Leisure battery

[cruickie46]

I have recently had a problem with my car battery going flat overnight and took it to my local garage to fix.
The car battery was disconnected but still there was lights on and the engine could be turned over but insufficient power to start.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[wonkanoby]

do you have one or a north japan twin starter set up

a leisure battery is not usually in sstarter set up

[cruickie46]

Thanks Tribal Elder, only one but have a full conversion, fridge erc and this has only happened recently.
I have my Bongo for two years and no trouble until now

[g8dhe]

Sounds a bit odd that your L/B charging system is allowing current to be drawn from it for starting, I know that one of the Zig units implies that it does parallel the batteries rather than isolate them and charge them separately, but that might be the cause of the problem perhaps.

[cruickie46]

Thanks for that Geoff, can the zig unit be replaced and would this fix the problen?

[g8dhe]

You wouldn't replace the Zig unit as such, its the main panel normally, which one do you have ? As I say only one of the designs I think implied that they paralleled the batteries, but that is probably only in one of the many switch combinations possible. Do you have any more details of the setup as otherwise we are making a lot of assumptions about the possible problems that might occour?

[cruickie46]

Hi Geoff, The only details i have is the control panel and it is a ZIG CF9.
Does this mean anything to you
Regards

[westonwarrior]

Could this be a relay between the batteries fused shut causing the "back drain"

[g8dhe]

Yup the manual if you don't have one is here and yes the CF9 is designed more for Caravans than Motorhomes, hence if you leave the switch in the Car position (to allow charging) then it also means that it will parallel the batteries up and allow the L/B to be drained by unintended engine loads if the engine isn't running (A caravan will normally be disconnected from the car when its parked hence it doesn't matter) see Para 9 where it warns you of this! Its best to only switch to Car when your actually about to drive away and then switch back when on site to Caravan, and if you have it plug into the EHU. This is why most Motorhomes use the Voltage Sensitive Relay (VSR) approach as it means it does the switching in/out only when the engine is actually running, rather than leaving it to the human to remember to switch everytime)

[cruickie46]

Hi Geoff, Thanks for your help. When driving i have the leisure battery switch down, mains on charger and fridge only and charger switch up and when on site, E H U on mains on and charger switch down.
Is this correct and is it a big job to change to VRS?
R egards

[g8dhe]

I don't have a CF9 myself, and the pictures on those manuals aren't good enough to work out the switch positions you mention!
Probably not to difficult to modify, it would just be a case of cutting the wire that parallels up the batteries in the Car mode, and then adding a Willinton relay kit from Ebay to handle just the Charging aspect, I guess they have already (as part of the conversion) moved the internal lights/radio/blinds etc. across to the L/B side? I don't have a full circuit or layout of the CF9 so I wouldn't want to try to suggest without seeing one.

If you can tell us (the forum) which converter and version of the conversion then someone may well know the specifics for that ?

[cruickie46]

Hi Geoff, My Bongo conversion/converter was installed by JAL in Worcester if anyone is familiar with this install.
Regards

[Simon Jones]

I've got a CF8 which I leave on 'site' mode all the time to keep the batteries isolated from each other. A separate split charge VSR connects the leisure battery to the starter battery while the engine is running. Works very well and gets round one of the limitations on the Zig unit.

[Jaws]

Hi Geoff, My Bongo conversion/converter was installed by JAL in Worcester if anyone is familiar with this install.
Regards

I am familiar with this set up. As Geoff has suggested it is probably advisable to install a Willinton-type charging arrangement at the front end of the van and disconnect the link from starter to leisure battery at the back of the Zig CF9 installed at the rear.

Again, as Geoff points out the Zig CF9 is primarily designed for use in a caravan and interpreting the instructions when installed in a 'motorhome' is bad enough. Trying to sort it out when the suggested wiring has been modified is very time consuming as some have discovered.

I and others have posted about this before. Try searching for Zig CF9 on the forum.

All that said, I would be amAzed if a link from LB via Zig to starter could turn the engine over without blowing a fuse or melting something. Curious