Battery/Alarm Issues (Newbie)
Hi.
First time caravanner. Just collected 2008 Sterling Eccles Moonstone. Came with new leisure battery but it is dead. I’m seemingly unable to charge it despite being connected to mains overnight. Whenever I disconnect mains there is what sounds like a dying car alarm siren which will drone on and in until I plug it back in.
Any clue why why I can’t seem to charge and why my alarm seems to sound very faintly when I unplug?
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Update. Since posting I’ve put a multimeter across the battery terminals and it shows 12v. The caravan however will not switch on at all unless the power is connected. The alarm still sounds as soon as mains are disconnected no matter if the battery is attached or not.
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Seems the battery is dead but the best way to check that is to take it out and put it on a separate charger then test.
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If you purchased from a dealer, go back and have them sort it, a brand new caravan battery should not die like that.
However, are you sure you have turned on the charger? Does the charger actually work? A fully charged battery should give around 14.4 volts.
Regarding the alarm (we have a same model year Sterling) ......
it has its own battery which should be changed every 5 years or so, so it may well be that it has not been replaced at all and is now pretty dead.
To replace this you need to remove the alarm box by removing the 4 screws holding it in place, there are more screws to open the box itself, then buy a suitable battery on Amazon/e Bay or somewhere like Halfords. On or under the box there is a switch to turn the alarm off while you are doing this, it is deafening otherwise! Remember to turn on again before refixing the assembled box to the floor.
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So, this is what I suggest. Firstly, check my post on the discussion on leisure batteries below and you will see what the voltages should be (and on a 2008 Eccles I doubt that 14.4 volts will appear anywhere).
First you need to charge the battery overnight and this is best done offline using a decent battery charger.
When fully charged with the charger disconnected for a few hours and settled down it will be 12.7 volts approx.
Put the battery back in then plug in EHU and check that all the circuits are switched on, including the ac supply to the charger.
If the charger is working then you should register around 13.8 volts on the battery terminals. If not then you have no working charger.
If you then switch off mains hook-up the battery should maintain 12.7 volts for about a month assuming everything is switched off - lights, fridge light, control panel etc. If not then either the battery is faulty or there is an excessive current drain somewhere.
The alarm is a secondary issue but first you need to check battery and charger.
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Thank you all. I will deactivate the alarm and remove the battery tomorrow for offline charge. Will see if that fixes the primary issue and address the alarm sounding afterwards.
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hitchglitch........we have a 2008 Sterling Eccles Searcher, above the door on the control panel it shows, amongst other things you can select, the battery voltage. It shows it to be 14.2 volts right now.
How accurate that may be I have no idea!
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I am fairly sure that the Eccles doesn’t have a smart charger so it will be just the standard caravan charger and these are usually set to around 13.8 V being a compromise voltage i.e. not too high for 12 volt appliances and just about tolerable for the battery. 14.2 volts is high for sustained use because you will be pushing too much current into a fully charged battery which eventually will damage it.
I don’t think the voltmeters are all that accurate so worth checking with a digital meter if you get the chance. Either way, you should not leave EHU permanently plugged in when you are not using the van. This is true for any van that doesn’t have a smart charger and is standard advice given by manufacturers and the Club. Best to properly recharge the battery (off the van) every month or so.
As the 13.8 (or thereabouts) voltage is a compromise it is also not enough to properly recharge a discharged battery and you will never recover the full capacity unless you disconnect the battery and give it a proper charge using a multi-stage charger.
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Oh, under the front seat on our swift there is a Sargeant fuse board/charger with three switches, the first switch turns the system on the second switch turns on the charger and the third the heating/hot water. When the van is not in use we turn off the system switch is turned off as this prevents battery drain
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Thanks everyone. All sorted.
The alarm issue was solved by simply switching it off, it’ll need a new internal battery (long overdue a change). The 12v problem was indeed the inline fuse from the battery box, really easy to find, just under the seat behind battery box. Lead had come loose, plugged in, switched off the mains and it automatically switched to 12v. All is working! Battery shows 14.4v when being charged, 12.6v when standing alone. FYI, There is a battery charger switch in the Eccles, it’s one of 3 under the breakers on the MCB.
Appreciate the help. Off on our first trip next week and it all appears ship shape now.
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Looks like my reply got lost in space.
Just to say thanks for the feedback and that I was clearly wrong about the charger type. Once charged the voltage should drop down from 14.4 volts to nearer 13.8 volts but, who knows, there are so many different makes of vans, chargers and batteries it is always difficult to provide universal advice.0
