# Battery charger



## RichardD

Hi, can anyone confirm the capability of the onboard battery charger to charge the 2 leisure batteries and the vehicles battery. I would guess that it is the same unit fitted on all Rapidos from around 2008 to 2010.

I've had it hooked up to the mains for the last 3 days and the voltages displayed on the CBE panel are as follows: -

Habitation batteries 13.4 volts
Vehicle battery 12.2 volts

The habitation batteries were renewed when I bought the van a month ago and the van has has 2 decent runs so the engine battery should be reasonable. But it was because the display was showing that the engine battery was down at 11.6 volts that I hooked the mains up to give it a charge.

I've passed this info back to Highbridge who are looking into the issue but initially they said that it was probably down to having twin habitiation batteries and the charger is struggling. 

Any advice please?

Richard


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## josieb

Only when the leisure batteries are fully charged will it trickle charge the engine battery.
The best way round this problem is to fit a solar panel.


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## rayc

RichardD said:


> Hi, can anyone confirm the capability of the onboard battery charger to charge the 2 leisure batteries and the vehicles battery. I would guess that it is the same unit fitted on all Rapidos from around 2008 to 2010.
> 
> I've had it hooked up to the mains for the last 3 days and the voltages displayed on the CBE panel are as follows: -
> 
> Habitation batteries 13.4 volts
> Vehicle battery 12.2 volts
> 
> The habitation batteries were renewed when I bought the van a month ago and the van has has 2 decent runs so the engine battery should be reasonable. But it was because the display was showing that the engine battery was down at 11.6 volts that I hooked the mains up to give it a charge.
> 
> I've passed this info back to Highbridge who are looking into the issue but initially they said that it was probably down to having twin habitiation batteries and the charger is struggling.
> 
> Any advice please?
> 
> Richard


Richard, the charger is man enough but I believe that the vehicle battery is only trickle charged at a lesser rate than the habitation battery. The figures you give make me think that the charger was charging the habitation batteries when you took the readings.
When I check mine with the charger on the habitation batteries often show 13+v whilst the vehicle shows 12.5v or so.
I will check the handbook and see what it says.
Ray

I have just checked my MH and the readings with the battery charger ON, [ it has been for several days], are habitation 13.4v and vehicle 12.6v. It has 2 x 110ah leisure batteries.
That means the vehicle battery is fully charged and it apppears to maintain that voltage permanently so it is obviously being charged.

It is a CBE system, the link below is to the instruction manual see page 16.

http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/pdf/PC100_PC200_DS300_ENcircuits.pdf


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## Jean-Luc

If your charger is the same as the one below it is designed to look after two batteries, I have two since new (2005) and never had a problem, its output is 16 amps which is well up to the job.
The truck battery voltage is monitored and will only be brought online if its voltage goes low so the habitation battery, which is permanently on charge (once a supply is present), will normally show a higher voltage than the truck battery.


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## SaddleTramp

This post aroused my curiosity so I went to look at my MH which has been on EHU for 2 days, Both the Vehicle and The 2 X 110 ah batteries show 13.3v.

When not on EHU with just the Solar panel my Vehicle stays at around 12.6 and my leisure's are usually at around 13v and the Joint charge light comes on when they reach 13.3 which then brings the Vehicle Battery up to same as leisure.


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## RichardD

Just checked the readings after a further day on EHU and the habitation batteries have now risen to 14.0v with a 0.5A inflow and the vehicle battery has now risen to 12.6v.

In both the black battery indicator on the control panel is lit up which from the manual states that the voltage is too low and needs charging.

Can you guys check if your battery indicator is lit please?

Richard


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## RichardD

The readings today after a further day on EHU are as follows: -

Habitation batteries have fallen to 13.4v with a 1.0A inflow
Vehicle battery has fallen to 12.4v

Can't seem to make sense of what is going on!!!

Any further advice?

