Hi we are on seasonal site and 4 was ago battery went dead even 5hough we are on hook up. Charged it with c tek charger all working OK . 2 week later we come back yesterday same 5hing so tried recharging no luck. Bought new battery pump running OK fridge back on but no 12 v lights can anyone help please 😢
Great changed fuse lights all working . But looks like the onboard charger is not charging the battery it's down to 11 volts now from 12 . Is there any way to get to the charger is it easy to change . Looked at back of battery box all there is is a big white platinum box no sign of a power pack charger 😯
Thanks Jeff it's a coachman amara and we have looked in the book but it dosent say where it is we have been looking ear the battery box under the seats we are not sure what we are w looking for though
Maggie now you have a Coachman, you maybe want to update the info on your profile.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
It depends on the year and layout of your Coachman but the onboard charger will most likely be located where the RCD electric trip switches are. On my Coachman 450 (end washroom) it is located under the worktop which there is a box with the RCD switches plus a row of about 6 x 12 volt fuses and the onboard charger is located behind this cover. If you remove the 4 x screws and remove the cover you will see the charger/transformer which is fixed to the wall by 4 x screws.
I had to replace my charger about 2 months ago and the way I found out mine was defective was by doing a simple test with a voltmeter. Switch off any power then remove the caravan battery so the +/- terminals are free but not that they will make contact otherwise it will blow a fuse. Connect the 240 mains cable and switch on the power then test the two battery terminals with the voltmeter which you should get a reading around 14 volts if the charger is working properly. The reading on mine was less than 1 volt so I knew that there was no charge being distributed to the battery.
I replaced the charger then did the same test afterwards which the reading was confirmed at 14 volts. Also, another indication that the charger is on the way out is to look at the battery condition gauge as see what the reading is. The gauge is just a basic indicator but the voltmeter test will confirm the results.
Quote: Originally posted by jeff juke on 02/8/2016
Good advice Trev..
Thanks Jeff. I didn't know where the onboard charger was on my caravan till I phoned a local caravan spares department for a price on a new charger who are experienced and quite knowledgeable. This is where first hand experience is helpful to others in the same situation.
Hi got a mobile mechanic out on our van it's inside the consumer unit like you said . He said to send unit away is about 200 pounds plus the unit but he could put a new on board charger wired into it for 150 he did say coachman chargers are not that good . So looks like we go in down that route . We looked everywhere couldn't find it at all . Our consumer unit is sealed so god knows how he will do it we couldn't find screws on it to undo thanks guys we are a bit worried about wiring it in ourselves .bif it had just out with 5he old in with the new we would have been OK x
Coachman don't actually make the chargers or anything else for that matter. All they do is construct the caravan walls, install the appliances, cabinets and furniture, assembly the gas fittings, wiring and any other related parts. Even the chassis is supplied complete with wheels and tyres so the engineer was wrong to comment on the chargers as they will be installed in other makes of caravan too.
However, I bought my charger for £95 and installed it with the help of a friend so there was no labour costs so £150 would be about right.
Bit worried about fitting it tbh as hubby don't like electrics. So least we are not getting ripped off. As he's looking at water filter too as it's new and we still have bad taste in the water . I didn't realise coachman didn't make the chargers . It wasn't the mechanic that said they were no good it was the lad that we with him .
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