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leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 10:46 pm
by chipvan
hey guys can anyone cast thier expert brains on this one.. i have a twin charge willington kit
Tonight i noticed with the engine off that the inside lights were not on.
Then i just thought must be the fuses on the kit,all ok..weird
Then after a short drive home i tried again and bingo lights,radio ect all good.but then they all went again..
mmmm
so out came the multi meter with the engine running and with everything on i got 13.7v on main battery and 12.7 on leisure
then with engine off got 12.7 aprox on both
I then let the lights,raido blinds ect fail again.... and tested the leisure battery still 12.7 mmm weird..
should i just change up the leisure battery,than see what happens?? iam not sure how long it would take for it to charge by itself..
another thing is the cenrtal locking is not working either...
With all on everything i can switch on the lights ect are fine,not dim and would seem alternator is charging.....
Please help!! ahh
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:05 pm
by g8dhe
Your test results aren't clear!
Checking your Starter battery at 13.7v when the engine is idling sounds about right.

If your L/B only measures 12.7v when the engine is idling sounds correct as well, the voltage isn't high enough to cause the split charge relay to operate, the split charge relay usually needs above about 13.8-14.2 volts or more to operate.

With the engine off then both measure 12.7v that also sounds correct!

However if the lights/blinds/radio/central locking all fail then that suggests that whatever is powering them has also failed so you wouldn't be measuring 12.7v on both batteries ...... that is not right
The central locking switch fuse is also on one of the fuses switched over to the L/B that's why that fails.
Where exactly are you measuring the voltage on each battery ?
The best place is to put the probes actually on the lead terminals of the battery, not the connectors, nor any odd earthing points that are convenient - check at the battery terminals themselves!
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:20 pm
by chipvan
Thanks for you input
I took readings on the clamps that go round the posts of battery,and just done the same on the posts
central locking works when engine is on and so so all other things...
all starts and runs fine,it just seems to be on the l/b side of things..
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:10 am
by briwy
Is the earth lead from the leisure battery earthing OK? Unbolt it, give it a clean a smear with vaseline or copper grease and try again. Just a thought.
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:54 am
by chipvan
yep done that one...
not sure when the led green light on relay should come on? it seems to always be on is this correct?
not quite sure why buy i think it could be the relay...spose contact willinton for another one?
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:13 am
by Simon Jones
My Willinton relay doesnt have the green LED, but I think it should only be on when its in charging mode. It may stay in that state for a few minutes after the engine is switched off until the voltage on the main battery drops so the relay disconnects.
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:14 am
by g8dhe
Humm OK;
twin charge willington kit
What is the Twin bit about ?
How quickly do the interior lights etc take to go dim when you stop running ? I'm wondering if rather than a flat battery, which you voltage measurements say isn't the case, its a corrosion problem on connector / fuse somewhere on the L/B side causing the voltage to drop ?
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:57 am
by Velocette
g8dhe wrote:Humm OK;
twin charge willington kit
What is the Twin bit about ?
How quickly do the interior lights etc take to go dim when you stop running ? I'm wondering if rather than a flat battery, which you voltage measurements say isn't the case, its a corrosion problem on connector / fuse somewhere on the L/B side causing the voltage to drop ?
+1 I would check the main fuse on the LB harness it may be loose or corroded. Could be an internal open circuit in the LB but I think those are quite rare.
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:11 pm
by rita
chipvan wrote:yep done that one...
not sure when the led green light on relay should come on? it seems to always be on is this correct?
not quite sure why buy i think it could be the relay...spose contact willinton for another one?
I think they have had problems with some relays in the past.
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:06 pm
by chipvan
Noticed when the charge led goes on on the top of the relay then that's when all the power to stuff connected to lb goes,still no fuses blowing...
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:56 pm
by g8dhe
Where is the feed to the Willinton fuse panel taken from ? Is it actually connected to the L/B connector or is it connected somewhere between L/B and relay ?
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:55 pm
by chipvan
i contacted willinton,and he said try the earth from leisure battery...when i looked some twitt(

) when they fitted it forgot to scrape the paint off the body to get a good earth and just bolted to bodywork......
after doing it properly it all seems to be ok...not cliking off like it did
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 7:50 pm
by briwy
That's what I meant when I suggested checking it. Sorry, perhaps should have made it clear I meant checking the lead to the body connection, not the battery.
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:46 am
by chipvan
damm it,that seem look like it was sorted,but alas not cigar as yet...
Re: leisure battery charging probs,weird fault?? any tips?
Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:50 pm
by g8dhe
You say that the L/B voltage never falls below 12.7 volts, yet the power isn't getting to the devices;
So check the voltage at the fuses, both sides, measure the voltage between battery terminal and the fuse then repeat between the chassis of the vehicle and the fuses is there any significant difference ?