leisure battery

[Carnivelle]

Hi

We recently bought a 1990 C15 Romahome and took it for its first outing last weekend as we thought the best way to find out what worked and what didn't was to try it out.

Major problem we had was with the leisure battery. We were told by the seller that there was a button on the dashboard (a yellow light really) that should be pushed in while driving to charge the battery and left off while stationary. We did this, but even after 250 miles there was not enough charge in the battery to even turn on the lights in the back. Also I had read a manual for a 1991 version and it says there is a control panel for the battery, but we don't seem to have one.

The dealer has said he will test the battery and replace it if it isn't holding a charge but I just wanted to know if we were doing the right thing with the button and if there is anything else we should be doing.

Sorry to be such a novice!

Ellen

[Derek]

Hi Ellen, welcome to the site, yellow dash button on mine was for the fridge when on 12 volts, the leisure batt normally has a relay that connects to the car 12V when the engine is running. Do the lights in the back work when the engine is running? If so it is probably the leisure battery, they only have a limited life and don't like being fully discharged, otherwise it may be a charging fault.

Enjoy your new van

[Carnivelle]

Thanks Derek

Does that mean there should be a switch somewhere to change over to the leisure battery from the van battery because I couldn't see one anywhere in the van. Is it likely to be under the bonnet?

Ellen

[Derek]

Does that mean there should be a switch somewhere to change over to the leisure battery from the van battery because I couldn't see one anywhere in the van. Is it likely to be under the bonnet?

The relay should operate automatically when the alternator is charging the vehicle battery. If there is a switch it is normally in the habitation area on a control box with a meter or LED's.

[ant]

Hi Carnivelle.
In 1990 the second battery was not standard and many vehicles had them fitted by dealers. I have had some fitting where the dealer ( stupidly) has used the same relay as the fridge as a short cut in the wiring to charge a 2nd battery. This would mean in order to activate the relay the yellow fridge switch would need to be depressed. Dereks sugestion of running the vehicle and trying the lights will reveal quite a lot of whats going on. With engine running, lights work without yellow switch- all charging system is well but battery knackered. No lights until yellow switch is pushed- dodgy charging system and knackered battery. No lights regardless of switch- look for fuses next to vehicle battery, there are a block of 4 on the inner wing and two inline coming from the battery and sometimes the relay ( which is also on the wing next to the battery) has its own fuse. Then try the first two exercises again. The Ideal situation is for the lights to work regardless of switching, if after fuses are replaced they do then charge the battery and try using the van again.
Ant