Fridge/Charging question?

[Brett_Sinclair]

Hi all

I have 2 questions about charging from the EHU that I'm hoping someone might know about.

I have a 2004 Bongo converted by JAL Imports. It has a Zig CF9 and a Vitrifrigo fridge.
The Zig unit has 12V, Mains and Charger buttons.
The fridge has a dial inside that turns it on and off. If I use this to turn the fridge on then it will stay on no matter whether I turn on/off the 12V or Mains buttons. (I think this might be the way it was intended to work)

1)
However when I turn the Charger button to "on" the fridge turns off. This means that I can't charge the battery and use the fridge which isn't ideal.
Does anyone know if this sounds right or how to investigate if not?

2)
I have also noticed that when I charge using the EHU cable, the leisure battery gets charged but the starter battery does not. Does this sound right or do I have a problem here as well?

Thanks everyone, your help is greatly appreciated

[g8dhe]

The Control panels are designed for Caravans not camper vans!
In camper vans everything inside runs from the Leisure battery, not from the starter battery.
In caravans its different as the car normally doesn't have a leisure battery, hence the Charging on the control panel is setup to charger the Starter battery.
With the CF9 as I recall for campervan operation, assuming its been wired correctly, then all three switches should have be pressed downwards.
With campervans there is no need to charge the Starter battery, as its not being used.

[Brett_Sinclair]

Ok, thanks, so I will forget about the starter battery then.

Do you have any ideas about the fridge turning off when I turn the charger button on?

Thanks again

[g8dhe]

Do you not have a Manual ? Google gives many sites with it https://www.widney-leisure.co.uk/wp-con ... ssue-B.pdf

[Brett_Sinclair]

Thanks, yes I have read through that but I could not spot anything that might answer the question.
I have also attached a picture of some instructions I got when I bought the campervan (presumably they originally came from JAL imports)

I don't know anything about electrics I'm afraid but I did measure the voltage on the leisure and starter batteries, then I left the mains switch on and the fridge on for a day. After a day the leisure battery had not changed but the starter battery had gone down from 11.95v to 11.58v. So does that sound like it may be connected directly to the starter battery? Also the manual for the zig says this:
"2. The 12 volt part of the fridge is connected to the car via the C.F.9. Note that if it is
switched on when the engine is not running, there is a risk of flattening the battery. "

However the instructions (attached) say:
"Runs from 240v when hooked up and MAINS switch is DOWN. Runs direct from leisure battery when there is no MAINS. Runs until leisure battery is below 12v"

[g8dhe]

That sounds about right;
"Runs from 240v when hooked up and MAINS switch is DOWN. Runs direct from leisure battery when there is no MAINS. Runs until leisure battery is below 12v"
The leisure battery links direct to the charger, and all the 12v feeds to your devices will take power either direct from the battery if there is no charging going on, or from the charger if the charger is on, the charger will charge the battery and/or supply the devices as needed.

[Brett_Sinclair]

In case anyone else has the same problem, the problem turned out to be a blown fuse on a lead near a terminal on the leisure battery.
Now it all seems to be working as described on the instructions sheet and the fridge does not turn off when I turn charging on.