Am I right to expect that there will be a battery charger installed somewhere in our 2001 ABI Brooklyn 400/2 van? And that it can be charged via the EHU whilst on site?
We've found a gauge which shows the condtion in the battery, and there's a switch to charge the battery whilst towing. Do I assume that when this switch is not on the car symbol, then it's charging the battery when its connected to the EHU?
Unfortunately, the handbook doesn't mention a battery charger at all!
usually that switch tells you where the 12V power is coming from, mine has 3 positions, car (takes its power from the car battery, not the leisure), middle, is off, no 12V stuff at all, and the other way is for the leisure battery to power the van.
There should be a seperate switch for the charger, either on your control panel, or on the charger itself, this will usually charge the battery irrespective of the switch position.
Thats what we thought too, but after investigation, we've not found a separate switch at all. Perhaps someone might have an idea where it would be. We've had caravans much older than 2001 in our time - which have had a charger - so I'm sure that technology had advanced enough for one to be installed in a 2001 model, but I'll be darned if it can be found!!!
to check is easy,read the gauge and then plug in the EHU AND THE GAUGE WILL GO UP TO 13.5 VOLTS OR 14 VOLTS.you will then know the charger is working as it should. a fully charged battery should read 12.7 volts without EHU plugged in.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Yes there is a built in battery charger somewhere in your caravan that the manufacturers install as a standard fitment.
The switch is normally a rocker type which usually either has a symbol of a car or states the word 'car' and a symbol of a caravan or the word 'caravan' on the opposite side. The rocker switch on the 'car' side should only be switched after the electrical towing connections are made with the towing vehicle which the leisure battery will then be charged by 12 volt via the towcar. When on site and the plug connections are dismantled the gauge should then register 0 as there is no charge being injected. When the rocker switch is then switched to 'caravan', the gauge should register again with power identified solely from the source of the caravan leisure battery. When you connect the 240 volt mains lead to the caravan the gauge should register slightly higher indicating that the on board battery charger has been activated which will then be charging from the EHU 240 volt mains supply.
You can check the mains source with a generator if the van is in storage but it is important that you insert and remove the electrical plug from the generator first before switching off the appliance as generators don't have a smooth amp flow like 240v mains does. This is called a 'spike' which can possibly damage the on board battery charger if the generator is switched off before removing the electrical plug first.
Hi, as posts above, additionaly there should also be relays built into the fuse box, and when EHU 240V is plugged in will energize the relay that cuts off the 12V system from the car,including the charge from car to fridge, and car to caravan battery,when EHU unplugged these will reset back ready for car hook up,then reset your 3 possition switch on control pannel set to Car, (Van on, center off, Car ).My van has this set up, and I presume all van have similar set up, hope this has been of help.
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Topic: Charging Battery with EHU
