On the control panel of our Hymer van is a red light which, intermittently, blinks on and off, on and off, and is driving us mad! We cannot see why this is happening.
On checking the (extensive) handbook it seems this light is there to indicate when the battery is about to conk out but the indicator also shows that the battery is fully charged (and the onboard charger must also be working because the battery was half charged before we hooked up the EHU and now it is showing fully charged).
We have just come home from a 7 night holiday and sometimes the light would be on, other times not and we cannot work it out. All electrical appliances and lighting are working perfectly other than this.
Its not the sensor for the alarm is it? We have a Geist and when we are in the van and moving about the red light flashes on movement (but no alarm obviously as its off) then when we sit still, etc its not flashing. I know this sounds a bit weird but its what happens!
Unfortunately nothing to do with the alarm system, as this is all conrolled from a different panel.
The red light is on he control panel for the electrics to the van with the on/off switch, battery life indicator and water tank indicator. The red light is supposed to flash when the battery is completely discharged but its flashing when the battery is fully charged.
Mystery really. Been reading the handbook and cannot fathom it. Everything functions as it should in the van, electric wise, but this light just comes on now and again and we cannot see why.
I was really hoping someone on here could point us in the right direction.
are you 100% sure the battery is fully charged as ive had simular problem just a few weeks ago where i was adamant battery was fully charged when it was actualy the 240v in that was keeping the charge level indicater in the green.
2 days investigation and taking items apart led me back to first suggestion that i wasnt getting 240v in turned out to be around 180v due to so many people using blowair heaters and lots of electricity
as soon as i connected my battery via jump leads to a running car all my problems vaninshed
I was going to make the same comment in essence as "jaysere03"
Are you using the battery charge indication with the EHU connected?
If so then it will in nearly all situations indicate "full charge" including when the battery is duff. Simply because the charger is outputting a much higher charging voltage than the off charge voltage of a full battery.
To see if the battery is duff have it on charge for 12 hours then after the EHU has been disconnected [or the mains to the Schaudt Elektoblock is isoltated] for 4 plus hours check the battery. Then leave a spotlight [assuming its still a halogen 10 watt] on for an hour and recheck.
If the battery state indicates anything but full after these test you can be pretty confident the battery is duff or very close to useless.
Sit down and have a nurse in attendance when phoning around for quotes for a replacement Delta or similar quality GEL battery. [Last month saw they wanted £340 in a motorhome retailers. Look for specialist battery wholesalers but your still going to be circa £200 for the OEM one]
One other possibility is a faulty Schaudt Elektroblock; should you determine that in your checks I can give you a direct contact for them in Germany.
We were also beginning to think along these lines, either a fault on the electrical system somewhere or a duff battery.
We have used the charge indicator when the van is in storage and when it's been on EHU for a few hours, and it stll reads that the battery is fully charged, and this is what is throwing us really. We understand that it will show fuly charged when hooked up to the 240v but would have expected this to drop quite rapidly, if the battery was no good, once it was disconnected.
Will be off to the storage at the weekend and will do the check you suggest to see if the battery is holding the charge and how quickly this drops once we turn on the light.
The handbook says our van should be fitted with a "dryfill" battery but is no more specific than this. Is this what you were referring to by Delta or similar GEL battery? If so, boy that is expensive but if that's what we need, will just have to bite the bullet I suppose.
On speaking to OH, I'm pretty sure we don't have a dryfill battery fitted to the van at the moment (it was in situ when we bought the van privately and the seller told us he had replaced the battery) in which case, I'm not sure now whether or not the slide indicator on the Elekotroblock thingy is on the right setting (GEL or lead acid)!!! Now getting worried. Knew that little light was flashing for a good reason, its German after all.
Another thought. If we do have a lead acid battery and its been set wrongly onto GEL on the Elektroblock thing, would this lead to a problem with that battery due to the different charging rates required? (You have probably gathered here I've been doing a little research into the difference between the 2 types....completely ignorant before now).
Only other thing that occurs to me is going back to my original question. Would the red light flash to warn of a duff battery, even when its own indicator says it is fully charged, as the light does flash even when we are not on EHU? (Hope you understand what I mean here)
I have a Nova but have not experienced your red light but have had TWO charger failures, the second out of warranty but Hymer did ultimately refund replacement cost.
