EC 325 not working batteries dangerously low
we have a 2008 autotrail Cheyenne. It has a Sergent EC 325 electric unit with a solar panel (two leaisure batteries). Yesterday we hooked up at home as the battery reading was 8.7 ( dangerously low) and nothing would work, within minutes it was up to 11.8. Today my husband checked and again the batteries were down but when we plugged in the EHU the EC 325 unit would not switch on. We have rebooted the control panel over the door, but don’t know what else to do. The EHU is fine and we can hear the unit clicking as it is trying to switch on. Any suggestions?
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We had a similar problem with a different power supply controller in our 3 year old caravan last year and I had to fit a new unit. I have searched for problems with the Sergent EC 325 on the internet and the first entry was about one in a autotrail Cheyenne! Indications in that and other entries suggest there have been problems with this unit.
Suggest you do a search as I did.
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agree with Peedee.
not only that, a totally knackered battery will cause any charger issues as it tries (in vain) to resuscitate it...
it may be that the charger is knacked too.
a couple of tests...
find true state of leisure battery....disconnect everything from it, let it rest for an hour or two and measure with a voltmeter....anything less than 12v is bad...
test that charger and solar panel are doing their jobs re charging...pull fuse on solar panel input (to remove the effect of that) and turn on EHU/charger..use voltmeter to check that a raised charge (of around 14+v is present....check leisure battery and vehicle battery.
disconnect EHU (will turn off mains charger) and reconnect fuse in solar panel....repeat voltmeter reading for charge being applied to leisure and vehicle batteries by the SP. Again should be 14v+.
the results of the above will tell you
a) if the leisure battery is dead
b) if the EHU/charger is charging both sets of batteries
c) if the SP is doing as above.
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If checking the voltage output on a solar panel at this time of year, I would suggest parking on a very steep south facing hill if you want to see an output above 14v. Mine our just about managing 13.6v parked on the level as the sun is so low in the sky
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56 degrees north, less than an hour to sunset, it's raining, and my panel is doing 13.6 volts. Some do - some don't.
To identify the Op's problem, it would be simplest to swap out the battery for another one to prove the charger unit is the trouble.
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A battery at 8.7 volts is definitely scrap.
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It may be the batteries are gone and if you’re not careful, could take the charger out. I haven’t used them so can’t recommend, but there’s a lot of useful information on this site about chargers, charging and the different types of battery. They have a section on your charger unit and solar panels;
http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/sargent.php
Good luck
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