battery woes, fuse woes and stere-woes

spitineye · Post by **spitineye** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:49 am

just back from a trip round Skye (don't ask how the weather was

) and during that time i feel a poltergeist may be living in my bongo.

fuse from relay to leisure battery keeps blowing. it was a 25a and i replaced it with several 35a (all the shop had) and they to are blowing and the cable is only 27a. everything else in the circuit appears to be fine. it may be when the fridge is on 12v via rear socket, although the patched fuse for that is fine, fuse from main battery to relay is fine

yesterday the stereo died. everything else on same fuse is fine (lights etc), fuse in rear of stereo is fine, no wires appear to be loose.

elec mirrors also not working, but i've yet to check fuses as i just arrived home and needed a cup of tea!

any thoughts?

should i contact Derek Pakora (or whatever his name is) from Most Haunted?

thanks peeps

ps - WE SAW TERRY NUTKINS WALKING HIS DOG ON THE BEACH AT GLEN BRITTLE SITE!

dp bradford · Post by **dp bradford** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:23 pm

Mine had a puny little 15 amp split charge relay when I got it, and if the leisure battery was more than slightly discharged it would draw far more than the 15 amp limit to charge back up and would blow the in-line fuse. I fitted a heavy duty (80 amp) relay and uprated the cables and fuses. It's been fine since

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:07 pm

As per DP Bradford has said. If a puny relay and the leisure battery has become too discharged then it puts too big a demand on the charging system and blows the fuses. As a temporary measure, charge the leisure battery from the mains and it should be ok until you run it down low again.

Alternatively your problem isn't gremlins but Skye Midges. They are absolute £$%^&*£ monsters!!

spitineye · Post by **spitineye** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:49 pm

thanks chaps, i'll try that.

it seems to be charging away fine, then when i plug the fridge in to the 12v when on the move...well maybe it's a coinkiedink or summink.

i just remembered there that the mirrors are on the same fuse as the lighters

, which i had removed from the equation until i establish what is going on.
still can't think why the stereo is being a funny bugger tho

one down, two to go

madmile · Post by **madmile** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:30 pm

If you have moved the 2 main wires in the fuse box over to the leisure battery, then this covers the stereo as well.
Under normal circumstances a 30A relay should be fine. When you discharge a leisure battery completely it will blow fuses in a 30A set up. The fuse issue will be solved by using say a 70A relay and appropriate wiring, but you will probably find that continued useage in this way will quickly destroy your leisure battery anyway.
I know maplins sell a battery saver for approx £5 that you can plug between your coolbox and socket and it will cut out at approx 11.8V.
Battery management is important in a camper, and coolboxes are the cause of most discharge.

Kentish Paul · Post by **Kentish Paul** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:19 pm

By the way Spitineye........................ How was the weather?

I have been up to those parts and think I know what the answer is !

spitineye · Post by **spitineye** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:58 pm

come to think of it, the horizontal rain can't have done it much good.

i now have the stereo working. simple matter of putting the correct fuse back in. what i don't understand is that i was convinced it was on fuse 1, along with the interior lights, when it fact it seems to be on the same one as the cig lighter and mirrors

ghost i tells ya!

it has been several days now and the relay to leisure battery fuse hasn't blown. during this time the fridge has not been plugged in, so i'm sure professor fridge is the culprit, in the billiard room, with the stilsons.