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I have a 2011 Swift Sundance 530lp. It is permanently on hookup on my drive and I have just found it has a flat battery. The charger light is on and all the 12v and the habitation batteries are fine.
I had the radio switched over (by Brownhills) to always on (but it was turned off), but thought this was not a problem as it is on hookup.
I have tried to switch manually to charge the vehicle battery but it will not change from the leisure battery.
I thought the charging unit charged both leisure and vehicle batteries switching as and when necessary automatically?
Previous to the radio change, I always have had full charge on both veicle and leisure batteries whenever I check even if it is left for weeks without being used ...I tend to leave the control panel showing the leisure batter as charging.
Please help!!
I am due to go away tomorrow...I will get the RAC to start me up, but need to know if I am doing something wrong, whether it is safe for me to have a couple of days away (on hook up) and whether it is possible that Brownhills has disconnected something...
The vehicle battery tends to go flat if you have used the remote locking and armed the alarm from our experience.
Do you have something like a batterymaster fitted?
I know that if you have that sort of technology it keeps BOTH batteries topped up on EHU.
But if you do not have that there is a switch on our Kontiki (nothing like as new as yours) which switches between vehicle and leisure battery. If you have left that on the leisure and do not have the BM type equipment AND used the alarm that MAY be the underlying cause.
One problem is that when a battery goes completely flat the battery is often damaged and will never take a full charge again (there are threads about this on here), so you may be lloking at a replacement vehicle battery if it is damaged.....
IF you can start the MH (using jump leads from a car with engine running) and/or if you can see that the switch is in the wrong place, that should get you going (I think),
hope that gives you some thoughts as to how this has occurred,
I always use the remote and it has never lost charge before.
I thought the charger charged both the leisure and the vehicle battery, but if it doesn't I have made a mistake in having the radio changed to the can be always on position.....I thought I did not need a batterymaster as the technology was built in. I hope someone here can enlighten me. I will ring Brownhills tomorrow, but they can be a bit vague.
The switch on the control panel swaps between the vehicle and leisure battery for usage not charging. I have just looked at the manual again.
most probably left your van on the vehicle setting, i was a victim of this a lot in our early days, and kept wondering what was going on.
Also check your battery connection on the vehicle, fit a battery master maybe.
I also always have an emercency power pack in the van that will supply a boost charge, got it from Halfords, especially for diesel vehicles.
Helped other people at times also on campsite, by starting their vans.
It mentions 2 types of control panel (EC467 and EC 462). Both control panels have a button to select which battery is used/charged. Suggest you check which battery is currently being charged and switch it to the vehicle battery to see if it charges it overnight.
I can't get it to switch from leisure to vehicle....it may be that it is the battery used rather than charged so it won't switch as the vehicle battery is flat.......I just need to know if the charger should charge the vehicle batter too as it clearly isn't at present!
On the MH's I have owned it has always been necessary to have the control panel switched to vehicle battery in order to charge it (veh battery) from EHU
(Pilote, Hymer & Autotrail)
The two battery system are kept separate in order to Prevent the vehicle battery being pulled down when the leisure batteries are getting low.
A quick alternative is to make up a bridging lead (thread somewhere from Clive MGTB} to connect all the batteries together when on your driveway (I do that and the solar panel keeps everything topped right up) Its dead simple to do. Basically you connect the positive terminals of both batteries via a (fused) lead. You need to remember to disconnect prior to starting the engine (or the fuse 20a blows)
The manual says that the selection of battery defines which battery is to be used for providing the power to the habitation and also which battery is charged when on hook up.
If it won't switch then suggest you check all the trips/switches on the power supply unit - otherwise phone your dealer or Sargent.
That is what I thought should happen. i have just had another try and nothing doing.
I sometimes put it on vehicle position when laid up on the drive, but mostly I forget (that is why I like everything to be automated!!). This time is different as the radio connection is different. Silly me, but I am surprised that it won't change.
I don't know what to look for on the power supply unit everything looks OK and I have just turned the unit off, then on again....would resetting it be an idea or should I leave well alone?
I tried Brownhills, but the workshop had gone home so I will try again tomorrow.
You cant alter the charging on the control panel unless the charger is set to "smart charging" when the the charger switches between whichever battery needs to be charged,you can then decide on the control panel which battery you need to be charged.
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