Sargent 2007 - no fan noise, so not charging?

[MH04RMV]

Hello Everyone,
I have a 2004 AutoTrail Cheyenne with 2007 Sargent unit.

All has been working perfectly, until I turned the unit off (with the unit switch) to do something...then when turning back on (with unit switch), no fan noise...so I'm presuming that it's not charging the leisure battery, correct?

I don't see any tripped MCB's/RCD's, and the unit seems to "turn on" (the light in the switch lights up, if that's any indication).
MoHo was connected up to house mains throughout (which was left turned on).

Alas, this was just prior to the recent cold snap and I'd planned on leaving the electric heating/blower on to keep pipes etc. warmed up, but I've had to leave it all turned off as I didn't want the leisure battery getting drained running the heater blower, if it's not going to be kept charged up (it all happened the day before I was leaving to go on holiday, of course).

Does it sound like something that's repairable (I see Sargent offer a reconditioning service), or would it be worth getting a newer/more modern unit out in?

Thanks in advance for any hints/tips.

Cheers,

Rich.

 

[Diabalo]

When on EHU test the voltage at the battery terminals with a multimeter, if it's around 13.5v to 14.5v then it's working. If you have solar you will need to isolate that first.

 

[DJL220]

I have the same unit and had issue after a hab check back in 2019 something to do with the low voltage charger not working. Spoke to Sargent and sent away for repair They said they would try and repair and if not would offer a discount on an upgrade. Can’t remember the costs, however looking on the website today its £167.52 and a round 5 week lead time.
Worth giving them a call to discuss.

 

[Lenny HB]

I would have thought the fan would be temperature controlled and would only run when the unit is hot when charging at a high rate and if the batteries are charged it would turn off.
Do as Diabalo says.

 

[Hoovie]

The fan is most likely as Lenny says, temp controlled (certainly is on my Sargent Unit) so will only come on heat is being generated - which will be when mains charger or split charger is running.
I find with my unit the fan is never on unless it is charging - and as I don't really use any of the charging functions, the fan never comes on - which is good as it is blooming noisy! But the fan did come on quite quickly after the charger started.

There are two possibilities if no fan running with charger on for a while ....
1) the charging circuit is kaboom! You need to put a meter on the battery, check the voltage and then read the voltage when you turn the Sargent charger on and see if it changes. On your unit, the mains charger will go up to 13.8V.
2) the actual fan is faulty.
(I guess a 3rd - still too cold, of course!)

If problem is #1, then my suggestion would be not to get the Sargent repaired but just leave the charger switch off and buy yourself an separate Mains charger. Even the cheapest smart charger will be an improvement on the basic set-voltage power supply that is fitted in the Sargent and would also be a lot cheaper.
If the problem is #2, then you need to stop using the charger until you fix the fan otherwise you run the risk of the entire unit overheating.

The other thing you might want to check is what happens with the engine running? Some of the Sargent units use the same charging circuitry for mains and split-charge - so run the engine and see if the fan kicks in (it might, it might not) and if the leisure battery voltage changes.
If you don't get an increase in voltage for either the split-charge or the mains charger, that would confirm an problem (but either way, still possible to improve on what is built in cheaper than a repair)

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[DJL220]

That’s really odd as my fan on my Sargent unit runs all the time when on EHU. To be fair I usually have the heater button on too. Will check mine today as per the above comments

 

[Hoovie]

That’s really odd as my fan on my Sargent unit runs all the time when on EHU. To be fair I usually have the heater button on too. Will check mine today as per the above comments

What Sargent EC model do you have?
I will double-check the fan situation on mine (EC325) as well later today as well just to confirm

 

[Hoovie]

What Sargent EC model do you have?
I will double-check the fan situation on mine (EC325) as well later today as well just to confirm

I just had a quick check with my Sargent Unit ...
Now it is "ON" in terms of EHU all the time as it is fed by a Victron Multiplus. I do know the fan does not come on unless the built-in charger is active.
I just turned the charger switch on (on the EC325 it is the big green switch) and turning that on, I heard the charger click on, but no fan noise. The batteries are fully charged so the charger will have little to do - however like most Sargent units it is a dumb PSU type charger and puts out a set 13.8V regardless of battery state of charge so it is not a matter of not being on. I also switched it to Vehicle Battery (that is at a lower voltage as it is maintained by an AMT12 Battery Maintainer rather than the Victron charger on float) and fan didn't come on then either.
Now a ) I only tried this for a couple of minutes as it is very cold outside so no chance for it to warm up much; and b ) it is very cold outside! So a temp controlled fan will come on later anyway than on a warm day.
I will be in the van later today probably so will give it a longer test and if I remember try and time between charger on and fan on.

 

[DJL220]

What Sargent EC model do you have?
I will double-check the fan situation on mine (EC325) as well later today as well just to confirm

Mine is a EC200 and can confirm that the fan will run all the time the unit is switched on according to Sargent. Hoovie is correct the EC325 has a thermo sensor and the fan will run at differing speeds depending upon the need.

 

[autorouter]

As Hoovie says, it's easy to tell if a battery is being charged, if you have a way of reading its voltage. If it's not being charged, the voltage will be anything from 12.8V down to 12.0V. Or lower if it has been discharged too much. If it's being charged, the charger will force the voltage to over 13.0V, possibly up to about 14.5V. So any time you see a voltage of 13.0V or more, it's being charged.

Chargers are much improved nowadays, and if you're thinking about £167 for a replacement then consider a 7-stage intelligent charger that continuously monitors the battery amps and volts, and feeds it exactly what it needs. You can get a Victron Bluesmart IP65 (hoseproof) 25A charger for £160, which has Bluetooth and an app on your phone to see all the details of what it is doing. I have the 15A version (£130) because when I'm on EHU it's usually for at least 12 hours and that's plenty to keep the battery topped up.

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[Hoovie]

Mine is a EC200 and can confirm that the fan will run all the time the unit is switched on according to Sargent. Hoovie is correct the EC325 has a thermo sensor and the fan will run at differing speeds depending upon the need.

Man, that must be annoying! Don't know if I could live with a constant fan noise (I hate ticking clocks as well )

 

[MH04RMV]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the suggestions and tips, and apologies for the delayed response as I had some last-minute travel to attend to.

I have a voltage tester, so will check the charging state of the battery on EHU and with motor running (I'm 99.9% sure that charging from the motor is fine).

Will advise on findings later.

Cheers,

Rich.

 

[MH04RMV]

Hi Everyone,
Checked the voltage at the battery using a meter and nothing is happening via EHU/the Sargent EC200 PSU2007 unit, but leisure battery is being charged via the engine.
The in-line 20A fuse by the battery is OK, as are all the others in the front of the unit.

I spoke with Sargent Tech Support, and they don't offer any kind of repair sevice any more (for this unit, anyway), and suggested replacment unit EC328 & Universal Control Panel.

Before I go down that route (or get a standalone charger like the Victron suggested earlier), is it worth drilling out the rivets and having a poke around inside the 2007 unit to see if there's a blown internal fuse/loose wire?
Or, are the chances of nausing up the rest of the (working perfectly well so far) electrics too great, and should leave well alone (to make for either easier swap of unit/connection to standalone charger)?!

If I do a swap of unit, does anyone know of a decent/reliable sparks that could swap out and connect up, that is in/near Reading?

Cheers,

Rich.