My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 
 
 
 
 
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My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 10.09.2022  ·  #1
I arrived at a campsite yesterday so I took the opportunity to plug in so I can run everything from that and charge up my battery etc. I left the fan on all day cause I was plugged in anyway so shouldn't make a difference.

I went asleep and woke up in the middle of the night really hot. Fan, was off. Had a look and the battery is empty... but the MH is plugged in? What's that all about? I thought once I'm plugged in it should also be charging my battery for me?

I've been away for 4 weeks now, this is the first time I've plugged in, it's also the first time the battery went dead. Until now, the solar seems to keep it topped up, or it charges itself when I'm driving.
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 10.09.2022  ·  #2
Check if there's actually power coming into the van ,has the mains fuse tripped , check voltage on battery too
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 10.09.2022  ·  #3
Was the fan plugged into the mains, if so it shouldn't have stopped unless the mains tripped?
Is the onboard battery charger turned on?
The fan shouldn't have flattened the battery unless its a 12v unit or running off an inverter and the battery isn't being charged.
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My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 10.09.2022  ·  #4
It sounds as if your fan is running off your battery.
There is a lot of questions you need to answer.
Have you used the fan before this.?
For how long?
What is the fan, rated at ( how many KW) how many amps does it draw.
Is it 12v or 220v?.
How many Amps is the EHU?
Did the EHU trip during the night?.
What else was runni g off the battery overnight.?
What is your Hab electrical control system,?
Does it have an integrated charger?
Have you a volt meter?
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 10.09.2022  ·  #5
Wow, I've a lot to answer but I appreciate ye taking the time to reply. Its grand now because I drove on and it charged on the way, but I'd like to understand the workings for future endeavours. I'm out for dinner now but I'll log back in tomorrow to supply more info.
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 11.09.2022  ·  #6
Quote by Waterford guy

Wow, I've a lot to answer but I appreciate ye taking the time to reply. Its grand now because I drove on and it charged on the way, but I'd like to understand the workings for future endeavours. I'm out for dinner now but I'll log back in tomorrow to supply more info.


Scary, isn't it ? 😸
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 11.09.2022  ·  #7
Quote by Waterford guy

Wow, I've a lot to answer but I appreciate ye taking the time to reply. Its grand now because I drove on and it charged on the way, but I'd like to understand the workings for future endeavours. I'm out for dinner now but I'll log back in tomorrow to supply more info.


From what I have read from your post, it seems that you're internal charger which runs off 240v isn't working ( possible blown fuse ). As you say that when you drive is recharges the battery & that's from the alternator, which makes me think that your wiring circuit's are ok
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 11.09.2022  ·  #8
So the fan in question is built into the MH. It's in the roof in the kitchen area, works as an extractor fan on one setting, or you can reverse it to blow the air around internally. So it's not something I've plugged into the van. I've often left it on for several hours with minimal drain on the battery.

There isn't actually an issue with the fan, it's working now that the battery has charged up after a few hours driving, its just the fan turning off is what made me realise the battery was dead, even though I was plugged in. I thought if I'm plugged I'm, all the appliances should run from the mains and the battery should also be getting charged, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Now in wondering was the electrical supply just really weak? Is that a thing at campsites. I've seen people say here that electricity in some sites isn't the same strength as others. Perhaps the supply was just too weak to power the fan and recharge the battery. Would that make sense?
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 11.09.2022  ·  #9
Quote by Waterford guy

So the fan in question is built into the MH. It's in the roof in the kitchen area, works as an extractor fan on one setting, or you can reverse it to blow the air around internally. So it's not something I've plugged into the van. I've often left it on for several hours with minimal drain on the battery.

There isn't actually an issue with the fan, it's working now that the battery has charged up after a few hours driving, its just the fan turning off is what made me realise the battery was dead, even though I was plugged in. I thought if I'm plugged I'm, all the appliances should run from the mains and the battery should also be getting charged, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Now in wondering was the electrical supply just really weak? Is that a thing at campsites. I've seen people say here that electricity in some sites isn't the same strength as others. Perhaps the supply was just too weak to power the fan and recharge the battery. Would that make sense?



