Leisure Battery konked out

[hammondboy]

Had just returned from a very long drive, it was dark so went to put the internal lights on as I unpacked and.... nout. Well actually there was a brief flicker of life from the light and zig unit and then nothing.
I am an utter utter novice but it seems to me that the leisure battery is flat as a proverbial pancake. Checked it again this morning and nothing. Does flat battery sound like the correct diagnosis and if so how do I check this and what could have caused it? I'm guessing it's nothing to do with fuses as there was that brief glimmer of life.. but who knows? Not me that's for sure. Any suggestions woud be very gratefully recieved but will have to be in idiot language for when it comes to matters technical I am indeed an idiot. Thanks.
It's an Autosleeper Trident and the zig is the 2000 model if that makes a difference.

[nobbyfox]

Do you have access to a multimeter? If so then try and ascertain the voltage at the leisure battery. Is there any?
Is your battery wired into the alternator, ie it is charging as you drive? You should be getting 13v+ if its charging.
That is where i would begin. Happy hunting

[hammondboy]

I'll get hold of a multimeter and give it a go... really exposing my lack of knowledge now, what do I need to do to test it, I've never used a multumeter before?
I have to assume that the battery has been charged by the altator as we've had the van over a year now and the battery has been solid up until now.

So am I right in thinking that either the battery has mysteriously died a grizzly death or something along the line is preventing it from charging?
Sorry to sound so ridiculously basic but I have no experience whatsoever of these matters.
Cheers

[nobbyfox]

If you can get your hands on a multimeter then red probe goes to positive and black probe to negative. Should have a plus and a minus printed on the battery. Set multimeter to volts and see what you get.
Might be a good idea to trace the wires from leisure battery and see where they go. Something may have come loose or fallen off..
If, as you say it was charging before, then yes battery may have died. Or if it has caps on the top it may need topping up with water (special ionised water though, not from the tap) Halfords sell it.

[kevtherev]

Clearly someone like you needs a more qualified person to help, without some basic knowledge I feel our efforts would be confusing.
Any caravan service center will be able to help.
Yellow pages

Wallet out, trousers down

[airhead]

What type of Zig unit do you have? I know on mine (a CF9) all the switches are up when driving meaning the camping electrics are off and the leisure battery is charging, and when parked up all the switches are down meaning camping electrics are on, running off leisure battery and the main starting battery is isolated. If you left all the switches down it could well be flat cause it wouldn't be charging and your camper electrics would be draining it. I'd say take it out and stick it on charge for a day first. Get a charger in the local motor factors. They're not expensive. It's rare that a battery will die a death unannounced like that. They usually gradually hold less and less of a charge.

It could also be a fuse but we'll get to that if needs be instead of adding confusion to the mix.


E D I T: If it is a CF9 you have, it has a built in battery charger. Connect up your external mains hookup, put all the switches down and the orange switch should light up telling you the battery is getting charged off the mains. Leave it like that for a day.

[hammondboy]

If you can get your hands on a multimeter then red probe goes to positive and black probe to negative. Should have a plus and a minus printed on the battery. Set multimeter to volts and see what you get.
Might be a good idea to trace the wires from leisure battery and see where they go. Something may have come loose or fallen off..
If, as you say it was charging before, then yes battery may have died. Or if it has caps on the top it may need topping up with water (special ionised water though, not from the tap) Halfords sell it.

Cheers for that, looks like it's a loose connection somewhere else though as it has all magically started working again. The zig seems to be acting a bit fritzy as all will be working OK then I press the 'test' button and it kills everything. Turn it on and off a couple of times and it works again. Loose connection in there somewhere I guess, I'll keep an eye on it.

Clearly someone like you needs a more qualified person to help, without some basic knowledge I feel our efforts would be confusing.
Any caravan service center will be able to help.
Yellow pages

Wallet out, trousers down

Thanks that's really helpful... not

[airhead]

Cheers for that, looks like it's a loose connection somewhere else though as it has all magically started working again. The zig seems to be acting a bit fritzy as all will be working OK then I press the 'test' button and it kills everything. Turn it on and off a couple of times and it works again. Loose connection in there somewhere I guess, I'll keep an eye on it.

Could be a dirty switch. Squirt some WD40 into the switch and operate it a few times. That should clean it up for you a bit.

[hammondboy]

What type of Zig unit do you have? I know on mine (a CF9) all the switches are up when driving meaning the camping electrics are off and the leisure battery is charging, and when parked up all the switches are down meaning camping electrics are on, running off leisure battery and the main starting battery is isolated. If you left all the switches down it could well be flat cause it wouldn't be charging and your camper electrics would be draining it. I'd say take it out and stick it on charge for a day first. Get a charger in the local motor factors. They're not expensive. It's rare that a battery will die a death unannounced like that. They usually gradually hold less and less of a charge.

It could also be a fuse but we'll get to that if needs be instead of adding confusion to the mix.


E D I T: If it is a CF9 you have, it has a built in battery charger. Connect up your external mains hookup, put all the switches down and the orange switch should light up telling you the battery is getting charged off the mains. Leave it like that for a day.

It's now looking like a loose connection / something up with the zig unit as it has come back to life and is regestering full battery and evrything's working just fine. It dies again only sometimes if I turn off the 12v switch or press the test switch. The zig is a 2000 unit.

[kevtherev]

when it comes to matters technical, I am indeed an idiot

I replied according to your statement.. perhaps you should have worded it without the self analysis

[hammondboy]

when it comes to matters technical, I am indeed an idiot

I replied according to your statement.. perhaps you should have worded it without the self analysis

Sage advice. I won't do that again.

[kevtherev]

There's a comprehensive wiring diagram in our wiki for the'sleeper leisure electrics
It might help
Autosleeper fuseholders are notorious for poor contact.

Is your zig an MC2000?
If you search this forum "MC2000" there are links to better diagrams

[ed_crouch]

power distribution panels like the Zig tend to be the link between the battery and the leisure electrics, so one loose connection on the back of the Zig could very well mean no lectrickery. Finding bad connections is a pain in the a*** and it takes time, but its cheeeeeeeeeeeeapp, and more often than not you'll find something slightly amiss. Normally something dodgy like an earth tag screwed into the body with a self tapping screw causes corrosion which damages the conductivity of the connection...

[nobbyfox]

Glad we can help. Hopefully you will find the problem soon.