# Swift 590RS Leisure battery problem



## RB2108 (Jun 29, 2013)

Hi .. my friend owns (and hugely enjoys) his 590RS (2003) motorhome. However, there is one problem that has been bugging him for a while and for which he asked myself (as an electrical engineer) to take a look.

The problem is that the leisure batteries don't charge from the vehicle battery or engine. I've taken a look at all the fuses and checked (with a multimeter) that current drain for the van is close to zero with nothing switched on and is as expected from the various appliances. I've also temporarily disconnected the leisure battery and replaced it with vehicle battery and all is well, so I have to conclude that there is some connection from the vehicle battery which is bad (the in-line fuse and all connectors are good).

Looking at the wiring diagram, there appears to be a relay and three fuses which basically are at the point where the Fiat stuff gets connected to the van electrics. However, we just cannot find these anywhere. There are the six fuses at the back of the wardrobe but we just can't locate the relay and three other fuses which I suspect is where the fault lies.

Can anyone help us to locate these please ?
Thanks
Ron


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## jonse (Nov 2, 2008)

*electrics*

on my sundance the fuses and relays are on the left of the main van battery under the bonnet hope this helps


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## CullodenMuir (Dec 11, 2005)

In my Swift there are fuses under the split charge relays, one of these supplies the fridge and door step and the other the leisure battery supply. You have to un-screw the relay bracket to get at the fuses.
The two split charge relays control the feeds to the fridge and the leisure battery.
Most likely to be a fuse as the relays are pretty reliable.
To locate these open the bonnet and the relays are just to the right of centre on top of the engine unit.
Good luck!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Sounds like the voltage sensing relay, or one of it's connections, if that isn't right the rest can't.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Open the bonnet, look behind the air filter on top of the engine, there is a black box there which contains two relays and two fuses - one of those feeds the supply to the step and the other to the leisure battery and the fridge when the engine is running (the step one retracts it as soon as the engine starts).

It is almost tucked under the bulkhead just below the windscreen, why it was put there only the Swift design team could explain.....

Check those - the location is odd but that's where I was advised when our step wouldn't work when I joined MHF many years ago...... and the information was 100% accurate).

Dave


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## RB2108 (Jun 29, 2013)

Thanks guys ... my mate Colin managed to find the relay and fuses with your help and two of the three fuses were indeed blown. He's added a second leisure battery recently (just wired in parallel with the original) so I reckon that the extra charging current might just be enough to 'trip' the fuse. I've told him what to do if it happens again !

Cheers
Ron


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