Richard


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## rayc

RichardD said:


> The readings today after a further day on EHU are as follows: -
> 
> Habitation batteries have fallen to 13.4v with a 1.0A inflow
> Vehicle battery has fallen to 12.4v
> 
> Can't seem to make sense of what is going on!!!
> 
> Any further advice?
> 
> Richard


Richard, I think there is nothing wrong and the readings appear typical. The 13.4v is the battery charger output at that moment in time and is no indication on the state of the battery. The vehicle battery reading is also nothing to worry about.
The battey voltage indicated on the panel is not truely accurate as I suspect there is some volt drop from the battery terminal voltage.
Why not switch the charger off for 12 hours and record the voltages and then switch the charger on for 12 hours and record them again and then switch the charger off again and record the voltages again after 2 hours? This should give a picture of what is happening.
My MH has been on charge now for 10 days and the battery readings at the moment are habitation 13.3v and cab 12.8v
Ray

PS: are you sure about "In both the black battery indicator on the control panel is lit up which from the manual states that the voltage is too low and needs charging?"
On mine the battery indicators is are on when whichever battery is selected for test and they 'blink' if charging is required.

It is also a reminder to me that digital meters lead to frequent checking and worrying. On my last MH I had a much simpler green / amber / red indication with 3 LEDs for each colour. I only ever got 3 green LED's whilst on charge and both batteries sat on 1 or 2 green LED's most of the time. Put the heating on full on gas and the fan would drag the habitation down into the 2 or 3 Ambers which would recover to green when the fan slowed down.


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## RichardD

Hi Ray,

Can't seem to remember if the black battery symbol on the CBE panel flashed or not. I think it was always on when originally the van showed 11.6 volts and the living area 12.6 volts.

Just looked at the Rapido manual and it does say that it flashes if voltages are too low. 

I contacted Marcle Leisure who gave me the e-mail address of a guy at CBE in Italy who might be able to advise as to what is going on.

I'll take it off EHU now and see what happens as you suggest.

Just to confirm, the engine battery does not supply power to the living area does it?

Richard


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## spatz1

if you want an accurate measure of how charged your batteries are....
buy a power meter and check the wattage going in to them.... the lower it is the more charged it is and i give up with the van charger showing just 3.5watts going into 2x110Ah batteries :lol:


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## RichardD

Hi Ray,

Just disconnected the EHU and the readings are now showing 13.3 volts for the interior batteries and 12.4 volts for the engine battery.

More worrying is that the display is showing a current draw from the leisure batteries of 1.0 amp. But I've got everything switched off!!!!

Any ideas?

Richard


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## rayc

RichardD said:


> Hi Ray,
> 
> Just to confirm, the engine battery does not supply power to the living area does it?
> 
> Richard


Richard, Mine does not have that facility, though some vans do. Similar to a caravan where the habitation circuits can be switched to either van or car battery. Ray

I am not quite sure why you think you may have a problem. Do not expect the cab battery to be on permanent float charge the same way as the leisure battery is. One thing for sure is that with both my current and previous MH's, which both have the CBE system, the cab battery was never flat and the engine starts/ed first time even when left on EHU for 10 days or more, at any time of the year.
Ray


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## rayc

RichardD said:


> Hi Ray,
> 
> Just disconnected the EHU and the readings are now showing 13.3 volts for the interior batteries and 12.4 volts for the engine battery.
> 
> More worrying is that the display is showing a current draw from the leisure batteries of 1.0 amp. But I've got everything switched off!!!!
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Richard


Just wait for 30 minutes to an hour for the battery to settle after charge. The 13.3V is not it's true terminal voltage { as per the note on the battety volts / % charge chart that was posted earlier}.
There will always be some discharge, as the panel itself is drawing current, and the current monitoring circuit will not be very accurate at %'s of a amp and propably round it up.


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## Jean-Luc

RichardD said:


> Hi Ray,
> 
> Just disconnected the EHU and the readings are now showing 13.3 volts for the interior batteries and 12.4 volts for the engine battery.
> 
> More worrying is that the display is showing a current draw from the leisure batteries of 1.0 amp. But I've got everything switched off!!!!
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Richard


The 1.0 amp indicated can be recalibrated to to zero once you are absolutely definite there is nothing live which is drawing current (alarm, gas detector, etc). Here's how (page 24 of CBE instruction manual)
To enter the programming menu turn on the panel while keeping the battery icon button and the water icon button pressed.
Use the clock icon button to sequentially cycle through the B1 voltage, the B2 voltage, the B2 amps, all three can be adjusted up or down using the battery icon and the water icon buttons.
To exit press the clock icon button.

