# charging my leisure battery relays are buzzing



## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

Hi,
Newbie here...Ford Transit, Autosleeper Legend GL 18 yrs old...
I have an intermittent clicking/buzzing coming from my zig unit, obviously a relay. An exact noise is coming from the relay in the fuse box under the dash on the drivers side, fuse box. The clicking/buzzing exactly replicate themselves....
My leisure battery is totally dead...dont know why it died. The battery does not charge on a run. Nothing on the terminals when I put my little
tester light on each terminal. HOWEVER, when I plug trhe 240 mains into the van, all the lights, pump etc start to work.
Do I need to change the little red relays; BOTH of them...??fuse box one and the one behind the zig panel??
Or does the fuse box relay "drive" the zig relay??
The cold weather in Stroud may have killed the battery; I have yet to get it checked

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks, Chris...


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## Fatalhud (Mar 3, 2006)

I would check the battery first
The relays may be chattering because there is not enough voltage
Alan H


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## AberdeenAngus (Jul 26, 2008)

kiwistopher said:


> My leisure battery is totally dead...dont know why it died. The battery does not charge on a run. Nothing on the terminals when I put my little
> tester light on each terminal.


Battery is goosed. It might not be the only fault but its a good start.
Fingers crossed !


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Check the fuses in the thick cable between alternator, vehicle battery and leisure battery.

Dave


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

kiwistopher said:


> HOWEVER, when I plug trhe 240 mains into the van, all the lights, pump etc start to work.


First off: ...It sounds like the battery is a goner.

Next off: when you plug the mains into the hook up the Zig is providing the power to the circuits normally supplied by the leisure battery ... it is a power supply/charger and as you have seen all the 12v appliances and lights should work when the mains supply is connected. It will also start to charge the battery... if the battery is any good at all then leaving the zig unit charging for 2 or 3 days may see some improvement...but I doubt it.

Now would be a good time to beg or buy a digital multimeter ( about £6-7) . With this you will be able to roughly establish the condition of the battery and whether it is getting a charge from the alternator when the engine is running ( voltage rise shows this is happening :wink: ) . Do this before lashing out on a new battery... if the battery is not getting a charge then get that sorted first otherwise the new battery will go the same way as the one you have now :wink:

mike

Edit P.S. do the fuse checks too, as suggested above by DAB :wink:


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## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

THanks guys for your suggestions and help. I will have the battery checked out first and go from there.
By the way; do the relays normally pack up or is the "chattering" possibly due to something else??

Cheers, Chris


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Chris,

Everything you have been told is accurate. However, why I constrained myself to what I did was expressly to stop you getting the battery checked out, buying a new one, installing it, and carrying on on blissful ignorance while you [email protected]@er that one, too!

Dave


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## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

Thanks, Dave; your point have been noted. I will have the relays checked professionally and the job done properly!
Happy Christmas...! Chris


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Well you could do; other than I doubt anything is wrong with the relays  Ask a motorhome dealer or auto electrician, however, and you could pay for new ones anyway!

Dave


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## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

I started charging the battery last night via the 240 volt power supply. It took the charge, and everything works...I dont know how long the charge will last yet,...BUT, both the relay in the fuse box AND the relay behind the zig unit are still chattering when I run the van engine.
Anyone know why they chatter? They are very cheap, but if there is a problem, that needs sorting. 
All the blade and line fuses are intact, and I have lubricated everything with WD40...
Any more suggestions :? 
Thanks for all the ptrevious help received !


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## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

Update:...I signed up just now to this forum, just so I could search for keywords, which I did..."chattering relays"...and someone called Sallytraffic posted a reply some time ago about checking a small wire coming out of the alternator up to the relay. I fiddled about and cleaned it (there was a broken plastic sheath) and when I started the van the chattering had disappeared!!. Possible result; I'm so happy that you guys helped...maybe I can drive all the way to China now!! :lol: :lol:


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## twinky (Aug 11, 2008)

Great result kiwistopher.

Youve got more than your £10 back already then  .

Seasons greetings


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