Peugeot Symphony battery charging

Hullo ladies and gents,
A query. We have a 1998 Peugeot Symphony which I use as a second car when I am home. I have been doing three weeks away and three weeks at home and Bessie has always fired up on the first turn of the key. However, it looks like my work pattern will change with me be being away for longer periods. That will mean Bessie will not get the exercise she has been used so to speak.
My query is, does the mains lead charge the starting battery and the habitation battery or just the habitation battery. I have checked the wiring diagrams in my 'Instruction Manual' but they are next to useless and do not answer my question so to speak so I am looking the the 'hive' for any answers/suggestions. Thank you.
Bessie lives at home so it is no problem to leave the mains lead plugged in and get my wife to give her a top-up while I am away.

Richard G.

applewood wrote:Hullo ladies and gents,
A query. We have a 1998 Peugeot Symphony which I use as a second car when I am home. I have been doing three weeks away and three weeks at home and Bessie has always fired up on the first turn of the key. However, it looks like my work pattern will change with me be being away for longer periods. That will mean Bessie will not get the exercise she has been used so to speak.
My query is, does the mains lead charge the starting battery and the habitation battery or just the habitation battery. I have checked the wiring diagrams in my 'Instruction Manual' but they are next to useless and do not answer my question so to speak so I am looking the the 'hive' for any answers/suggestions. Thank you.
Bessie lives at home so it is no problem to leave the mains lead plugged in and get my wife to give her a top-up while I am away.

Richard G.

If it is like my 2003 Symbol, it will only charge the habitation battery unless you have something like a Battery Master fitted.  What i do is  connect my vehicle battery up to a trickle charger which is connected to a timer programmed to charge for 3 hours a night , 3 days a week.  This keeps my battery  at a constant 85/90 % charge.

Hi,
Taurian's answer has puzzled me, because in our 2003 Symbol, we can charge either the vehicle battery or, the habitation battery.
On our control panel, the left most switch is a 3 way rocker.  Mid point is 'off' up is habitation and down is vehicle.
I leave the hook up lead connected and charge 2 or 3 times per week for a few hours, alternating between the 2 batteries.
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A 1998 Symphony has a Zig control panel above the back doors which does not have a switch to direct the charge. Taurians van must have the same panel whereas yours has the later MES panel so 2003 must be the changeover year. My 2006 Nuevo has the same panel as you Carver. Its a lovely simple panel, so much easier to use than the Sargent's fitted later.

Carver wrote:Hi,
Taurian's answer has puzzled me, because in our 2003 Symbol, we can charge either the vehicle battery or, the habitation battery.
On our control panel, the left most switch is a 3 way rocker.  Mid point is 'off' up is habitation and down is vehicle.
I leave the hook up lead connected and charge 2 or 3 times per week for a few hours, alternating between the 2 batteries.
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It may well be that I have learnt something today Carver !!! I have exactly the same panel as you and I was told that if you have the rocker switch down towards " vehicle " then you will be using the vehicle battery for lighting etc.  If it is at "Hab" the habitation battery will be used for lighting etc.  
At no time have I ever been told that whilst  on EHU, the battery selected by the rocker switch will be  the battery being charged !!! 

I would stand corrected by someone more knowledgeable, but I don't think that the vehicle battery is connected to the habitation circuitry.  I believe that the rocker switch is purely for the charging of the batteries.

Correct. That rocker switch is purely for directing the charger.

Unfortunately, A/S wired their control panels in lots of different ways, and there does not seem to be any absolute rule. To be certain, you really need to put a meter on each battery in turn, switch to the relevant battery on the control panel, connect a habitation load and see which battery voltage drops.

It is as I suspected, shore power does not charge the starting battery. However thanks to yous all for your input.

My 1998 Symphony only charges the Leisure Battery.
If I want to charge the engine battery I plug  battery charger into the cig lighter on the dash and run the charging cables out the window/door and into the engine bay. You do have to be on hook up of course.
Mick.

Sorry. Senior moment. The above is rubbish.
Mick.