Also remember that the B1 (vehicle battery) is only trickle charged when voltage goes low, so there will be times when it will show an 'off charge' voltage. Also, being a maintenance free battery it will not be charged up to the same voltage level as the B2 (leisure batteries)


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## RichardD

Have now had the van off EHU for a day now and the control panel is now showing: -

Habitation batteries dropped from 13.4 volts to 12.7 volts with still a 1.0 amp draw!!

Engine battery has dropped from 12.4 volts to 12.0 volts. Which means it is less than 50% charged.

Connected the EHU and voltages changed as follows: -

Habitation went up to 14.0 volts initially with a 2.5 amp inflow but after putting some lights on this turned into a 0 draw and finally 1.0 amp draw!!

Engine battery went up to 12. 4 volts.

How accurate are these digital panel indicators??

I can't understand why it was showing a 1.0 amp draw off EHU when there is nothing on apart from the Tracker and I would not expect this to draw much as I have the motion sensor version which switches itself off until motion is detected.

I also can't understand why initially when connecting EHU it showed a 2.5 amp charge and then went back to a 1.0 amp draw. On EHU I would have expected a charge current all the time as the CBE charger can provide up to 16 amps!!!

Can anyone recommend a good CBE electrical expert to contact please.

Richard


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## ColinC

*Rapido - Battery Charger*

Hi Richard

I cannot give you any technical advice on this issue but pass on to you, for what it's worth, my experience of this issue. Our van is now 4 years old and we have had it from new. During the first winter (during which it did not get used much) I was getting similar readings to yours and started to get concerned. From my trawl of relevant posts on here plus discussion with the Rapido experts at Wokingham Motorhomes I learnt that the Fiatx250 is quite 'hungry' for electricity from the engine battery even when the van is not being used. Something to do with the complex electronics on modern vehicles which don't go to sleep even after the ignition is off. Other posts that I've read on here in the past suggest that engine betteries generally drain over a period of 10-14 days if the van is not in use.

As regards the habitation battery I found that this held charge reasonably well but even then the CBE panel registers a 0.5 to 1.0 amp discharge which I still don't understand.

I have overcome the issue by fitting a solar panel. We needed one anyway because we regularly wild-camp and use aires. Even on campsites we are not heavy users users of electricity so rarely plug into mains. The solar panel keeps both batteries charged up when the van is laid up in the winter. Rapido pre-wire their vans take a solar panel and there is a regulator that plugs into a set of terminals next to the battery charger that will direct the solar charge to both batteries. Martin or Paul at Wokingham would be able to advise you on that.

I hope this may be of some assistance.

Colin


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## spatz1

RichardD said:


> Connected the EHU and voltages changed as follows: -
> 
> Habitation went up to 14.0 volts initially with a 2.5 amp inflow but after putting some lights on this turned into a 0 draw and finally 1.0 amp draw!!
> 
> Richard


when you hookup, its normal for all hab equipment to run off a stabilised voltage from the charger unit (13v on my van) and the batteries to be charged at the same time via the charger side of the unit and both are sepperate from each other.
My unit is quoted as 20a and i was disapointed to find out this relates to the stabilised voltage amps which feeds the hab and the charger side only gives 4a max.....

I d hazard a guess from what you say... i think you stabilised voltage supply is not conecting to the hab and the hab is left connected to the charging side of things and as you turn lights on this is depleating the charge until youre in negative territory...Im not sure how the stabilised and charged circuits are normally split but i have some sort of fuse box control thing and assume there is a relay inside somewhere....

There are 2 push in conector s one for stabilised one for charger side of things (situated near the charge er unit), i d check they are both pushed home correctly....


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## Jean-Luc

RichardD said:


> ..................and then went back to a 1.0 amp draw. On EHU I would have expected a charge current all the time as the CBE charger can provide up to 16 amps!!!
> 
> Can anyone recommend a good CBE electrical expert to contact please.
> 
> Richard


See my earlier post about calibration of the panel. 
The charge/discharge can be set to zero after you have established the batteries are neither receiving a charge (turn off the charger) nor giving out charge (everything connected is turned off)
The voltage of both B1 and B2 can be checked using a quality volt meter and recalibrated if required.
It is only after carrying out the above process that you can be sure the displayed values are an accurate reflection of what is happening.


