Westy BBB charger stopped working

[danmetallic]

Suspect my BBB charger has stopped working. No voltage increase at batteries. 240v working though. Any ideas? Fuses to check?

[danmetallic]

No heat or buzzing either.

[ninja.turtle007]

Pretty sure there is a glass fuse inside. Also there is a thermal fuse.

[danmetallic]

Thanks Ninja, could it be anything else?

[ninja.turtle007]

Don't know. I binned mine when it broke and replaced it with a Ctek.

I'm sure there is a thread on here about repairing them but I haven't got time to look as I'm at work.

Sure the thread was by California Dreaming - Martin.

[danmetallic]

You don't by any chance have a link to the one you bought?

[ninja.turtle007]

This may help to fix yours. http://www.teamorchard.co.uk/?p=437

I bought a Ctek MXS25

[ghost123uk]

I have had a look at two of these that were faulty over recent years. Neither of them was an issue with the internal (special) fuses though. I suspect both of the ones I looked at had blown I.C.s ("chips"). Sadly as is often the case in devices like this, the chips don't have any part numbers on them, which makes sourcing replacements next to impossible It's annoying because they are likely pretty generic components.

[danmetallic]

Thanks folks. CTEK arriving today which I'll wire in to the existing wiring.

[danmetallic]

All done!

[California Dreamin]

I've got to ask the question, why the Ctek when you could have bought a proper leisure charger for the same price.

True, Cteks are top quality 'mobile' charger units but the smaller ones aren't really marketed for 'permanent fixture' leisure battery use. You would have been much better off with something like a Numax which is designed for the job:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Numax-Leisure-B ... ry+charger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are a number of reasons why the MXS 5.0 isn't ideal: 1) SOME, don't start automatically, you have to manually select a 'mode' which means it can be easily forgotten 2) in most cases, 5amps It isn't really powerful enough and is certainly less powerful than the BBB charger you removed (which I believe was 7amps?) 3) With heavily discharged batteries Ctek's often refuse to 'start' until an 'old fashioned' non sensing charger has put some initial charge into the battery. 4) it only charges one battery (the original charged both leisure and starter), however that it true of most aftermarket replacements.
These chargers aren't really designed for use 'whilst' camping, there are better options that we should be recommending.

Martin

[CJH]

Martin - I think you're being a bit unfair on the MXS5

1) it doesn't start automatically, you have to manually select a 'mode' which means it can be easily forgotten

That may have been true with earlier models (I don't know), but I was told by CTEK support that all their chargers remember what mode they were left in. My MXS10 certainly does. And the manual for the MXS5 says the same: "The selected program will be restarted next time the charger is connected."

2) in most cases, 5amps It isn't really powerful enough and is certainly less powerful than the BBB charger you removed (which I believe is 7amps?)

There was a thread on here just recently where Ghost pointed out that the higher currents only last a very short time when the charger is connected, and they drop to 5A or so very quickly. I know that doesn't sound right (higher current chargers DO charge batteries more quickly), but in most cases I think 5A will be fine.

3) With heavily discharged batteries Ctek's often refuse to 'start' until an 'old fashioned' non sensing charger has put in some initial charge into the battery.

This is a problem with most 'smart' chargers - if the battery is totally flat then the charger doesn't know it's there. But in fact the CTEKs have a 'Reconditioning' mode for just this situation.

[California Dreamin]

Yes I 'modified' my reply...as I wasn't intending to sound personal...however, I stand by what I say, because there seems to be something of a Ctek 'fan club' on here (me included BTW) however, in many instances they are being recommended when there are more suitable products available.
I take on board the point about higher charge output only lasting for a short time, however, not if you are pulling 5 plus amps out of the battery it won't. Plus, you seem to be missing the point, which is that the leisure charger output needs to be higher than the 'possible' discharge. ie: more going in than being taken out, otherwise you are ultimately going to be running directly from the charger, which is not a good thing to happen.

Just look at any of the good campervan convertors and you won't see any of them fitting anything less than a 10 amp dedicated leisure charger.
Anyway, it just seems that I've said this many times before and people just keep on fitting 3.8 and 5 amp Cteks as main camping chargers.
I'm not saying that they don't work, just that in many instances there are better alternatives, and isn't that what we are here for, to recommend what works best?
The guy just spent £60 on something that isn't ideal, when we should have anticipated the direction this was going and recommended something more appropriate.

Martin

[CovKid]

Assuming that (inverters aside) 240v supply needed to even run the CTEK, Numax etc, another solution is to fit an additional dedicated 240v to 12v supply which you can switch over to. I've got one (noiseless) which can deliver up to 17amps. No idea where it came from and don't use it much as I'm more off-grid than on, but thats another approach. That way leisure isn't taxed at all and can be charged whilst driving in the usual way for those scenarios where there is no hookup. You could still use solar or a charger if you wished but even a cheap LIDL/ALDI one would do then.

Not that I wish any harm to local moggies, but theres more than one way to skin a cat. I've seen plenty of over-complicated and expensive solutions but often the simplest works best.

[danmetallic]

First off, no offence taken. Thanks for the invaluable comments as always, that's what we're all here for.

There's a few reasons I went for the CTEK in the end. One, I needed it delivered on a Sunday on overnight delivery, so that limited my options somewhat. Our usage is also v light...LEDs, hardly any stereo, no compressor fridge etc. Also we have nothing coming off the starter battery anymore either so don't have to think about charging that. I may go more heavy duty further down the line but with our current usage patterns we just don't need it.