Leisure battery charger repair?

[Wollaston Paddler]

During the monthly battery top up on EHU I noticed the plug symbol wasn’t showing on the control panel. Checked the 240v socket, working fine, checked all 30amp fuses under seat, all fine, checked continuity from EHU plug to charger kettle plug fitting, fine, checked fuse in charger above kettle plug socket, fine. Has anyone had a charger fail and if so, rather than fork out £380 for a new charger, had it repaired somewhere? I’d be really grateful for any help on this and a recommendation for someone who could repair the charger if this has been done successfully previously.

 

[WelshGas]

During the monthly battery top up on EHU I noticed the plug symbol wasn’t showing on the control panel. Checked the 240v socket, working fine, checked all 30amp fuses under seat, all fine, checked continuity from EHU plug to charger kettle plug fitting, fine, checked fuse in charger above kettle plug socket, fine. Has anyone had a charger fail and if so, rather than fork out £380 for a new charger, had it repaired somewhere? I’d be really grateful for any help on this and a recommendation for someone who could repair the charger if this has been done successfully previously.

These are the people to talk to. Have been used by Forum members to repair the Control Panel. Worth a call.

https://www.electronicequipmentrepair.com/about-us

https://www.electronicequipmentrepair.com/index.php/vw-california-control-panel-lcd

 

[Benham]

I had the exact same problem last year. The leisure batteries would charge whilst driving, but not when on EHU. Like you the 240V socket worked fine, but no symbol on the Control Unit when plugged in. For me it was the AC to DC invertor that had failed and was replaced under warranty. I believe it's positioned above the rear leisure battery.

 

[Wollaston Paddler]

Many thanks for your help. I may have a guy in the North who can take a look at it, will post details if he can. I am guessing removal is straightforward without having to disconnect the leisure battery, it looks like a simple clip and the ‘kettle’ type plug then just 4 screws. This seems to be the unit:

 

[Wollaston Paddler]

Okay, taken the charger out and had it checked, it’s producing the correct voltages but still not registering on the control panel. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[vbk1975]

Okay, taken the charger out and had it checked, it’s producing the correct voltages but still not registering on the control panel. Anyone got any ideas?

The mains plug symbol is triggered when the control panel sees ~12 volts on the sense line from the Charger. Can you check when powered if you have ~12 volts on pin 1 of the charger grey plug, It should be the thinner of the two red wires.

A

 

[Wollaston Paddler]

Yes, 12v and 14.2v on the two live wires.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[vbk1975]

Yes, 12v and 14.2v on the two live wires.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatal

ok, are you able to check the voltage on that pin with the Charger plugged into the van, even just temporally, just checking that the voltage remains with the van connected. It might be there is an issue with the van side and the sense output switches off if overloaded.

If there is 12v on Pin 1 and the icon is still missing can only be a charger sense wire issue or the control panel is faulty. From what i have determined the mains icon is just that, apart from a Cable In Warning message and beep with the engine running, it doesn't seem to do anything else.

A

 

[yossarian]

Assuming the 2009 T5.1 camping wiring diagram applies to your T6 (I think it does) it looks like the signal wire is violet and runs to pin 22 on the control panel connector.

 

[Wollaston Paddler]

I checked the continuity from the EHU point to the power supply to the charger and all was fine. I’ll disassemble again tomorrow and check for the violet wire. Many thanks for persevering with my problem.

 

[yossarian]

Technical Guide - VW T5 Wiring Diagrams

Wiring diagrams for VW T5

vwcaliforniaclub.com

The wire runs via pin 3 of the 17 pin connector in the cupboard according to the diagram.

See page 3.

 

[Wollaston Paddler]

Solved by Inchcape Manchester. The plug behind the circular inspection cover in the cupboard to the right of the fridge had worked itself loose and had completely separated. Very strange. Now all fine. Thanks all for your suggestions. Something else to check if you are experiencing the same issues with the EHU plug not showing on the controller.