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## Pudsey_Bear

Excuse my ignorance, but we are now on our 3rd Mh, and I have never ever checked either vehicle or leisure batteries.

They very occasionally discharge to a level which the inverter doesn't like an beeps, but other than that they seem OK, I assume if there is a problem I will quickly become aware of it, so I leave well enough alone.

The nearest I get to a check is a quick glance at the Solar regulator, once each night and again mid morning just to make sure it's getting something from the old currant bun.

So why do charging and/or battery problems seem to take up so many different threads.

Am I missing something :? :?


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## RichardD

Hi Kev,

This is my first M/H and I guess I'm battery sensitive to the fact that if the engine battery goes flat then I'm in serious problems!! Also last winter was very severe and I experience battery problems with both of the family cars, so I now keep a constant check on battery charge.

So when I put it onto EHU so as to maintain a healthy condition the results were not what I was expecting hence the thread.

Also need to know whether my CBE electrical control system is actually working. From what I can now understand is that the CBE gives priority to the leisure batteries and then once they are charged then it gives a trickle charge to the engine battery which might not be sufficent to get a fully charged engine battery. 

You mention a solar panel so this might be the answer but they are in my mind very expensive and the Rapido came with a EFOY fuel cell for use whilst touring to maintain the leisure batteries.

I think I'm also the type of guy who likes to understand what is going on with the various systems on the van. This is probably my downfall!!! 

Richard


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## Mandale

RichardD said:


> Hi Ray,
> 
> Can't seem to remember if the black battery symbol on the CBE panel flashed or not. I think it was always on when originally the van showed 11.6 volts and the living area 12.6 volts.
> 
> Just looked at the Rapido manual and it does say that it flashes if voltages are too low.
> 
> I contacted Marcle Leisure who gave me the e-mail address of a guy at CBE in Italy who might be able to advise as to what is going on.
> 
> I'll take it off EHU now and see what happens as you suggest.
> 
> Just to confirm, the engine battery does not supply power to the living area does it?
> 
> Richard


Hello, Richard

The vehicle starting battery does provide charge to the habitation battery on the CBE system. However the CBE control unit has a voltage sensitive relay in it that switches off the connection when the vehicle starter battery voltage falls below a pre-set voltage. I think it is about 13v but can confirm if you like. This prevents the habitation battery from draining the vehicle starter battery. 
On the charger side of things, did you know or have you already got the CBE split charging system installed for your second leisure battery. This system works by only charging and discharging one battery at a time. This takes strain off the charger and prevents one damaged battery for affecting the other battery's charge level. 
If you are charging three batteries from the CBE system it will give priority to the 2 habitation batteries first and will take a long time to charge the vehicle starter battery.

Hope this is of help


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## Pudsey_Bear

Sorry Richard, my post was intended as a query not a criticism of anyone, just in case I inadvertently upset anyone.


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## RichardD

Don't worry Kevin, no offence or criticism taken. I wish I was in your position of not worrying overduly and just enjoying the MH experience. 

Richard


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## RichardD

Hi Daniel,

I don't know whether I have the split charging system for the twin leisure battery set up. The twin leisure battery set up comes as standard fit for the 9009DFH. The CBE system is the standard unit fitted by Rapido for the majority of their coachbuilt and A class MHs from around 2008 on.

After several more days on EHU the leisure batteries have appeared to stabilise at around 13.3 volts to 13.4 volts but the vehicle battery is still only showing around 12.2 volts to 12.4 volts.

It is the vehicle battery which is causing me the concern as it appears that the CBE system is not giving it enough to charge it fully. If you are able to confirm exactly what charge the CBE system will give the vehicle battery that would be great. I could then decide if I need to add a supplementary charger such as a CTEK just for the vehicle battery.

Would there be any problem or damage to the current CBE charging system if I put a conventional Halfords battery charger under the bonnet connected to the jumpstart terminals to try and get the vehicle battery up to nearer 13 volts?? 

