# first question as a subscriber



## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Hi All, 

We have a Euramobil 590HS which we bought in september last year. All has been well with it until now! 

I have used the van over the winter with no problems, just plugging the mains lead into the house almost every weekend. 

I have just been out to start work on replacing the waaco reversing screen this morning, to find the engine battery flat and one of the leisure batterys showing 0 charge after being on over night. (I know the leisure system was flat after leaving a light on!! ) The other seems fine. I am just off out to check the voltage with a meter. 

So, what i need to know is, can the vans starter battery be charged in situ without danger to the leisure charger, or should i take it out. 

and, where is good to buy leisure batteries? they are 110amh (mixture of varta and a german company)

Many thanks in advance 

Chris


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

wasteoid said:


> Snip: So, what i need to know is, can the vans starter battery be charged in situ without danger to the leisure charger, or should i take it out.


Hi Wastiod

Welcome

If you have a suitable charger such as a Ctec 3600 <<< you may use it to charge and maintain your vehicle battery in situ.

If both of your leisure batteries are wired together supplying the van habitation area I cannot understand why one should be flat and the other OK ... unless the flat one is on the way out :roll: ..... before jumping to any conclusion over this though you will need to examine the wiring to establish just what each battery is supplying.

Mike


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## chapter (May 1, 2005)

check the charger to see if its blown a fuse/still switched on/hook ups working
if you start the engine on sum vans well they are on hook up it trips out one or the other or the inline fuse to the batterys


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

So, after going out and measuring and tinkering, both batteries are holding charge, and are both getting charge from the mains charger. There was a blown 5amp fuse by the batterys (an in line jobbie). Replaced that, and checked the volatges accross the battery, on charge and off. 

battery 1 (as i like to call it), has about 12.6 off charge and 13.64v on charge, and battery 2 has 12.9 off charge and 13.64v on charge. 

But (and i thik this is probably my problem) the gauges show battery 1 nothing, and it doesn't even light up. Battery 2 shows 12.9 + or - on the gague and it lights up. So the only conclusion that i can come to is that there is a fuse i have missed (Checked the ones in the battery charger, and the box of fuses under the floor that i found as well as the inlines i can find). 

Any ideas? 

Chris

edit - I checked the engine start battery to, and it is only measuring 4v wich in my limited experience tells me is FLAT. So still need to charge this one up..... So can i do it in situ?


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## Waleem (Nov 1, 2006)

Chris
I know this might sound like a daft question, but have you checked if the onboard charger also charges the engine battery? It does on most German vans, including the two I have had. My battery gauge shows battery 1 as the engine battery and battery 2 as my two leisure batteries. Given that your engine battery is flat, that would explain why you get zero on your gauge in position 1 !
If this is the case, you have a wiring or fuse problem somewhere between your onboard charger and your engine battery.
Good luck.


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Waleem said:


> Chris
> I know this might sound like a daft question, but have you checked if the onboard charger also charges the engine battery? It does on most German vans, including the two I have had. My battery gauge shows battery 1 as the engine battery and battery 2 as my two leisure batteries. Given that your engine battery is flat, that would explain why you get zero on your gauge in position 1 !
> If this is the case, you have a wiring or fuse problem somewhere between your onboard charger and your engine battery.
> Good luck.


You might just have cracked it fella!!!!! I will now check the engine batteries voltage again, now i have changed the fuse!!!!!

Thanks VERY much,

Chris


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Ok, I've checked the battery voltage again on charge and off, on charge 4.16v and off charge 4.16v 

I also found a blown 30amp fuse under the bonnet blown replaced that again no change. 

I would expect to see 13.4v or so at the battery if it is being charged?

Chris


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Chris,you have to ascertain if you have a voltage from the charger at the engine battery terminals,remove the positive and negative leads from the engine battery and put them carefully to one side ensuring the leads cannot short circuit on any metal or together.

Switch on the charger and then carefully test with your multimeter across the battery leads,if the charger is working you should get around 13-14volts across them.If there is nothing then try the other battery position on the charger control.

If you have a decent charging voltage and the voltage goes down to 4.16 when the battery is re-connected then your engine battery is most likely kaput,if there is no charging voltage then its time to check the charger fuses.

Steve and Sharon


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Thanks all for the responses so far... 

I am basing all of the above in the theory that the van power system also charges the starter battery when on hookup. 

I COULD BE WAY OFF with that statement. I will try your advice wakk44 on taking the battery leads off and testing for a voltage accross them. If there is none, I am tempted to just remove the leads from the battery and charge it with my bettery charger.

Will give you the results later, but please keep posting ideas, as it really helps give me more ideas.. 

Thanks all.

Chris


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

Think i would also be looking to see why it has been blowing fuses :?


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

wasteoid said:


> I COULD BE WAY OFF with that statement. I will try your advice wakk44 on taking the battery leads off and testing for a voltage accross them. If there is none, I am tempted to just remove the leads from the battery and charge it with my bettery charger.


Hi

If it has one Please make sure you know the Radio Security code before you disconnect the battery.

