Autotrail EC200 Charging Issue?

Just to add that when not hooked up to the mains the control panel is showing a positive value for amps when using stuff (like lights etc). In fact even when not using anything it is showing about 1 or 2amps.

Andy

There may be a reset on your control panel to adjust the current readings. Not possible to have a battery voltage of 1.5 volts nor a current of 50 amps so it seems that the loose connection has messed up the readings. Battery voltage is the best indicator of status - anything above 12.6 volts is good, below 12 volts, not so good. In theory you can go down to about 11 volts but if you do then you are getting to the point of irreversible damage. It doesn’t sound as though you have a problem but the only way to tell is to see how long the battery lasts when you are off grid.

I should add that the Sargent EC200 has a “battery saver” function which will cut off the battery before it becomes too discharged. If you don’t have the instructions you can search on the web and download the manual.

MH control panels can be notoriously bad/difficult/inaccurate etc...

the way to check the 'status' accurately is with a voltmeter/ammeter...

you can check the leisure battery after a good rest....then put it under load and check again after resting... (the battery)...

you can also check for the 'draw/load' on the battery when everything is 'off' to see if there is a rogue draw that is bringing the battery down...

if all these things check out i would suspect that the panel is a bit 'out' or that the readings arent being interpretted correctly.....does the manual help? 

If it's showing negative values, I would suspect a problem with the actual meter.

We have the EC328 which is of course a later model but I do recall that when we first collected the Motorhome the control panel was giving unlikely current readings. From the manual I was able to reset it and it now appears to work fine. So, with everything connected and the battery fully charged, if the current or voltage readings are wrong it may be possible to do a reset. If it’s not covered in the manual than a call to Sargent would help.

Battery readings should be in the range 12 volts to 14 volts roughly. I wouldn’t expect the current to be much more than 1-2 amps either positive or negative. Most of the time it should be fractions of an amp.

The readings are just a digital display which is either working or not, it’s the electronics in the main panel doing the sensing and converting the signal so unfortunately these days you can’t give it a thump and hope that fixes it!

Thanks all.

I'll look into doing a reset.

Even though I know little about electrics the reading of 50amps did strike me as rather way out and if right worrying!

Andy