Do I need a new leisure battery?

Forum members who have helped me out before will know I am not very technical,  so forgive if this is a daft question. 
I was on EHU. At first, the battery indicator looked very good. But after 2 nights and 2 days the lights all went dim/out, the pump faltered, ie no 12v power. It was not the mains supply-- I did the trip test and also the mains-powered internal light was fine.
Does this mean I definitely need a new leisure battery? I don't know how old it is as I only bought the van last July.
Thanks!

hi mrs grey, I'm not an expert by any means but even when my battery was close to flat when I got my van as soon as I was on ehu I had full power to all appliances, I may of miss read your post but if u were on emu at the time then there's no reason you shouldn't of had full power to your 12v system. As I say I'm no expert and could be wrong  

Regards

Neil

Probably a silly question but have you got the battery charger on for the leisure battery when on EHU?

Groper wrote:Probably a silly question but have you got the battery charger on for the leisure battery when on EHU?

 My thoughts exactly, or the charger is knackered.

OK now I am really showing my ignorance! I followed all the instructions in the handbook the best I could. :shrugg:I switched ON the "main isolator switch of the RCD" (tested with the trip test button), switched on the MCB switches. What would I have had to do to switch on the charger? (It doesn't say anything about it in the handbook -- the only time it mentions a charger is to say you must keep it well ventilated -- but where is it??)
 It sounds like not switching on the charger, or the charger being dead, could be the problem, because now having driven just 10 miles or so today, the battery is 3/4 charged and the lights seem fine. Or is the charger the same thing for charging from EHU and the car battery?

Thanks. Although I feel ignorant, I do think the Duetto handbook is often not at all helpful. I did try to do it right!
ps what do RCD and MCB stand for?!

Hi there,

Almost certainly:

A) You have knocked the battery charger off.

B) A fuse has blown.

C) You may have clattered the battery by letting the voltage drop too low! (Sorry!)

So:

1) The battery charger switch is under the oven. it can easily get knocked off if hit with a stray can of beans!!

2) The main fuse on my system is on the battery terminal itself under the bonnet.

3) If the battery holds its charge when you manage to sort out the charging system then you may have got away with it - this time!!

Hope this helps.  

Best regards,
 

PS

RCD stands for Residual Current Device. It will trip if the current goes to earth. (i.e. you are electrocuting yourself!)

MCB stands for Mini-Circuit Breaker. It will trip if the system is overloaded due to too much current. (e.g. three electric fires and a hairdryer!)

Best regards,
 

Dutto wrote:Hi there,

Almost certainly:

A)  You have knocked the battery charger off.

B)  A fuse has blown.

C)  You may have clattered the battery by letting the voltage drop too low!  (Sorry!)

So:

1)  The battery charger switch is under the oven.  it can easily get knocked off if hit with a stray can of beans!!

2)  The main fuse on my system is on the battery terminal itself under the bonnet.

3)  If the battery holds its charge when you manage to sort out the charging system then you may have got away with it - this time!!

Hope this helps.  

Best regards,
 

Many thanks Dutto  -- why on earth don't AS include crucial bits of info like this? It seems quite random what they consider to be important..
Aha! I have found the charger switch I think -- is it the little I/0 rocker switch just by the leisure battery? If so then that is not the problem -- it was on. So, homing in now -- what fuse would that be? OK -- I'll look in the book first!

Hi there,

Sorry, I assumed that your Duetto was an old one like mine with the switch under the oven and well away from the leisure battery which is under the bonnet!

I have to say that all indications are that you would have made a superb Operator in the Oil and Gas Industry; the motto being "If all else fails, read the Manual."   

Seek and ye shall find! 

Best regards,
 

Dutto wrote:Hi there,

Sorry, I assumed that your Duetto was an old one like mine with the switch under the oven and well away from the leisure battery which is under the bonnet!

I have to say that all indications are that you would have made a superb Operator in the Oil and Gas Industry; the motto being "If all else fails, read the Manual."   

Seek and ye shall find! 

Best regards,
 

 I wish I had your faith in what my son calls RTFM...but I will try to find the info in the FM.  
My Duetto is 1999 V Reg. The leisure AND the switch are both under the oven!
CHeers  - many thanks:drinksallround

An engineer will be able to test your charger and battery in just a few minutes.

Just to clarify, there is a switch under the cooker labelled 'charger' but also under the false floor of that cupboard you should find the charger which may also have a switch on it. There should be a light on the control panel which illuminates 'green' when the charger is 'on'.

Paulmold --I'll look for the charger there. Please can you also clarify -- is this charger only for charging from the mains? The leisure battery is charging OK from the engine. Should it be on all the time or should I switch it off when the engine is on?
The rocker switch next to the battery is actually not labelled at all!

ubunto1 -- well yes -- In the end I expect I will have to get my local guy in anyway for other things that need fixing.    But even if I do, I'm grateful for help in understanding what the issue could be or definitely is not.

Cheers!

Yes the charger is for charging when on hook-up. You can leave it switched on all the time as when the engine is running, 12v circuits are automatically switched off except for your fridge. When engine is running, the charging of the leisure battery is done from the alternator via a split-charge relay.

Paulmold wrote:Just to clarify, there is a switch under the cooker labelled 'charger' but also under the false floor of that cupboard you should find the charger which may also have a switch on it. There should be a light on the control panel which illuminates 'green' when the charger is 'on'.

Hi.
Just been looking at the battery in my van tonight - had it plugged in to the mains all day yesterday - went in tonight and the 12v seems low (can't find my multimeter to confirm 100%) but what I can see is that the 12v strip lights are only lighting one tube in each light and the 2 spot lights are very dim (as in no real light from them but you can see a dull change of colour!)

I will do some more testing tomorrow, but in the meantime, when the van was plugged in yesterday, the green light on the control panel was on and the switch under the cooker was turned on BUT the orange light on the switch wasn't lit - I presumed that this was just a blown bulb or disconnected - can anyone confirm if there switch under the cooker also lights up along with the green light on the control panel?

cheers
Richard

Mine does

PB