Richard


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## Coulstock

Hopefully not incurring further paranoia - but- my cab (ie vehicle) battery sits at 13.4 as read on my CBE panel(I've just checked) - I'm happy with that as I checked it under the bonnet with a voltmeter - not checked it after and engine start. Its been like that since we got back from our last trip in early Nov. Not had it on EHU since.

To re-iterate Jean Lucs earlier thread its worth calibrating your CBE amperage readout. I've checked my habitation discharge (with an ammeter) with everything switched off and it was about 0.1 A -after all its still supplying everything 'upstream' of the ON switch. So I calibrated my CBE panel to read -0.5A ( I seem to recall it is calibrated in 0.5A increments) with CBE panel ON and all selections, (Lights, water pump etc OFF). Then it should go more progressively -ve as I switch lights ON, run Water Pumps, run Truma heating etc returning to -0.5A when I switch everything OFF. -all this NOT on EHU .

After a period on EHU my habitation gets to about 13.4V and the CBE 'charging' current should drop to about +0.5A

Your right to try and understand whats happening - helps when something is amiss !!

Harry


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## compassrose

Hi
I've been following this thread and in my view before getting too consumed by what the panel might be saying at any particular time and whether such indications sugest a fault, I would do the following; Having had the van on hook-up and charge for about 24 hours, isolate the van from hook-up/charge and after a period of about six hours, take direct voltage readings off the habitation battery bank and vehicle battery using a multimeter across the terminals. This will tell you the actual state of charge at rest. Then compare these readings with those obtained from the panel. This will give you a much more accurate indication than spot readings from the panel and will show whether you need to re-calibrate the panel as previously posted. Then, should you wish to go further, you can repeat the measurements with the van on hook-up and with the charger switched on. This would then give you assurance of the charger's operation. It would also be possible to use the multimeter to check on how many amps are being used and how many are being put in (by the charger) but I shouldn't think you need to go that far at this stage. Take advice if you are not familiar with the use of a multimeter - probably the best tool you will ever own.

David


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## Mandale

RichardD said:


> Hi Daniel,
> 
> I don't know whether I have the split charging system for the twin leisure battery set up. The twin leisure battery set up comes as standard fit for the 9009DFH. The CBE system is the standard unit fitted by Rapido for the majority of their coachbuilt and A class MHs from around 2008 on.
> 
> After several more days on EHU the leisure batteries have appeared to stabilise at around 13.3 volts to 13.4 volts but the vehicle battery is still only showing around 12.2 volts to 12.4 volts.
> 
> It is the vehicle battery which is causing me the concern as it appears that the CBE system is not giving it enough to charge it fully. If you are able to confirm exactly what charge the CBE system will give the vehicle battery that would be great. I could then decide if I need to add a supplementary charger such as a CTEK just for the vehicle battery.
> 
> Would there be any problem or damage to the current CBE charging system if I put a conventional Halfords battery charger under the bonnet connected to the jumpstart terminals to try and get the vehicle battery up to nearer 13 volts??
> 
> Richard


Hello Richard,

I am not sure if the additional split charging system is fitted to your motorhome, however just to clarify. The additional split charger is to separate the charge and discharge on only your leisure batteries and does not affect the CBE original split charge for the vehicle battery. From what I know of this system it is basically wired like this: the main power + feed and return from terminal +B1 (which usually goes straight to you leisure battery) is attached to the additional split charger. Two separate + feeds from the additional split charger them attach to the individual leisure batteries (the two leisure batteries are not connected together). I have not yet fitted one of these split chargers as our motorhomes are supplied with one leisure battery, but from my understanding of the system I a reasonably sure this is how it is wired.(there's probably some control wires in there somewhere as well).

With regards to you vehicle started battery, after first checking with one of our mechanics, he has said the reading of 12.4v you are having would indicate no real problem with the battery. But be aware that all vehicle battery voltages will fall if the vehicle is not started every wk. This is usually because of alarms and dash clocks etc.

It sounds like the CBE charger is doing its job on your van and is keeping the starter battery topped up, I think most people either start their van and run it for a bit every wk or so or alternatively leave it on EHU.

