Hermit Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hi all, we recently travelled the Birdsville track from Birdsville to Marree. We are now at Rawnsley Pk near Wilpena Pound, having a great time.I might have a little problem with the charging of the on-board batteries. We have a 2011 TE.After 1 night free camping the batteries are usually down to about 87%, we then travel for approx 4 hours but the batteries then only show about 91%. I would have thought that they would have charged much more after driving for that long. By the way, it has been overcast during the day, so the solar input would be minimal.I am wondering if the anderson plug wiring is faulty. Can anyone tell me where the Positive and Negative cables are connected inside the van?The anderson plug is ok, I have checked it and there is volts at the rear of the plug (on the van plug) when connected to the car.I used a multimeter to check the Red and Black cables and the Black cable shows no connection to the negative on the van fuse block.Where is it suppose to connect to the vans 12v system?Any help or advice appreciated.regardsRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jherron Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hi Rob,I'am no expert but I would think that it would connect direct to the batteries,the fuse would be somewhere on the positive line under the bonnet. 91% sounds fair as the alternator regulator would cut in so that it didn't overcharge the battery.So you may travel all day and not make 99%.Like I say I'am no expert Cheers John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolley Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hello Hermit,Like John, I am no expert. However, I had a similar problem and it was a blown 30 amp fuse located on top of the left hand battery as you look into the front boot.RegardsColin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted June 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 Hi Colin, I checked all the fuses are ok.I have an aux battery in the rear of the tug for the Engel, it is charged from the alternator via a DC-DC charger, the anderson plug for the van is also connected via the DC-DC charger. The Engel battery gets fully charged after an hour of driving, I would think the van batteries would charge up to near full after 4 hours driving.Anyone got any other suggestions please.Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colnden Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 Had a problem with the Anderson lead between the car and van and found the fuse hidden beside the break away control unit. At the same time one of the three fuses on top of the battery, although not blown, it was certainly cooked. Would pay to have a look at those 3 fuses as this is the second case of this happening.Den and Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Kelly Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 Hi Colin, I checked all the fuses are ok.I have an aux battery in the rear of the tug for the Engel, it is charged from the alternator via a DC-DC charger, the anderson plug for the van is also connected via the DC-DC charger. The Engel battery gets fully charged after an hour of driving, I would think the van batteries would charge up to near full after 4 hours driving.Anyone got any other suggestions please.RobHi rob,I had a similar set up to you on my tug and still got doubtful results.After speaking with Redarc in Adelaide I was advised to run another separate Pos & Neg HD wire directly from the trucks main charge wire to another Anderson plug on the rear and mount a 40amp DC/DC charger in the van ---- works like a dream now!Could be worth your while to speak with Redarc also.Regards,JK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacky Jacky Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 If I want to check what is going into the batteries I look at the Plasmatronic PLM monitor/read out to see how many amps is going in then start the vehicle and wait a bit and see if there is any increase in Charge In. We have a 175 amp Anderson plug (heavy duty wiring done by Springers 12V) and the Amps/Charge In normally goes up to 22 amps or more in the morning.There is some 12 fuses (in our van boot) under a plastic cover and the list of fuses supplied by Kedron notes the Anderson plug is Fuse No.1 for the Anderson charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted June 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Hi guys, thanks for all your advice.Jacky Jacky, I'll try your test and see what happens.Spoke to Tom at Kedron, he was very helpful as usual, he has indicated where the Pos and Neg cables are connected, so I will check.The Pos is connected straight to the battery via a 30a fuse and the Neg is connected via a 30a fuse (found next to the Breaksafe) to the SHUNT.Tom said, with the DC-DC charger the batteries should fully charge while driving.Thanks allRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colnden Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Hi guys, thanks for all your advice.Jacky Jacky, I'll try your test and see what happens.Spoke to Tom at Kedron, he was very helpful as usual, he has indicated where the Pos and Neg cables are connected, so I will check.The Pos is connected straight to the battery via a 30a fuse and the Neg is connected via a 30a fuse (found next to the Breaksafe) to the SHUNT.Tom said, with the DC-DC charger the batteries should fully charge while driving.Thanks allRobThis is the fuse that we could not see when looking from outside the boot. Need to put your head inside the boot and look beside the far side of the break-away unit. Was well hidden from view from the outside.Den. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted June 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hi all, I think I found the problem.The hidden 30a fuse behind the Breakaway was not blown, but it was broken. The fuse element had broken away from one side of the spade. It looked ok but if you jiggled it around with a multimeter across the spade connectors it had intermittent contact.That's a tricky one to find. I'll now see how it goes charging while travelling.Thanks for everyone's input.RegardsRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvtripper Posted June 19, 2014 Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hi all, I think I found the problem.The hidden 30a fuse behind the Breakaway was not blown, but it was broken. The fuse element had broken away from one side of the spade. It looked ok but if you jiggled it around with a multimeter across the spade connectors it had intermittent contact.That's a tricky one to find. I'll now see how it goes charging while travelling.Thanks for everyone's input.RegardsRobWhy is the negative connected via a fuse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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