Battery voltage readings

All 12v cigar-lighter sockets (3) in the Sussex are powered through the ignition and presumably from engine battery, so I can't use my plug in voltmeter to check the state of the leisure battery or indeed the engine battery. With the engine battery being under the floor of the cab making access to the terminals difficult without unbolting the cover, should I be able to use the jump points in the engine compartment to get a reading? I had the engine battery on charge for 24hours (assumed by pressing vehicle battery symbol on panel that charge goes to engine battery) and it still reads 3 LEDs on the scale so I want to check it at the battery.
Is it correct that even the cigar socket by the back doors is fed through ignition? Seems odd that there is no 12 v outlet to use when not on hook-up.

Paul

Yes I think that you are right, I made my own by going to the fuse box and splicing into the main cable into the fuse box (care one is perm live and the other ign live and then fixed a motorbike 12v socket underneath like this one (fused of Course)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] It is great for charging up the bosses phone also.
And as I am a belt and braces sort of guy I have also mounted one of these
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in the handy space under the speedo etc so it can easily show that the battery is charging whilst running via going off of the ign lead.
And as a final to save having to keep testing the Hab battery I also fitted one of the above just under the 12v/240v socket at the back of the van so this comes on when the control panel is on, (as a bonus it does also give just enough light to see if you have to get up in the night being LED)
David

Checking at the jump point will give a reliable reading with possibly a slight voltage drop. DOes turning the ignition on without starting the engine not power up the socket?

The wiring diagram for 2009 Sussex Duo shows a 12v socket powered from the PSU?

Thanks both.
I've found by searching here that the rear socket is a Peugeot fitment wired through ignition as lots of cars do that have a socket in boot.
I tried multimeter on jump points yesterday and got reading of over 20v so quickly removed the meter but perhaps I did it too soon after running engine and it picked up high reading from somewhere else. Also tried turning on ignition without starting engine but that gave a reading of 11.7 so wonder if voltage is reduced for starting engine. All rather confusing to a non-electric brain.

20v sounds a bit unusual?

The joys on owning a new MH.

I think manufactures put a fly in the ointment for owners to find answers on a cold winter day

PLOUGHLIN wrote:The wiring diagram for 2009 Sussex Duo shows a 12v socket powered from the PSU?

I found a post from someone with a 2014 Warwick and it appears they have a 12v socket under the wardrobe but I checked there and I haven't got one there, don't know when that was introduced.
Maybe the one you've found on the wiring diagram is the usb twin socket.

The truth is that new cars and motor-homes get more complicated every year,regarding electrics.
I also feel that some manufacturers need to try out a motor-home before they go into mass production . The lack of 13 amp plugs and 12volt  ones in useful positions is ridiculous .A lot of problems understanding new Sargent panels that do strange things
I could go on,rant over.

Micky

Progress - found I'd got my multimeter set to AC volts instead of DC so having corrected that took another reading from jump points and it read 12.4.
Pushing driver's seat forward I could get multimeter to terminals of leisure battery and that read 12.8. So all good. Strange that control panel only shows 3 out of 5 LEDs for state of leisure battery when it's actually full at 12.8
Until I get solar fitted, I will keep an eye on batteries and maybe charge engine battery (or maybe both) once a week.

If it is reading 12,4v (50% charge), the Sargent manual says the display should show 3 lights, 12.5> 4 lights. 13.5> 5 lights. Do you have the manual? I tis also in the AS manual, page 7.18.

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Sorry, I'm getting batteries mixed up. Engine battery 12.4 shows 3 lights on panel and leisure 12.8 shows 4 so it's showing correct.

Yes the aerial connections and booster have been moved to other side of van on later models. Mine are on offside in the locker next to crockery cupboard.

Thanks Peter, got the manual and as said, all showing correctly.

Paulmold wrote:All 12v cigar-lighter sockets (3) in the Sussex are powered through the ignition and presumably from engine battery, so I can't use my plug in voltmeter to check the state of the leisure battery or indeed the engine battery. With the engine battery being under the floor of the cab making access to the terminals difficult without unbolting the cover, should I be able to use the jump points in the engine compartment to get a reading? I had the engine battery on charge for 24hours (assumed by pressing vehicle battery symbol on panel that charge goes to engine battery) and it still reads 3 LEDs on the scale so I want to check it at the battery.
Is it correct that even the cigar socket by the back doors is fed through ignition? Seems odd that there is no 12 v outlet to use when not on hook-up.

Paul,

My Warwick Duo should be near identical to yours electrically.