We find sometimes at the garage when a car or van is with us for a long time the vehicle starter batteries do go flat, they do not like sitting about. On the odd occasion we have had to replace vehicle batteries before giving the vehicle back to the customer. Vehicle starter batteries are not designed like leisure batteries and really do not like going flat and being re-charged. I would estimate that you could completely destroy a new vehicle starter battery if you drained it to the point where the engine will not turn over, more than three times.


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## Jean-Luc

RichardD said:


> ...........It is the vehicle battery which is causing me the concern as it appears that the CBE system is not giving it enough to charge it fully. If you are able to confirm exactly what charge the CBE system will give the vehicle battery that would be great. ....................


The vehicle battery charging capability of the CBE charger is 2amps, it's purpose is not to recharge a flat battery, but to compensate for light discharge like interior lights which are part of the courtesy light circuit, the dash radio and any other minor draws from the base vehicle system.

See HERE for the full instruction manual


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## gaspode

Hi

Did you ever resolve this issue satisfactorily Richard?

We've recently bought a Rapido 7066DF and have exactly the same situation that you describe in your O/P. We've had the CBE setup in our last two 'vans and never had this problem, has the charge distribution (between had and cab batteries) changed???

Our dealer has replaced the cab battery as there was a good chance it had been run flat whilst in stock (so possibly sulphated) but the situation doesn't seem much improved with the new battery. :? 

There seems to be an element of the X250 draining the cab battery very heavily (possibly due to the all-singing/dancing Pioneer P3100DVD unit) but I haven't measured the standby current drain yet, that might be a job for tomorrow if it stops snowing. :roll: 

It would be interesting to know the outcome of your enquiries.


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## WildThingsKev

Our Rapido with CBE panel which has been accurately calibrated goes like this (2 x 100A leisure, no battery master etc nor solar panel).

EHU: leisure 14.0v, vehicle 13.0v (1 hr post charge: leisure 13.0v vehicle 12.7v).

long drive: leisure 14.0v, vehicle 14.0v (1 hour after stopping: leisure 13.0v, vehicle 13.0v) 

When on ehu the leisure battery voltage will drop back to 13.5ish once fully charged and the vehicle battery will drop to 12.7v until the next boost. The vehicle battery is never above 13.0v when on ehu. 

I've put 1hr post charge but cannot remember if this is exactly the time I used when writing this down a few years ago.


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## gaspode

Those figures are much the same as I remember our last 'van recording Kev (similar CBE panel & charger) but this one seems to charge the cab battery to a lower voltage (12.6 max). That's why I suggested that maybe CBE have revised the charge quota for the hab battery? Only other thing is that I haven't been able to give the 'van a "good" run yet to get the cab battery up to full capacity.

The power hungry??? X250 and the Pioneer entertainment unit may of course have some bearing on the matter, our last 'van was on the 2.8JTD. On the subject of the Pioneer unit, it appears to be impossible to turn the damn thing completely off, ignition setting has no effect on whether it functions or not, if you simply touch the screen it fires into life. On the face of it a good thing in a M/H where you might want to listen to a CD or watch a DVD without the ignition switched on, but it must surely have a cost in standby current terms. I have checked the wiring BTW and it is wired correctly as per the installation manual and it doesn't have a feed from the hab battery.


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## WildThingsKev

Our Pioneer radio is exactly the same. If I take the van off ehu in winter it takes about 8-10 days for the vehicle battery to drop to 12.3v which will still start the van instantly as usual. I've never let it drop lower. (Fitted with pro-active Phantom tracker 12-18mA but no alarm).

The fact that the vehicle battery is effectively outside and at ambient (as noted on a recent thread) and the habitation batteries sit above a heating pipe (I leave the truma on electric with a dial setting of 1.5 in winter) probably accounts for some of the (apparent) faster discharge.

Since you are going to check the radio anyway it would be worth seeing if simply removing the faceplate affects the standby current.

My biggest problem with the van when we bought it 1 year old and hardly used was that the temperature sensor was wired incorrectly. Both wires were commoned up at the terminal (and so were the 2 from the overheat sensor) so that whenever the heat was turned it went straight to maximum. I could not believe that it had left the factory, been sold by a main dealer, owned for a year and sold on by another dealer without being noticed. Lucky my father is an electronics engineer as it's a long way to Newark from Cornwall!


