# Losing power when on EHU.



## selawman (Sep 24, 2012)

Elddis Autostratus EB SE 1999. ZIG Marque III unit.
Recently started having a power loss issue when on hook up.
On a site last week (16amp EHU) I had the Carver fanmaster on together with 2 downlighters, (mine still uses the car type bulbs).
That was fine until I switched on another light in the kitchen area and I could hear the fanmaster noticeably slowing. I then switched on one more light which brought the Fanmaster to a stop.
Switching off the two kitchen lights restored power to the Fanmaster.
I thought that the site EHU might have been suspect so yesterday I plugged the van in at home and replicated the sequence and exactly the same thing occurred.
This might have been an issue for some time, but this is the first time this year I have had to use the heating and I don't recall any problem last year.
Any suggestions please.
Thank You.


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

I hope Im not stating the obvious but your Zig isnt charging off mains 240v - I suspect your battery is ok as it is starting off working in a chargedd state. You could do with sticking a meter over the terminals and monitoring the output voltage.


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

selawman said:


> Elddis Autostratus EB SE 1999. ZIG Marque III unit.
> Recently started having a power loss issue when on hook up.
> On a site last week (16amp EHU) I had the Carver fanmaster on together with 2 downlighters, (mine still uses the car type bulbs).
> That was fine until I switched on another light in the kitchen area and I could hear the fanmaster noticeably slowing. I then switched on one more light which brought the Fanmaster to a stop.
> ...


Does it only happen on hook up i.e is everything hunkey dory power wise when not? 
It looks like the habitation battery/ies are on the way out and the charger if it is working is struggling to cope. Obviously very difficult to diagnose from afar.


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

I hope Im not stating the obvious but your Zig isnt charging off mains 240v - I suspect your battery is ok as it is starting off working in a chargedd state. You could do with sticking a meter over the terminals and monitoring the output voltage.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

It might not be an overload but a slight imbalance fault.????

Ray.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Sounds like a dead charger as 1302 mentions.

Ours will support 40+ amps load on EHU, or in sunlight we can run virtually everything off the solar panels, so it does sound like the battery is going flat through lack of charge.

Zig didn't have the best of reputations before they went bust.

Peter


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Dying or dead charger is my thought......

if you have a voltmeter, put it across the terminals of the battery and then read the voltage, then turn on the EHU and the voltage should rise to about 13.6 I think, it will be around 12 - 12.4 on the battery alone. If you have solar panels working they will also be adding to the charge so ideally do when they are not i.e. when dark.

If the charger is giving 13.6v then the batteries will be suspect, but I suspect the fault lies in the charger.....

Dave


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

raynipper said:


> It might not be an overload but a slight imbalance fault.????
> 
> Ray.


Sorry, got that wrong as I thought it was an EHU problem.???? :?

Ray.


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## selawman (Sep 24, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far.
Shows my naivety as this is my first MH and I assumed that when hooked up everything operated like the mains in a house!  
Suspect charger does seem to be the consensus, so will check that area first.
I'll update when done!


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## selawman (Sep 24, 2012)

Right then, not got round to checking charger yet as suggested (but fully intend to).
Spoke with a fellow MH'er today who suggested that when plugged into the mains then the power is supplied directly and not via the battery. 
Now, I know that at the very least my downlights ARE supplied via the battery as they are fitted with 12V auto bulbs, which I believe would blow if directly connected to the mains!
So, as I am still trying to get to grips with it, my question is this, I know that when away from sites and other sources of power then the battery supplies ALL power! But what happens to the van's electrical system (in layman's terms) when I plug in?
Thanks in anticipation!


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

selawman said:


> But what happens to the van's electrical system (in layman's terms) when I plug in?


All 12v equipment will continue to run off the habitation battery/ies which will be getting charged by the battery charger if it is switched on. The amount of charge will depend upon the state of the battery. It is possible that your charger will also charge the engine battery as well.

Multi powered equipment such as the fridge, space heater / boiler can be powered from the mains by switching their power source switches to mains.

The fellow motor homer you quoted is misinformed or you misunderstood what he was saying.


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