Mine has one 12v socket on the dash, by the "ashtray", next to it is a cigarette lighter socket
There is a further 12v socket just aft of the sink, on that duct shaped piece goes from worktop to ceiling

Both the dash ones are only live with Ign on, and/or engine running, so, as you say, are VB powered

The habitation one is powered only when the power master switch is activated, the one on the panel with the voltages etc on it, sorry if being simplistic! That one is for use from the LB when parked, whether on EHU or not. It is NOT live (annoyingly) when the engine is running, all habitation electrics are isolated then, as seen by the centre LED of the voltage panel flashing. So it can't be used for phone charging etc when driving.

As an aside, I needed more than one socket on the dash, Sat Nav, GPS Speedo, and the need to charge phone/tablet etc when driving.
So I thought I could use the cigarette lighter! Wrong, it is only a lighter, not a 12v socket as I expected it to be. Bugr!

So I bought a 12v socket and replaced the lighter with it. This proved to be a real hassle, the cigarette lighter has a lug running down its side, for its lighting I think which makes it near impossible to get it out of the hole in the dash. I only succeeded by brute force and was lucky not to damage the dash panel. Works great now though, there must be a better way to get that thing out!

It would be very easy to add a 12v socket, perhaps behind the driver seat, simply by connecting it to the LB via a 10A fuse, the fuse being at the battery +ve terminal, then you'd have a second 12v socket when both parked and whilst en route.

Hope this helps!

Paulmold wrote:took another reading from jump points and it read 12.4.

Well done on being able to find the jump points. It's taken me 2 hours this afternoon (freezing cold). The -ve is super clearly labelled but the +ve is hidden under a cover which I couldn't get off so I assumed that wasn't it, which it was after I put the pliers on it  (a 2017 Boxer)

I think reading from these jump points is as good as the battery terminal. The EC480 indicates 12.5V, my £10 multimeter said 12.64V and my £110 multimeter said 12.61V.

IanH wrote:

As an aside, I needed more than one socket on the dash, Sat Nav, GPS Speedo, and the need to charge phone/tablet etc when driving.
So I thought I could use the cigarette lighter! Wrong, it is only a lighter, not a 12v socket as I expected it to be. Bugr!

 In my 2013 build (2014 model) Duo, the sockets on the dash are,

1) a 120 watt unit intended to take a cigarette lighter, but functioning perfectly well as a 12 volt outlet.

2) a 150 watt unit specifically for running appliances.

I use both sockets all the time for dashcam and sat-nav without any problems.

Just goes to show how things change all the time.

Paulmold wrote:Until I get solar fitted, I will keep an eye on batteries and maybe charge engine battery (or maybe both)  once a week.

Hi Paul

We now have a Battery Master fitted (fit and forget - worth considering!) but before that I always left the charger switched to the vehicle battery. If that one goes flat you are well and truly stuck.

I found that switching to the habitation battery for a couple of days about once a fortnight did the trick. If the hab battery goes flat it's inconvenient, but at least you can start the engine and be mobile!

IanH- I don't have the 12v socket aft of the sink, on mine it is a twin usb socket, powered when control panel on. Great for charging phones. I did ask the dealer if one of the dash sockets could be wired to be permanently live as I had done on the Nuevo but apparently the technician didn't know what I meant.

Dave, I will get battery master fitted when solar is fitted, had same set up on Nuevo.

Paulmold wrote:Progress - found I'd got my multimeter set to AC volts instead of DC so having corrected that took another reading from jump points and it read 12.4.
Pushing driver's seat forward I could get multimeter to terminals of leisure battery and that read 12.8.  So all good. Strange that control panel only shows 3 out of 5 LEDs for state of leisure battery when it's actually full at 12.8
Until I get solar fitted, I will keep an eye on batteries and maybe charge engine battery (or maybe both)  once a week.

I have found the control panels often show a lower reading than the reading across the battery terminals.In fact the new  cigar plug meter,  i just bought, always under  reads engine batter voltage .

Micky

Hi please see my posts in tanker blanket at 9.37 and 9.42 this evening - only had very first van - Symbol - for 3 weeks, it’s new and all battery power gone - vehicle too so I can’t drive anywhere - including 2nd Leisure battery. All was fine yesterday at 4pm. It will go down to -1c at 2am. I am worried about boiler dumping water and full fresh water tank freezing. Issues explained in other post. Please can anyone give me some advice, I’m on my own and feeling concerned. Thanks.

I am no expert but as it is draining both batteries I would guess that the Solar panel is to blame, drainback is usually stopped by a Diode but if this has failed it may be why you are having flat batteries.
If you have breakdown cover if it was me I would get towed home.
You may get a better response if you had started this as a new topic and not try to piggy back on another thread

If the van wont start and I was stranded with no EHU then I would call out Peugeot and they should get the van going. Probably prudent you don't mention other issues and present it as a van fault  

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