# L/Battery charges OK with engine,not with mains. Amethyst.



## 1Oll (Dec 30, 2009)

Thanks for the info, I have just had a call from the couple and he has found it in the wardrobe, and they are moving things around to get to it. Will be with them within the hour to move lots of items to storage and get them back to a decent living quality. May come back with a few questions later! 
Regards Brian.

SINCE THIS LAST POST 
The red light on the switch, is on switched on and the red light showing in the left hand inner wall of the wardrobe. All switches in wardrobe are also on. Still not charging. Can't get the van emptied until tomorrow. Really hard to find anything under their worldly possessions. 
May be a problem, as suggested with the charger unit. Any other comments or suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks to all who responded so far. 
Regards Brian.

[email protected]

The wardrobe switch did not operate the charger, finally after virtually emptying all their items, a whole day including help from Spinney Caravans (thanks), we found the switch under the fridge. Next to the step switch. Unfortunately this may not have cured the fault. The air circulation fan slows and stop when extra lights are switched on. We have found a second leisure battery, and this my be faulty. Left them with our trusty fan heater for tonight and 3 hot water bottles. Will disconnect the suspect battery tomorrow.
Thanks again everyone who has helped.
My still need more info later.
Thanks again,
Brian
[email protected]


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

Somewhere in the van there will be a 12v charging unit which should kick in as soon as the van is plugged into the mains.

I had an Amethyst some years back but can't for the life of me remember where the charger was. A good place to check would be in the wardrobe. In the bottom there should be a wooden panel that can be lifted out. Often the chargers are sited in that area and may have a switch to turn them on.

The other thing to check is that the mcb's on the mains fuse box are all ok. I would think that the charger will be on the same mcb as the 230v sockets so if they are ok then it's not likely to be the mcb, just something else to check.

Hopefully an Amethyst owner will come along with some more accurate info!


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## Chascass (May 10, 2007)

Hi Brian, first of all well done for looking after someone in need, yes there should be a battery charger (zig unit) somewhere in the van, this could be anywhere, under seats in lockers etc.

I would check that all fuses/trip switches are ok, especially ones near the leisure battery.
Hope this helps until someone with more knowledge comes along.

Charlie


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## 1Oll (Dec 30, 2009)

Thanks for the info, I have just had a call from the couple and he has found it in the wardrobe, and they are moving things around to get to it. Will be with them within the hour to move lots of items to storage and get them back to a decent living quality. May come back with a few questions later!
Regards Brian.

SINCE THIS LAST POST
The red light on the switch, is on switched on and the red light showing in the left hand inner wall of the wardrobe. All switches in wardrobe are also on. Still not charging. Can't get the van emptied until tomorrow. Really hard to find anything under their worldly possessions.
May be a problem, as suggested with the charger unit. Any other comments or suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks to all who responded so far.
Regards Brian.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Hi Brian

It could be just as simple as the charger unit not switched on.

I don't know that model, but it may well be a red rocker switch that illuminates when switched on. You may also hear the fan kick in when the charger unit starts up, which is another sign that it is working.

Not much help I fear.

Dave


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## bodgerco (May 23, 2005)

I think the most likely explanation is that the charger isn't on BUT and it's a big BUT..

Many years ago - in the mists of time - I recall a letter in MMM from an Amethyst owner who had found a design error in the wiring of his van and this related , I think , to charging. I don't know if there is anyone at A/S who might remember a design change on the early models or if MMM would have a system which enabled them to search back. A/S owners club is another hope perhaps.

On the other hand - I hope the charger is simply switched off.

Roy


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## vardy (Sep 1, 2006)

My 95 Autosleeper charger was changed last year. It had been in since the van was built and it was well kn***ered. 

I know nothing about electrics - But the decrepit thing he took out spoke for itself. Intermittent non-charging was happening which stopped when new one fitted.


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## esdave (Jan 8, 2010)

hi brian if you do have an electronic fault in the charger/ converter please post I am an electronics engineer that can repair it to component level I repair all types/makes I live in northwales, or if you have found the fault and require technical advice please ask.regards David


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

1Oll said:


> Thanks for the info, I have just had a call from the couple and he has found it in the wardrobe, and they are moving things around to get to it. Will be with them within the hour to move lots of items to storage and get them back to a decent living quality. May come back with a few questions later!
> Regards Brian.
> 
> SINCE THIS LAST POST
> ...


Brian,

If "the lights are on but no-one is home" then it implies the charger might be done for. What you really need now is someone with a multimeter to test the input/output from the charger.

The input side should be reading 230v ac and the output should be something in excess of 12v. What you read on the output side should be the same as you get across the battery. When the charger is on and working then you should be getting something in the region of 14 volts. If you are only seeing around 12 volts then this will probably just be the back feed from the battery. If you are getting 14 ish then you need to check if you are getting the same voltage across the leisure battery, if not then you need to find out why (broken cable/blown fuse etc).

Only other thought is that many motorhomes have the ability to switch the onboard charger between the leisure battery and the engine battery. Not sure if this can be done on the Amethyst but if it has best check that it hasn't been switched over and the charger is working but charging the wrong battery.

Good luck!


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## Chascass (May 10, 2007)

The only other suggestion is to rig up a standard battery charger (3 stage would be best) to the leisure battery's, plugged into the vans 240 v socket via a extenstion lead, until such time the on board charger can be sorted.

Charlie


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