Mike


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## cobaltkoala (Sep 11, 2006)

*Sorta Similar subject area....*

We have a single leisure battery, if we want to have a second is it simply a case of connecting the + of the existing to the <+ > of the New and same for the <-> thereby enabling the charging system to charge both and the habitation area to have additional power store to draw on.
Or is it more complicated than that?


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

It is as simple as that really,but there are a few other factors to consider.

Both batteries are recommended to be the same-capacity,manufacturer,and age,otherwise one may drag the other down.Don't mix wet batteries with gel type. They should be located as close as possible to each other and linked together with substantial cable to prevent volts drop.Also if it is a wet battery with a venting tube ensure it can vent outside the van,if gassing occurs during charging they give off hydrogen which is highly flammable.

Steve and Sharon


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

*Sorta similar answer*

Hi Cobalt

Basically Yes is the answer but I copied this from the last time I posted about it:-

How to fit another leisure battery? This is an oft asked, and oft answered, question....here are a few threads about it...others, must be dozens by now, can be found using the search function.

Link <<<<<

Link <<<<<<<<

Link <<<<<<<<<<

Those should give you some idea of where to start.

Best of luck

Mike


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Right, 

I have taken the plunge, unplugged the mains (just in case) and connected up a charger to the starter battery. 

And low and behold, I am getting a reading at the control panel. So, the battery meter is showing battery 1 as the engine battery, and battery 2 is for the combined pair of leisure batterys. 

Now, i think i can pin point why the 5amp fuse blew, I think I may have tried to start the van whilst on hookup. And the 30amp fuse looks like it was blown a long time ago. as the end of the fuse wire are very corroded. 

I think one of these cetek thingys might be a good buy if the engine battery is not being charged on hookup. Can any one feedback on their "goodness" ? 

So, in essence, i think that the engine battery may be on its way out, as the only drain on it i can think of, is the led on the imobilliser, so i think I will just buy a new one and see where i get to.


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## chapter (May 1, 2005)

what type of van do you have make year ect 
also when on h/up do you switch to leisure or van battery on your panal


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

chapter said:


> what type of van do you have make year ect
> also when on h/up do you switch to leisure or van battery on your panal


Ok, I have a m plate (96?) Euramobil 590HS. It is a german import (LHD) so everything is in German including the manuals. I have translated the bits i dont understand, but I cant find any where to "switch from leisure to van batteries.

Maybe im being a klutz, wouldn't be the first time.

IF ANY KIND SOULD HAS AN ENGLISH MANUAL I pay in good uk beer vouchers for post etc.

Cheers all,

Chris


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## Waleem (Nov 1, 2006)

Chris
I can vouch for the Ctek chargers-I have used them for a couple of years now and they have revived even deeply discharged batteries.
Having said that, you now know that battery 1 is your engine battery. As you said, you would expect to see 13 volts + if it was charging as it should be. (Mine does.) This and the blown fuses implies that the wiring from the charger to the engine battery may be at fault-either that, or an internal fault with the charger itself-having said that though, on my last Karmann, the feeds to both batteries came from the same place on the charger, so I still suspect a wiring fault. Given the convenience of both batteries being charged on hookup(Which is a real benefit IMHO) if you are unable to trace the fault, I expect that a good auto electrician should be able to sort it for modest cost. It's up to you really....

Also, dont worry about a switch from engine to leisure battery-neither of my German imports has had one ! (Basically, it wont let you use power from the engine battery to run the caravan 12V to make sure the van always starts. Good luck with the faultfinding!


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Hi Waleen, 

Thanks for your continued advice, on your german vans, did the battery charger charge the starting battery when on mains hookup? 

I have a feeling that the starting battery is probabley on its way out. This is the second time it has let me down this year.

First time it was flat when i went to drive away (a couple of weeks ago), a jump start sorted it out, and this time it was well flat.

So, It's on a slow charge now, and i will have a look in the morning. But i feel it should last longer than a month between driving it a good distance, bearing in mind that the only drain on it should be the imobiliser.

Cheers all,

Chris


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## Waleem (Nov 1, 2006)

Chris
Yes, when on hookup, my Dethleffs charges all three of my batteries-engine and two leisure. This is the same setup as you should have. I would tend to agree that your engine battery is probably worn out as it loses charge so rapidly.
Having said that, you clearly still have the fault with the charger link to the engine battery, and as I said, in my opinion it would be well worth getting that fixed.


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## 93986 (May 1, 2005)

just noticed reading the posts that i am not supposed to turn my engine on while hooked up to the mains !

have just done that not half an hour ago whilst trying to sort out the van.

i too have a euramobil a 690hb (2002), wasteiod mentioned that it blew a 5amp fuse.

any clues as to where so that i can go and investigate ?

thanks

Mark


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## 100996 (Sep 15, 2006)

Hi Loxely,

My 5 amp fuse was in line very close to the battery. in fact just under the floor on top of them.

Good luck, i would like to know if it is blown, cos i replaced this one, and it didnt seem to make a blind bit of difference.

Who knows, it might be charging now (after charging it off the van)

Good luck, and post your results.

Cheers,

Chris


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