Schaudt the charger manufacturers recommend the fitting of a voltage regulator, costs about £100. My chargers "blew" in this country and hindsight showed that it was more than likely the leccy on the sites we were on.
I know this does not resolve your problem but it may avoid a bigger one, the cost of replacing a charge is in excess of £500.
If it was my problem I think I would hook up my car battery as a test, assuming you have a good un!!
Your Hymer "should" have a GEL battery, the main reason for this is because as built by Hymer it is housed within the habitation area and not in a sealed, externally vented box. With the right charging regime the GEL will not vent explosive gases so it can be within the habitation area and where there are electrical items. A conventional wet lead acid battery is prone to vent explosive gasses so it is highly undesirable to house these within the habitation area. A compromise is to connect a vent pipe from the wet battery to outside but I doubt if any competent service engineer would condone it or work on such a van.
If you have a wet battery and the Elektroblock is set GEL it will not fully charge it but I dont think it will directly damage it. However it will in time be damaged by receiving an inadequate charge. If you have a GEL battery and the Elektroblock is set to "wet" [or whatever the label for wet is notated] it will I believe do quite a lot of harm to the GEL battery probably blowing acid gel out of the safety venting valve.
I have never had the red light flash or my GEL batteries fail so I cant add much to your question.
There is an excellent English speaking guy at Schaudt. If you are still struggling email him. [ Udo.Lang at schaudt-gmbh.de ] I have his phone number somewhere but it is not coming to hand.
Thanks for all that, especially JTQU....going to storage compound at the weekend just to check as suggested and if OH is right and we do have an acid battery, will be buying a GEL one sharpish. From what I can see of it, buying a GEL will probably be a good investment, long term, in any event. We do have a mover fitted and obviously need a reliable battery to drive this.
I am assuming the difference between the 2 types of battery are obvious in that the GEL type is sealed and there is no access to "top up?"
If you could let me know the phone number of the chap in Germany, I would be grateful. Even if we don't need to call him this time, it may well be useful in future. (Hopefully not but you never know).
emails: kundendienst at schaudt-gmbh.de
Udo.Lang at schaudt-gmbh.de
[this site corrupts the "at" sign]
Tel. +49 7544 9577-70
Fax +49 - 7544 - 9577-49
As you said the GEL is "sealed" and is not topped up. Its attributes make it safer or at least acceptable for the safety conscious Germans to permit their use in habitation and confined areas with electrical equipment.
Performance wise the ones specified by Hymer are good but arguably not quite as good as the best Semi Traction wet batteries.
For info: The Elektroblock is functionally an excellent unit in that it charges the battery properly at voltage levels above those it supplies to the vans "12 volt" system and it works real charging magic whilst towing. However it is prone to be damaged by voltage spikes and neutral imbalance which is unfortunately a failing of some sites EHUs. They sell an over voltage protection unit for £85. See http://www.davenewell.co.uk/ under "Latest Products"
The handbook says our van should be fitted with a "dryfill" battery but is no more specific than this. Is this what you were referring to by Delta or similar GEL battery? If so, boy that is expensive but if that's what we need, will just have to bite the bullet I suppose.
I can not comment about the red light flashing other than to support what others have said about the state of the battery a few hours after it has been taken off charge. However whilst the the handbook says that a gel battery must be fitted, and they do come fitted as standard when new there is no real reason why an ordinary lead acid battery should not fitted, just do not expect Lowdhams to do it for you. I have had a lead acid battery fitted now for the last 18 months and it makes no difference to the working of the caravan. I looked at the front of the charger and there is a switch on it that says Gell or lead acid so I moved the switch to lead acid and fitted the battery. Lowdhams squeal about in whenever it goes in for service but the van is out of warranty and it is my choice. It would seem that they are concerned about ventillation for the battery, so I have attached a vent tube to the battery and fed it to the outside of the caravan.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
Hi,
Is there any indication that the charger is not working, or do we just find out when we have a flat battery?
With regard to the over voltage protector, do the inline ones that protect computers etc. do the job. The recommended ones seem very expensive, especially after just forking out for a gel battery!
Kind regards,
George
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Hymer Nova "blinking red light"
