Hi all, I appreciate this is a topic covered in this forum however as a new van owner I wanted to understand the best approach to my problem. I recently bought a 2008 Bailey Ranger 620/6 and whilst it isn't in the best condition it is a great way for myself and the family to explore caravaning over the next few years to see if we invest further. The van will stay on the site other than being moved around out of season and we plan to do very little to the van as it is just temporary. To this end I have an issue with leisure battery going flat very quickly and it seems that the 12 volt features (water pump/ lights) will not work of 240v hook up with a flat battery. I noticed that with everything turned off the battery starts to gain charge albeit incredibly slowly. As I don't want to spend too much I wondered what my options were. Can I simply connect a trickle charger to the battery overnight whilst in use to top up the battery (its only a few years old). Can I completely remove the 12 volt battery and replace with a transformer, does anyone have any experience of this and how expensive are transformers. the van will always be on hook up. Is the van fitted with a charger/ transformer or just a charger?. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hello and welcome!
A 2008 caravan should have a transformer/charger which will, obviously, both charge your battery and operate the 12v system at the same time. So,firstly, is the charger turned on? There is usually a separate trip switch which should be in the 'up position.
Next, is it working? You will need a multi meter to check. When turned on there should be around 13/14 volts at the battery terminals.
To answer your questions, yes, you could use a normal car type battery charger and, no, it is not ideal to completely remove the battery as they tend to smooth out any power surge.
Suggest you try the car charger first because it may well be that the battery has failed despite its age.
Good luck, DaveS1
Hi both, many thanks for your speedy reply (its a dam site quicker than a response from a service provider).
I'll check for an additional switch, currently I have tried the RCD, MCD and of course the master on the panel as I walk into the van. All ok. I haven't put my meter directly across the battery but across the 2 way interconnect behind the battery compartment under the seat as I was belling out the wires. With the charger on (I assume) it read 6 volts but was slowly charging. It seems that I have over consumed through the 12 volts system during the day through constant use of the pump as we were cleaning the van and lights later at at night. I would have thought that once hooked up the system would use 240v converted to 12v rather than using the battery at all. I'll have another look this weekend but so I am clear. Using a trickle charger should be ok to top up charge (masking the issue but quick fix). Measure across the battery for 13+v to see if charger is working correctly,
the system puts maybe 7 or 8 amps into the battery.. if the battery is knackered (wont take a charge) which i think is the case it will go flat as soon as the charger is switched off or very soon after..
if a battery has been left flat for any length of time a hard sulphate layer builds up on the plates.. the battery will never take a charge ever again..
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Topic: Bailey Ranger - Charging
via mobile 06/9/2021 at 11:42am
