Hello there,
I wonder if anybody here can help? We have recently been away in our caravan - first time this year. It has been stored well for around 8 months. As I say, we went to use it on a site the other day, and there was no electrics. We had fully charged the leisure battery and everything. we had no lights, no water pump and no heating. The main panel did not illuminate when the main switch was turned on. So basically the whole lot was dead. Can anyone help? We had some friends look at the fuses etc but was not able to help us fix it. Does anyone know where I can get a wiring diagram/fuse list we don't know if they are the right ones?
I would suspect either a knackered leisure battery or a blown battery fuse, if it has one. Another possibility, and this happened to me, is corrosion inside the battery fuse holder. I suspected a blown fuse but it looked fine, then I discovered the corrosion so I replaced it with a 12 volt circuit breaker. First thing to do is get a multimeter and check across the battery terminals.
Are you saying the battery was charged then you left it for 8 months. It is very likely the battery is now flat.
Modern caravans have things which continue to use battery power even when you think it is all off.
Could be the radio or alarm or fridge control or TV aerial booster and there may be more I don't know about.
You need to find a way of seeing if there is any charge in the battery first. If it does have a reasonable amount of charge you will need to find another reason such as the fuse etc.
The battery has recently been charged and all is well with that it appears. The crocodile connectors/terminals on the caravan are pretty crappy so we I have bought some new ones to fit to it. This will help I am sure.
the little clock has its own internal battery.
if the van has been left over winter then even if the battery has been charged , the battery terminals, and the battery clamps/ crocodile clips will need cleaning, they are your first point of action ,and a multimeter to test voltage as you go. let us know how you go
"Crocodile Clips"!!!!! - now that sets a few alarms ringing for a start! Normally only used for temporary connections (like a stand alone battery charger etc.) NOT for a permanent connection to a leisure battery installed in a caravan! The connectors should be post clamps/bolt tags as appropriate to the battery terminals. The terminals must also be corrosion free, Vaseline or Lithium grease should be used to keep the terminations in good clean order.
My money is on the leisure battery having died. It may be only a year or so old, but you say van in storage for 8 months - that is ample time for a leisure battery to suffer complete self discharge to damaging levels (apart from any drain from alarms, trackers etc. on top of that), if not given an occasional maintenance boost charge. It may well have been recharged before your trip, but it's capacity has gone for good through prolonged over discharge damage, and no amount of recharging will restore that.
As you are in a battery only (no EHU) situation, perhaps first move in 'fault finding' is to get the battery checked for 'state of health', which compares it's current storage capacity with it's original as new figure, most battery suppliers (Halfords and many tyre depots) should be able to do that for you. A voltage reading is of limited value, firstly it's mostly only fit for a state of charge indicator, an off load reading can indicate a 'good' battery, but a on load reading may suggest it's near dead! Judging the state of health of the battery by voltage readings is possible, but it's a prolonged process requiring monitoring voltages under known load over time, and interpreting results. If the voltage simply plummets as soon as a modest load applied, that indicates it's a dead battery!
The previously mentioned corrosion to inline fuse is a good call, it can cause sufficient volt drop to stop the system working.
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Topic: No electric in my Coachman Amara 450/2
via mobile 14/5/2025 at 8:24pm
