Hi Phil, Don't have my van as yet, patiently waiting for December so winging it a bit here. You have not said if it was ever charging, most common cause would be no 12v supply to the charging pin of the caravan/trailer socket of the car (pin 2 on 7 pin plugs, black wire designated as reversing light but should have been connected for charging when the brake controller was fitted to your vehicle. I don't believe you need to operate any switches on the breakaway controller to initiate the charging. It may be possible that the breakaway battery will only charge when the vehicle ignition key is on Acc. or On (running), not really too sure, a tester on pin 2 of the vehicle will cear that up. It is also entirely possible that the breakaway controller is connected to the caravan's 12v system to get its' charge circuit, but that does not seem to be the case. A quick check of where the wiring goes will answer that. Best of luck, I'm sure it will be tested over the pits. John :thumbsup: