# Mains electric icon not working on NE183 Control Panel



## jdc

The mains electricity icon on the NE183 control panel is not working. However the mains electricity is getting in to the van.
Also the leisure battery is not charging from the mains (it is OK with the alternator)
I have checked and there is 240V going in to the transformer unit but only 8.5 Volts coming out - surely it should be about 12V?
The leisure battery fuse is OK
Any advice / clues?

Thanks


----------



## JohnsCrossMotorHomes

Hi jdc

If the mains icon is not showing on the panel it can only mean that the battery charger is faulty (which is a known fault).

Dependent on age it should be covered under the warranty.

I hope this helps

Glenn Harris Workshop Manager


----------



## SwiftGroup

Hi JDC,

I'm afraid Glenn is correct, the lack of mains connection icon on the control panel does indeed mean the charger is not working. 

As suggested, this will probably be covered under warranty, so please contact your nearest Swift Group Dealer.

Thanks,

Ash


----------



## emmbeedee

Hi, I have exactly the same problem on my Autoroller. As said above, the mains icon is fed from the battery charger.
I'll remove my posting from the other thread (Hymer) & re-post it here:

_I have exactly the same fault on my AutoRoller at the moment. I have it parked at the side of the house & I installed an outside socket just before Christmas so that I can hook-up without leaving a garage window open. 
After hooking up last week I found it wasn't charging & the mains tell-tale on the electrical panel wasn't coming on. I also use a fused bridging wire to charge both leisure & vehicle battery when on hook-up. At first I suspected my newly installed outside socket but that checked out OK. Next I checked the mains MCB in the MH, that seemed to be working alright also. Then I hooked up again & checked all three sockets in the van & all were live. Now I was really puzzled, I was suspecting the battery charger, a Nordelettronica NE143, so I checked the input voltage, alright at 249 volts. With the charger installed I couldn't access the output connector to check voltage there. If indeed it was the battery charger I couldn't understand why the tell-tale wasn't on. I used my own charger to charge the batteries & went off to have a think. 
:idea: After some thought, (a slow process nowadays), I wondered if the tell-tale was actually fed from the battery charger & this proved to be the case. Next day I removed the charger & found output at 3.6 volts. I then applied 12 volts to the third connector in the output cable & the tell-tale lit up, thus proving my theory that it is indeed fed from the charger. 
So now I am waiting for my dealer to obtain & fit a new charger, unless I can persuade them to send the new one to me for a DIY fit. As it happens, I am also waiting for a new locker door found to be faulty (damp) at last year's service, so if the parts arrive I may be able to get both jobs done together. _

It has now occurred to me that this practise of feeding the mains icon from the battery charger could have safety implications. People could assume they are not hooked up from checking the icon, when, as in our cases, they are! 8O 
Do you have the NE 143 battery charger BTW? Maybe there is a faulty batch in service. Still waiting for my dealer to get back to me about a replacement. Regarding the output voltage from the charger, you need more than 12 volts to charge your batteries, I was looking for something like 14.4 volts.

*NOTE TO MODS.*

As this issue is affecting more than just Swifts, maybe it would be better to move it to the "Electrical" forum, rather than here?


----------



## jdc

Thanks to everyone for their very helpful replies. I'm hopeful that it will be replaced under warranty but if not can you confirm that it is a NE143-MH Nordelettronica Battery charger Model Number: 3015 as described at http://www.caravantechnology.com/NE143MHNordelettronicaBatteryCharger.aspx that would be required?


----------