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## gaspode

WildThingsKev said:


> If I take the van off ehu in winter it takes about 8-10 days for the vehicle battery to drop to 12.3v


That sounds fine. I took the 'van off hook-up for 4 days last week and the cab battery dropped to an indicated 11.6v - that's not fine, even allowing for the current cold snap. The radio we have fitted has a large LED screen so the face isn't removable unfortunately.


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## gaspode

Update:

After a spell out in the cold I can report the following:

The charger is maintaining the battery at a terminal voltage of 12.4v, with an ammeter in circuit you can see it pulsing every few seconds. However switch off the charger and the current drain rises to between 400ma and 500ma. 8O 8O 8O This is without anything switched on and the alarm off. Clearly, a constant drain like that will flatten the best of batteries within a few days.

Disconnecting the radio reduces this drain to about 50ma - much more acceptable - so the current line of enquiry surrounds the wiring and functionality of the radio (once I've warmed up a bit). The dealer had removed the radio whilst the 'van was on the forecourt and did say they'd scratched their heads a bit over how to re-connect it so first line of enquiry is to determine did they do it correctly?


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## RichardD

Hi gaspode, 

I never really resolved the problem but the van has been on EHU since I started this thread and the voltages are still: vehicle 12.4v/12.6v and habitation 13.4v. I have not yet tried to measure the actual voltage with a multimeter and then calibrate the CBE if a difference found.

When you measured the current drain at 400mA to 500mA how long did you leave the ammeter attached? I ask because on my BMW the electrics and ECU go into a closedowm mode gradually shuting the electronics down around the vehicle. Typically the BM would draw around 1A to 2A on switch off and then over a period of 5 to 10 minutes would gradually reduce down to about 50mA.

I have taken the van out on two trips and it started up OK but I didn't think the battery sounded particularly active but it did start first time.

Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit then I'll get the multimeter out.


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## gaspode

Hi Richard

Well, after all day taking voltage & current readings and tracing wires I think (nay - hope) that I might have found the solution.

As stated in my last post, the dealer had removed the Pioneer radio/DVD unit wnd replaced it before delivery. He did say that they were a bit puzzled about the connections and I'm now thinking that they wired it up incorrectly.

As the Fiat doesn't have what we accept as an "accessory" stage on the ignition switch, it looks as if Rapido had wired the radio so that the "accessory" feed was routed via an unswitched live from the habitation battery making the radio believe that the ignition switch was at the "accessory" position all the time. Presumably this being done to allow the radio to be used when parked up without having to keep turning it back on after the obligatory half hour or whatever.

Anyway, the dealer seems to have got the wires crossed resulting in a constant current being drawn from the cab battery. They'd also not connected the handbrake interlock so DVDs were not displaying on the screen.

I've "adjusted" the wiring as I think may be correct (or at least how Rapido intended) and currently the hab battery is showing 13.9v and the cab battery 13.0v after an hour on charge so I'm keeping fingers crossed that I may have found the problem.


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## bazzeruk

Interesting thread. I have a Rapido 924F 04 plate (ducato 2.8) which is going into store (not sure how long). How easy is it to remove the main battery as I want to keep it charged up?


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## makems

Richard,we have a Rapido 983M and have been experiencing some battery problems whilst currently touring Portugal/Spain. 
Whilstwe have a Scheiber panel rather than the CBE I can say that the readings for our vehicle and leisure batteries we see are totally consistent with what you see.
We have had NO problems with starting the van no matter what the panel reading is for the starter battery and my advice is to relax and not worry unduly.
Like you I want to understand what is going on and have become addicted to checking the panel. Our problem has mainly been to do with the leisure batteries and we have had them checked (they are OK) the solar system checked (also OK) and everythings else you can think of checked (all OK).
The answer from the experts has been that the panel does not tell the truth and should not be relied upon!
I suggest that unless you have some symptoms that lead you to believe there IS a problem (engine turning over slowly or not at all) then there likely ISN'T a problem.
I hope this helps
Mike


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