Inverter Connected to Leisure Battery and Caused Problem Forums

Enzo

Hi,

We are new to motorhomes, and have a 6 year old Hymer B550. We have had a few trips and every thing has been OK with the mh and both batteries etc. Got a new 12V to 230V 500W inverter today and as per instructions connected it to the liesure battery with no load on the inverter (nothing connected to the output). The black lead connected ok to black terminal, but when clipped on red lead to red battery terminal, it sparked on connection, and the inverter was not powered. Also the warning light on the battery guage panel was now flashing red. Not sure whether a fuse has been blown, or the leisure battery is flat/now busted. The battery gauge panel shows the engine battery to be full 13V and 10.5V v small movement on the leisure battery gauge.

I have put th mh on mains charge for an hour but the leisure battery has not improved.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

eribiste

Buon Giorno Enzo, Come sta?

Welcome to motorhomefacts, I hope you are getting as much pleasure out of your Hymer as I do out of mine. I'm a bit of an electrical numpty, but it sounds to me as if a breaker or a fuse has failed due to the surge when your inverter was connected. I think it highly unlikely that any serious damage will have been caused to your battery; you can't dump all those amps so quickly without heat output as well!

I use an inverter on mine, albeit only 300W, so far without problems. My inverter has a switch on it, which I always make sure is off before connection. Furthermore, I always connect the positive (red) before the negative. I think the 'no show' on the battery condition gauge also suggests a disconnection rather than a weakened/discharged battery.

Other, more knowledgable types might well comment in due course.

Hope this helps,

John

Enzo

Thanks John - much appreciated. I will check out the fuses shortly.

Vennwood

Hi Enzo,

I agree with erbiste - its unlikely to have damaged the battery. Just double check that your vehicle is wired negative earth - check the signs on the battery case by the terminal. Make sure the inverter is switched off and there is nothing plugged in to it. Connect red first then black. You may still get a small spark when connecting as this is something to do with the capacitors in the inverter holding charge. The inverter should be polarity protected and will not switch on if connected wrong. The worst would be to blow the internal inverter fuse.