Electrical Why Oh Why, please help

cruza driver

Hercules
Staff member
Nov 9, 2010
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Mighty Victoria
Not having yet having purchased a battery to go in the tub of the BT before heading off to the high country last week I pinched the one out of the Expanda.

I just put it back in the Expanda and nothing now works on 12 volt unless plugged in. Everything is fine when on 240v but as soon as you switch off the 240v it should run on the 12v off the battery but it doesn't.

I drove the BT for 2.5 hours yesterday so it should be charged up and it ran the engle and led light no problem in the hc.

Yes I know I should check the battery voltage but my mate has my multi meter :( so I was hopping for a quick fix before getting it back. I have checked all the fuses both inline and on the setec.

The battery is only a 45aph and we have never had a problem running everything for upto 4 days while free camping but it is 7 years old :crutch: Yes not the right way to test :fear: it but the test light works across it.

Could the battery voltage be to low to open the 12v circuit? If possible.

Thanks in advance...............:yo:
 

gwadir

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2013
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Albion Park, NSW
Hi @cruza driver , I know you've said you checked the all the fuses both inline and on Setec, is it possible the line from the battery to Setec goes through a fuse mounted inside the Setect that is not accessible from the front cover? You normally have some form of protection between the battery and downstream devices.

If the test light works across the battery the currect drawn by the light may not be high enough to cause a drop in volts, but when you connect to the van the current draw may cause the volts to drop, if that's the case battery may be on the way out but if you've been using it in the BT50 I don't think that's the battery's the problem.

Battery age can be an issue but if you keep it trickle charging all the time I've seen batteries last for more than 10yrs and I have a 160Ah at present that's 9yrs old and still good.

Symptoms seem to point to a blown fuse but where?
"Everything is fine when on 240v but as soon as you switch off the 240v it should run on the 12v off the battery but it doesn't."

If I was there I'd be a bit more helpful but it's a bit hard to diagnose at a distance.
 
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cruza driver

Hercules
Staff member
Nov 9, 2010
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Mighty Victoria
Thanks @gwadir I'll dig a bit deeper that gives me another thing to check over.

And yes its always been on trickle charge its whole life, both in the Hawk and the last 3.5 years in the Expanda.

Thanks for your help its much appreciated.
 
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cruza driver

Hercules
Staff member
Nov 9, 2010
6,550
4,447
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Mighty Victoria
Could be a faulty battery switch, mine had the same symptoms and it as the switch.

Need that multimeter to troubleshoot unfortunately....
Did it just play up randomly ? I always leave it on maybe its been like that for a while :noidea: I switched it off to remove the battery.
 

Chooky

Well-Known Member
Jan 14, 2013
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Glenden, Qld
Yeh they should be in stock, our local dealer has just about everything you could think of in stock so any good jayco spare parts shop should have them.