I have recently bought a 2002 Colchester 470-2EB and the first few times we went away all worked well.
I plugged the mains in just before we were due to go away again and after a while noticed the battery was not charging, although all the 240 volt system was fine. So I charged the battery with a charger so I could use the mover.
When we arrived at the site and set up, the battery was fully charged but after a day or so it went flat even though we were hooked up all the time.
We drove home and the battery was fully charged again.
Hope you can point me in the right direction, I have checked what fuses I can find and all looks well.
Response
Check the battery terminal voltage with the caravan connected to 240v and with the caravan charger switched on.
If it is 14+ volts, the charger is working and the battery suspect. Disconnect the battery and check the open circuit voltage. It should be at least 12.5 volts for a fully charged battery. If it's less than 12 volts the battery is defective.
If it's below 12.5 volts the charger is not working, you will then need to check the charger output fuse.
Hope this helps, let me know how you get on.
Reply
I have checked all the fuses and they are fine and power is getting to the charger but nothing is coming out the other side.
I have now opened the charger by drilling out the rivets and can clearly see a burnt/blown resister, so have come to the conclusion the charger needs replacing.
Do you know where I can source one? It’s a 1214 13.8v 12a serial b 068657
Response
MES manufactured the complete PDU unit inclusive of the charger. They are still in business so you could try them for a repair/replacement, although I’m not sure what response you’ll get, as they tend to restrict their dealings to the trade/dealers only.
The charger is not a sophisticated circuit and is used in many applications in industry so you may be able to have a general electronics company take a look and repair this for you.
Some other alternatives are:-
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Get a complete used PDU from a caravan breaker - some are listed under on our website under Links.
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Disconnect the input and output of the installed charger and install as a separate unit, a good quality mid-range charger that will deal with a leisure battery charge cycle.
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Go to an ex Fleetwood dealer to have the OEM PDU / Charger unit replaced to maintain the caravan to original specification and have a warranty on the unit.
Reply
Thanks for your quick response will check the links out
