that kettle lead which will take 10A.

However you should know that battery chargers have become smarter and cheaper than the old types mentioned so far. You would be better with a multi-stage smart charger. These continuously monitor the volts and amps going into the battery, and can tell what the battery needs: full charging power, topping up, or 'float charging' to keep it full without any danger of overcharging. They can be left connected indefinitely, for months if you want.

When the built-in charger on my motorhome failed (like yours, with smoke and a crackling sound) I replaced it with a Victron Blue Smart IP65 charger, the 15A version. There are other brands available, like CTEK. They will have selectable 'charging profiles' to match it to the type of battery: flooded, sealed, Gel, AGM, or Lithium for example.
 
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Great explanation from Autorouter.
Important principle to remember is as the voltage varies the current changes with the power. So roughly speaking…
230W @ 230Vac = 1A
230W @ 12Vdc = 20A
So now I plug my hair dryer in to my invertor system…
2300W @ 230Vac
or @ 12Vdc = 200A !!!
you need good batteries, connections, and thick cables to delivery that kind of current. Always use protection, ie. the correct fuse/MCB
 
Hi Guys, so the new power supply arrived today and it is very different than the one I burnt out.

If you look at the attached images you will see on my old unit the output to the battery had a 3 pin white connector plug which just plugged straight into the van.

The new one that arrived today as you can see in the pictures has 2 leads coming out, both with 2 pin white connector plugs. It also has a white cable on its own with a 1 pin connector plug on it.

I emailed Pennine and asked them about this supply and they said it will work OK in my van. I just have no idea how to wire it in.

Can any of you advise? Can I get a 2 pin to 3 pin connector plug or what can I do to get this wee box wired in?

The van seems to work perfectly fine without the wee box so do any of you know what these wee boxes are for? Are they simply a trickle charger that I could go and buy from Halfords or do they serve other purposes?

I've attached images of my old and new unit for reference.

Thanks

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The unit you have been sent is more than just a trickle charger, it is also a transformer for 12 volt supply to lights ,water pump etc when on EHU (if you go to www.camperlands.co.uk and look at Motorhome + Caravan ,power distribution, you will find wiring information next to the photo of unit you have been sent).
Also If you look at www.bcagroup.co.uk their converter catalogue ( Pennine leisure) ,on page 20 , shows what may be a better match for your old unit ,although the unit sent to you would have much better battery charging.
 
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Yes I spoke to a guy today from Apuljack Electronics who has confirmed what you have just said. Unfortunately my van is 2008 and there is no way (without leaving it in somewhere) for the dual output to be utilised. I'm sending this unit back and I have sent my old unit to Apuljack to be refurbished. I will rarely be on EHU as our van is primarily for motocross racing but I would like a charger for when I do hook up to the house before I go anywhere to give the batteries a bit of a boost. For the meantime I will just charge the battery with an external charger and keep it topped up when driving.

Do any of you know of any cheap (ish) chargers for a 100mah battery I could use in the meantime until I get my old unit refurbished and returned?
 
The new unit I have been sent also only has 2 pin connectors on the wires for a live and a neutral. The connectors in my van are all 3 pin and include an earth. Probably not a big job for an auto spark to take a look at and sort but everyone I rang today locally has no availability until late June. I would be reasonably competent with basic electrics in my house but it is taking me a while to fully get to grips with how everything in my van works.
 
That looks like just the job matey. I'll get the kids to bed here and have a proper look.

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If the picture of the PS306-6a-bc is the unit sent to you , the mains power input connection is the black 3 pin plug socket on the left in the photo,(kettle type) the white connectors are 12v outputs from the unit ,one goes to and charges your leisure battery (Yellow + black ) and the other is 12v power supply for a distrubution/fuse unit. (Red + black ) (The single white wire is only used if a power connected warning light is fitted, ).
Apluljack normally have a quick turnaround when repairing items if you do use them.
 
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Yes I managed to figure out what it was all for. Unfortunately my van has no way (that I know) of connecting the unit to the distribution via the red and black wires. My van also has all 3 pin white connectors and the unit I bought has 2 pin. Not a big job I'm sure for a dealer to add a distribution unit in and convert the unit but I rang 3 dealers in Northern Ireland today and none have availability until end of June. I also got the feeling they didn't want to be bothered with a 12 year old van as one dealer actually refused to pass me to their technical department to ask a few questions.

I've sent my unit to Apuljack this morning and they are fast tracking the repairs for me so ill buy that wee smart charger at £80 for now, send the other one back and await my refurbished unit from Apuljack. I'm going to England next week so don't want to be without in case the unit isn't back in time from Apuljack.
 
Richard n Ann said:
Fitted this charger a couple of years ago, only £80. Multi stage and includes a gel setting 👌

12V solar panels charging kits for caravans, motorhomes, boats, yachts, marine

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www.photonicuniverse.com
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With this wee charger is it possible to cut the plug off and just connect it to the cable that goes back to the hook up unit? The cable has a European 2 pin plug on the end.
 
Daveyfos07 said:
I will rarely be on EHU as our van is primarily for motocross racing
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I use a CTEK MXS5.0 multistage smart charger. I find it useful because it charges the leisure battery or the starter battery if required, but it also has a setting for charging a small motorbike battery. This comes in handy for the two Honda scooters we carry. The 5A output is a bit slow for the large batteries, but it gets them to the same state as a faster charger, it just takes longer.

If you have one of these chargers, they are small enough to run from a 150W PSW inverter from the leisure battery, and will be fine for charging up a 7Ah bike battery without taking too much out of the leisure battery.
 
Daveyfos07 said:
With this wee charger is it possible to cut the plug off and just connect it to the cable that goes back to the hook up unit? The cable has a European 2 pin plug on the end.
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Erm 🤔 don't quite know what you mean about hook up unit, is that the fuse box? If so yes. The plugs it comes with don't matter, 🤔 can't remember what ours came with but I wired it into a 13 amp fused spur. 👍

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