Charging the caravan battery whilst towing
I have a 2013 Ford Grand C-Max and a 2009 Bailey GT60 two berth. The van is stored at storage site a few miles away from my home, so I remove the leisure battery over winter, keeping it on my Optimax maintenance charger, refitting the battery for the season.
The car has a Ford factory fit retractable towing hitch and 13 pin electrics. If I connect the van to the car, and switch on the vans 12v master switch, I get a reading of just over 12v on the meter on the vans 12v panel. However, when I start the car engine,
the meter reverts to 0, just as if I'd switched off the master switch. Power is also cut to the vans 12v accessorie sockets.
Can anyone explain what is happening ? I am hoping that the van battery is receiving a charge from the car. Indeed, after running for a few minutes, the vans meter does show a slightly higher reading when the car engine is shut off. My previous Citroen did
charge the battery whilst towing.
As I was driving home, it dawned on me that I might have got a bit more information by placing my multimeter directly across the van battery terminals, this would have shown if it was receiving a charge with engine running. We are due to go on a trip next
week, and I am bothered about arriving at my pitch with insufficient battery power for my motormover.