Hi

I’m still working through some electrical problems with our recently acquired Familia 320 (2009 model). I replaced the 13 core cable and plug today and rewired the distribution box under the chassis for the 12V connections. All seems to be working after testing. The old cable had been dragged along the road by a previous owner and taped up - and on inspection after removal the reversing light wire was partly frayed.

However, I measured the battery voltage on EHU and it’s 15.8V. I think the BIP (Scheiber) is faulty as charging voltage should be around 13.7V otherwise the battery will be overcharged. We recently acquired the caravan and the previous owner fitted a new battery in the past year.

I’m thinking of installing a CTek charger and bypassing the BIP charging.

Any comments?

Pete

Pin 12 Connection on Distribution board

You asked that question and I answered just a few days ago.

Ray,

My post was more about the problems of overcharging a battery (100AH AGM sealed battery) with a BIP that is supplying 15.8V which is way more than the 2.3V per cell required for 'safe' charging.

I wonder how many Eribas are out there with the same problem. Our Eriba is less than 15 years old!

So I'm going down your route of installing a CTEK smart charger to replace the BIP charging electronics. You have posted some excellent information on how to do this elsewhere on these forums for which I am very grateful (as a newbie to the Eribas).

The other way of doing it is to take out the BIP and repair the charging circuit (probably a few components) but this is a lot of work. I can do this as I was an electronics engineer in my early career. However, I would still be left with a relatively poor solution long term as the battery charging circuitry in the BIP is pretty crude. CTEK is the way to go (a quality charger and charge controller, unlike the BIP). The BIP doesn't have reverse pulse charging, for example, so I would say it's incompatible with AGM batteries.

For the benefit of others reading this post, overcharging (applying more than 13.7V) is not a good thing with AGM batteries. It causes the battery to overheat. Over time, the battery can get hotter and get into thermal runaway where it gets hotter still. I'm not sure it would actually catch fire (like lithium batteries) but the battery would suffer permanent capacity loss and only good for recycling. My advice to others - check your battery terminals when charging, with a cheap voltmeter.

The previous owner had the battery replaced with an AGM one at the last service and I suspect this was the reason why. As this new battery has been through a few overcharging cycles, I'll check the battery later and post my findings.

The CTEK charger supplied a constant 13.78 voltage to the terminals when on charge last night - perfect!

Pete

Pete, I understand that an AGM battery can be charged up to 14.7Vdc on a deep cycle. The Ctek charger has an AGM setting that charges the battery above 14.5 for a period and then eventually settles down to a maintenance voltage between 12.7 and 13.5 approx.

I wouldn't bother trying to fix the BIP's charger, even when working as designed it's not suitable to be left on for any length of time.

The installation of a Ctek (or other smart charger) is very simple, a quick and easy fix. Just disconnect the 230Vac supply from the BIP's transformer and power the Ctek with that supply. Ctek output permanently wired to the battery.

My Triton is stored next to my garage with EHU always on, Ctek always on. I have a little home made voltmeter plugged in to one of the power points in the light fitting, visible through the window. I can easily check in passing that all is well.

Ray - yes the AGM needs 14.6V to 14.8V if charging from a deep discharge. It's clear the BIP (Scheiber unit) isn't compliant with AGM batteries. For 90% of the time the battery won't be in deep discharge and it will only need to be maintained. So the BIP charging will be consigned to history.

The dealer or person who fitted the AGM battery (previous owner) ought to have known that the Eribas BIP is not compatible with AGM. The BIP charging circuit (being a crude charger) will only recharge the battery to around 85% if it is working correctly (13.7V) and not overcharging, and this itself will cause a memory effect in the battery, reducing its life.

I checked the battery voltage this morning after being left overnight without the EHU and no real load and it measures 13.12V so I think the battery is OK.

I wonder how many Eribas get a voltage check and a charger and battery compatibility check during annual service trips? Probably very few.

A new CTEK (5A version) is arriving tomorrow as I need to maintain the batteries in my 1971 MGB. I'll fit my older CTEK (still an MXS 5) into the 320.

I'll take your advice on a voltmeter hook up visible through the window. Nice idea.

Pete