That fan in the roof that you are referring to will be powered by the battery as it is 12v, the electric will pass through the charging system to keep the battery topped up.
You either had no power supply which let your battery go flat or the charging system had tripped and no charge was getting to the battery.
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 11.09.2022  ·  #10
Your 12v devices can run whilst charging whilst allowing decent charge to your batteries only if your charger has the ability to act as a 12v direct supply. Not all chargers are. Also do you know what charging output your charger gives?...older chargers can be a bit anaemic in that regard. Seems you have a split charger fitted(which you must if your batteries are charged up a bit again after a drive). so as suggested you either have a 240v charger that isn't very good, or may even be fused. Also do you know if you battery bank is in good shape, what type/age/capacity are the batteries?
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My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 11.09.2022  ·  #11
I would think you didn't have mains power, your trip switch might be in the off position, or there wasn't any power at the socket.
Start from scratch, when you next plug in, check if in fact you have mains power, your control board should tell you, also I presume you have a 3 way auto select fridge freezer, turned to auto, this should select mains after about 15min, your control panel should also indicate that your battery's are charging, reading about 14volts when charging,
As said, do you know the condition of your battery's, do you know is your solar actually working, have you any idea of the readings,
If you got a cheep multimeter, do you know how to use one. To do a few tests?
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Re: My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 14.09.2022  ·  #12
Quote by sprinter

I would think you didn't have mains power, your trip switch might be in the off position, or there wasn't any power at the socket.
Start from scratch, when you next plug in, check if in fact you have mains power, your control board should tell you, also I presume you have a 3 way auto select fridge freezer, turned to auto, this should select mains after about 15min, your control panel should also indicate that your battery's are charging, reading about 14volts when charging,
As said, do you know the condition of your battery's, do you know is your solar actually working, have you any idea of the readings,
If you got a cheep multimeter, do you know how to use one. To do a few tests?


Now that you mention the frodge, it reminded me. When I had it plugged into the mains in question, the system would not switch over from gas to mains, which it usually would. So it must have been the electricity supply.

I don't know kind of leisure battery it is, or what it's performance is like in relation to others, but I've been on the road for 4 weeks and this was the first time I plugged in. Until that point it kept itself topped up from solar or from being driven. For some reason though, once I plugged in, the battery went to zero after a few hours with the fan on. Strange, but I'll run through it all step by step next time I plug in and see if I can pin point it.
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My leisure battery is dead, but the MH is plugged in?

 ·  Posted: 14.09.2022  ·  #13
Quote by Waterford guy

Quote by sprinter

I would think you didn't have mains power, your trip switch might be in the off position, or there wasn't any power at the socket.
Start from scratch, when you next plug in, check if in fact you have mains power, your control board should tell you, also I presume you have a 3 way auto select fridge freezer, turned to auto, this should select mains after about 15min, your control panel should also indicate that your battery's are charging, reading about 14volts when charging,
As said, do you know the condition of your battery's, do you know is your solar actually working, have you any idea of the readings,
If you got a cheep multimeter, do you know how to use one. To do a few tests?


Now that you mention the fridge, it reminded me. When I had it plugged into the mains in question, the system would not switch over from gas to mains, which it usually would. So it must have been the electricity supply.

I don't know kind of leisure battery it is, or what it's performance is like in relation to others, but I've been on the road for 4 weeks and this was the first time I plugged in. Until that point it kept itself topped up from solar or from being driven. For some reason though, once I plugged in, the battery went to zero after a few hours with the fan on. Strange, but I'll run through it all step by step next time I plug in and see if I can pin point it.


also worth while to check the connections in your cable plug/socket, besides this particulate hick up is your trip going well /
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