Hi all, the Zig 3 charger/psu has failed on my parents 95 Elddis caravan. It looks like the replacement unit is now the X70 which is expensive at around £130.
I was thinking of fitting a charger from the CTEK range as they look more advanced and are also cheaper. Just wondering if anyone has done this or if there is a reason why I shouldn't?
There were Posts on using Ctec last year on here.
The problem i found when i fitted one was,you cant charge your battery and draw power of it say to use the lights(at the same time} as the Ctec was not built for this and it Knackered it.
I bought the Pennine charger from here and they were the cheapest around..Click
Thanks for that. Looks like Go Outdoors are doing the 10 amp version for £65. How long have had the unit? Seen a few stories on forums about these units failing.
Thanks, that looks like it will suit just fine. Good that it has a 3 stage charger too. However, today I removed the zig 3 unit from the van, stuck a standard 3 pin plug on the flex, plugged it in and tested it with a multimeter. To my surprise it showed 13.8v across both 12v outputs. Hmmm. So I put it back on the van and hey presto, it's working.
Looking at the system, I can see that it isn't as straight forward as replacing it with standard smart charger. The zig has 1 input (240v) and 2 x 12v outputs. One of them connects to the battery to charge it and the other to the auxiliary panel to supply 12v power to the caravan lights, water pump etc when connected to a mains power hookup. There would be ways around using a standard charger but I'd sooner do the job properly and fit a charger/PSU unit.
Many thanks for the replies, just see how the zig goes for now.
The Amperor Charger is a straight swop for the caravan PSU.
As you say, it gives power to the mains, recharges the battery and powers the 12v axillary panel.
I have been using the Amperor now for 2 years.
I just changed over the wiring from the PSU straight to the Amperor. The only adjustment I had to make was the fact that the Amperor was slightly larger than the original PSU so new screws and holes were required.
With a 1997 van, I expect things like this to go phutt and so far I have bought new the Hitch Damper, PSU, a Battery, 3 Tyres and a Motor Mover.
Other things may fail in the future, but at least I know that these things can be relied upon for a few years to come.
Caravanning is all about peace of mind and the more things I can sort out before we leave, the more relaxing our trips away are.
If you have any concerns about your PSU (Zig unit), get them sorted now.
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Topic: ZIG X3 Replacement
