12 volt system
Hi all hoping I can some help sorting this problem , I have a bailey valencia 2016 and have no 12 volts . I have just replaced the battery , this happened before I replaced it , all the 240 works but no 12 volt supply.
Also I have checked the inline fuse 15 amp and this seems OK, but I have put a new one in , is there 2 of these fuses or just the one , none of the main fuses are tripping out which makes me think the electrics are OK.
If the battery charger in the caravan has stopped working would this stop the 12 volt system working .
I look forward to all the good advice I know I can trust from here
Comments
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Sorry to hear that, so a few things to consider, have you checked the voltage on either the old, or more importantly now, the new battery?
Did you get 12V on devices when the new battery was first put in?
And perhaps a silly question what do you mean by no 12V, what 12V devices are not working?
To answer your question yes if your charger is not charging your battery then it will discharge and you will have no 12V hence why I asked what voltage is your battery now?
The charger (at least in my Swift) keeps the battery charged (with cycling) all the time when on EHU so if your battery is discharged then there will be no 12V as there isn't a transformer that reduces the 240 to 12V.
Also silly questions like are all the switches set to on that should be, ie the battery charger which is a separate switch to the 240V on switch, 12V on (which on mine is actually on the control panel above the door and not near the 240 equipment which is at the front near the battery)?
Hope this might help?
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Hi cornersteady , thanks for the reply I have checked the old battery with a multimeter and getting 12.9v not on the caravan and the new one reading 13.7v in the caravan when the 12v switch in the off or on position and when on EHU ( so may have jumped the gun a bit buying a battery).
Items not working are the lights ,pump , aldi panel not coming on , with or without EHU and the 12v switch on the control panel in the on position, when on EHU items working are the fridge, microwave and all sockets .
I have checked all fuses and these are OK. Also can I just confirm with you , if the charger in the caravan is not working I won't get any 12v , is that what you meant .
Thanks
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To answer your last question first, no the charger should not stop the 12V working as the 12V will come off the battery but it won't keep the battery charged up so sooner or later all the 12V will stop.
(On a swift it advices to always to have a battery in place when using EHU.)
But it looks as your battery is Ok so 12V should it be there. Sorry I can't be more help. We had a similar problem many years ago when arriving on site once, the only work around was to push the wires going into the battery box in and out somewhat till the 12V worked and then taped it down to keep it on (sorry not very technical) and then it was fixed at our dealer as it was then under warranty, it was just a loose connection somewhere inside, it was easy to fix apparently if one knew where to look which of course we didn't.
I would get a mobile caravan engineer to have a look at it or take it to your dealer? Hope it's not spoiling any trips.
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Hi thanks for your reply , I do have a caravan guy I have contacted but on holiday at tne moment so speaking to him next week and he will sort this for me .
I also think something along a loose wire / connection or fuse somewhere in the van , I will be back here to let you and others know what the problem was so it will hopefully help others .
Thanks for all the help and if anyone else has any comments on this problem
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What happens if you plug in the van to your towcar? Does the fridge work when the engine is running? And can you get 12v directly from the car when the ignition is off? This would normally give you 12v to the pump and the lights, and the Alde Panel. To use it like this you would select car battery on the control panel in your van.
When checking fuses did you remove them and test with your meter?
We also have a Swift Group van, but a Bailey will not be too different. Have looked for a wiring diagram for your van, but cannot find one.
All vans have a habitation relay which cuts off 12v in the van when towing, but allows the fridge to be powered from the towcar. Relays can stick, so if this one is stuck in the towing position then you would get no 12v in the van from either the van battery or the car battery
Other thoughts are a poor connection somewhere, a broken wire, or a hidden fuse you have not found.
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Silly question. Do you have the main control panel in the caravan switched on. Can you check the supply to it. In my case I switch off the main panel all the time when not using the caravan as it drags the battery down. When off no lights, water pump etc
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Hi all thanks for the advice , regarding the main panel switch it is always in the off position when not in use and when hitched up and travelling but thanks for the thought, I suppose we have all overlooked things at somepoint. I can not see how to get to the back of the main panel to check this .
Regarding the other points no I didn't hook up to the car so not sure if 12v working this way , i don't have a battery position on the panel so leave this in the off position and put the fridge switch on to battery when travelling, all fuses checked with a multimeter and OK, not sure where the relay might be , also I am not really up there to go messing about with the electrics ( if you know what I mean) but as stated checked the simple things .
I do have the service guy coming on Friday, and having talked through a few things he said may be the charger if a certain type, relay, fuse I could have missed or a couple of other bits he mentioned, he is very good so sure he will sort it .
Sorry if that seemed a bit long winded to say this guy is coming but I wanted to answer everyone and I am very grateful for all your suggestions and thoughts., as said when I know what it is I will post up on here to help anyone with the same problem.
Thanks again
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Hi all, sorry it's been a while but just to let you all know I did get my caravan sorted , 12 volt system not working , it was the circuit board within the main fuse box , all is now working fine.
So again a big thank you for everyone's thoughts and advice
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There’s confusion over whether 12v on a voltmeter is the same as delivering 12v to a load. That’s because a high resistance (perhaps corroded) connection passes enough to register 12v on the low load that a voltmeter presents, but there’s not enough current to power a load. You need to test with a car type bulb as part of your test equipment. As has been said earlier, there’s no need for a 230v charger - we’ve survived weeks on end without EHU. Apply your tester to one of the 12v dedicated outlets for a simple check. If 12v is being delivered to your in-van power supply, but not out, you might do well to contact the power supply manufacturer, who’s likely to be able to diagnose the faulty system. From your description, i think that the supply box internals are the likely culprit.
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