Charging system gone wrong????

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Charging system gone wrong????

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Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:04 pm
by 4ndy (deleted)

Hi there

We have recently bought a 2006 Troll and we went away for the first time this week with it.

We have loved every minute of being away in it with our 4 dogs,

BUT, theres always a but.

On the first night I noticed the fire front seemed to be loose, I tried to push it back into place when all my lights went out. The only light that worked was at the front (towing end) of the van above the table, also the taps did not work and also the flush on the loo. The awning light worked ok due to being on an EHU

I found a torch and I had a look at the fuses and the third blade fuse down was blown, I replaced this and everything was back to normal again.

Now I had not give it a second thought until today (back home) when I went to switch a light on and nothing, no lights would switch on. I checked the fuse and it was OK, I then checked all the other fuses and they were fine. I then borrowed a multimeter and put it across the battery and it read 4.5 volts. Now I just happened to have a brand new leisure battery and so I swapped them over over, this battery read 12.8 on the meter. I attached it and still nothing.

I then attached the mains hook up to my house and everything works just fine.

The booster box to the right of the BIP has the green light on, The BIP has the red light on, the trip switches are both up.

the reading on the meter from the battery with the mains power on is 12.5 volts

We are off camping in a few weeks and there is no EHU so I need to get to the bottom of this.

Any views welcomed

Thanks for reading this

Andy

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:09 pm
by Pop540 (deleted)

perhaps Brian (Aaron Calder) may be able to advise
due to his experiences with the BIP

Eriba troll 540 likes constant hugs, and buffs and the odd cuppa.

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:15 pm
by 4ndy (deleted)

I have just read the posting Aaron did, I have my fingers crossed for an easier solution.

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:21 pm
by Pepé Le Pew •

| 2.752 Posts

Hello Andy

Four quick thoughts:

Thought one; check the wiring diagrams in the manual here to see if your set up is like that.

Thought two; double check all your fuses again and that they are properly seated.

Thought three; you should be getting at least 13v - nearer 13.8, actually - across the battery terminals when you're plugged in to the mains. If you're only getting 12.5, the battery isn't charging from the BIP.

Thought four; can you take and post a picture of your transformer/booster/battery set up if it's different from the one shown in the manual? It might help with a diagnosis.

Pete

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Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:23 pm | Scroll up

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:32 pm
by Agger (deleted)

Have you looked to see if you distured any cables when pushing the fire front back on? As this seems to be when the problem occurred

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RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:41 pm
by Aaron Calder •

| 3.834 Posts

First off let me point out that I'm no expert. My only claim to knowledge is that I have had major problems with my BIP unit on two occasions which I have now sorted thanks to John England's (JohnE) expert advice and assistance - see my posts for full details. My best advice to you is to contact John via his website and ask for his help. Neston Caravan Services

1. Does your caravan have a BIP unit like mine? (I assume so.)

2. The awning light is 12v and works from your battery. Originally mine was factory wired to work only when connected to the EHU (so as not to be operable when towing) but it has since been modified by John so as to be inhibited only when connected to the car, which is a more sensible solution.

3. The green light on the booster should only come on when your van is connected to your car and the engine is running. If it is working when attached to EHU then something is wrong with the wiring.

4. It sounds as though the charging system on your BIP has had it. It should maintain a trickle charge of 13.7 (+/- 0.1)V on EHU. When my voltmeter showed 13.1V I knew that my charger had packed in again. The new, upgraded charger maintains a 13.8V charge which rises to 14.5V if a lot of lights are turned on or the mover has been used. It quickly returns to 13.8V. If yours is only showing 12.5V then the BIP charger is definitely kaput.

5. I think the second trip switch on the BIP should be down not up as when in the up position it draws power from the car battery when car and caravan are connected.

All is not lost. If you have a car battery charger you can use this to recharge your battery while away and on EHU. If not then buy one. That's what I had to do in France in 2011.

Seriously, the BIP is a pile of junk and if is giving you trouble now it will probably return to haunt you. John's solution for my problems has been 100% successful and my advice would be to go down the same route as that way you can be confident that you will have no more problems.

I hope this has been of some help.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

PS Just seen Agger's comment and that makes sense - but what could you short by pushing the fire front back? needs investigating.

Forum Administrator
2003 Triton 420 and Audi A4 2.0Tfsi S-line SE Cabriolet

Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014 8:42 pm | Scroll up

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:48 pm
by Agger (deleted)

Quote: Aaron Calder wrote in post #6
PS Just seen Hob's comment and that makes sense - but what could you short by pushing the fire front back? needs investigating.

SPECSAVERS must be doing really well

thats Robert, and you and me

Aaron Calder likes this post!

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:04 pm
by 4ndy (deleted)

I just unhooked the mains took the battery off and checked the fuses. The bottom 15a fuse was blown, it has been replaced and the battery put back on and the lights worked just fine. I reconnected the mains and the green light is on and the battery is now showing 13.54 volts.

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:07 pm
by 4ndy (deleted)

Here are a couple of photos

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#10

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:10 pm
by Aaron Calder •

| 3.834 Posts

That sounds very promising indeed, Andy, but I'd still be worried about the green light being on on the Schaudt booster.

It's function is to charge the battery from the car's alternator while towing, so why would it be on when connected to EHU? Mine certainly isn't.

Can anyone with a newer van currently on EHU have a look at theirs and report back?

Also, why did the fuse blow? Might it do it again?

Forum Administrator
2003 Triton 420 and Audi A4 2.0Tfsi S-line SE Cabriolet

#11

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:11 pm
by Agger (deleted)

Is something causing it to "blow" regulary? I'd want to get to the bottom of it

#12

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:12 pm
by 4ndy (deleted)

Meter now show 13.65v so it must be working ok at the minute.

Now wondering what caused it all go wrong in the first place, surely it can't be down to the front of the fire coming loose.

#13

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:15 pm
by Agger (deleted)

Quote: 4ndy wrote in post #13
Meter now show 13.65v so it must be working ok at the minute.

Now wondering what caused it all go wrong in the first place, surely it can't be down to the front of the fire coming loose.

Unless when replacing it you disturbed something, certainly worth a look, some cables run outside underneath into junction boxes then enter the van tbrough the floor

#14

RE: Charging system gone wrong????

in Improving your pride and joy and how to fix things Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:18 pm
by Pepé Le Pew •

| 2.752 Posts

Quote: 4ndy wrote in post #13
Meter now show 13.65v so it must be working ok at the minute.

Indeed.

The booster is a red herring. As Brian says above, it doesn't do anything other than ramp up the car's alternator voltage. If you isolate it from the battery circuit completely your voltage across the battery terminals on mains should remain at 13.6 or so.

.

Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014 5:19 pm | Scroll up