Battery charging by solar but not charging on mains power

[stevesilverGC]

Hi we have a new to us 2020 Grand California 600, 2020 registered but it only had 25 miles on the clock when we collected it. We have stayed away in it twice now, and its great! My problem is the leisure battery is discharging slowly at all times, even on plug in where we have gone from 100% to 30 % in 12 hours using only the fridge and limited lighting. It does however start to charge when the sun is on the solar panel, rising at approximately 10% an hour. When parked at home I've plugged in the 240v in a covered garaged environment with everything off and it discharges slowly even with the master switch on or off. I'm wondering is it a battery problem or maybe a problem with the charger/maintainer, or both?? Any suggestions or ihelp would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Soton Campers]

Is the main isolation switch in the cupboard on? What's the draw on the battery indicator saying? Do you have SOG, is the pan blade fully closed? Have you got any timers set on the Truma panel?

 

[stevesilverGC]

Thanks for the reply. There is no SOG on the system, The indicator on the control panel does not change when the 240V is plugged in, the isolator is switched on when van is in use and I have tried both on and off while vehicle is parked, battery still discharges even when there's nothing in the van I can think of that may be causing load on the system. There is no timer set on the heating. The battery charges when its driving and when the quick charge dash button is used.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks for the reply. There is no SOG on the system, The indicator on the control panel does not change when the 240V is plugged in, the isolator is switched on when van is in use and I have tried both on and off while vehicle is parked, battery still discharges even when there's nothing in the van I can think of that may be causing load on the system. There is no timer set on the heating. The battery charges when its driving and when the quick charge dash button is used.

When plugged into the Mains, do you have mains supply at the 240v sockets in the vehicle?
If you do then check the Mains plug is properly plugged into the Mains Charger.
There are numerous instances on the California Ocean/ Beach of the mains plug into the mains charger not being plugged in properly.

 

[stevesilverGC]

When plugged into the Mains, do you have mains supply at the 240v sockets in the vehicle?
If you do then check the Mains plug is properly plugged into the Mains Charger.
There are numerous instances on the California Ocean/ Beach of the mains plug into the mains charger not being plugged in properly.

Yes we have 240V at sockets and have power to the 240V independent aircon unit so incoming power is there. Its been the same on 2 sites now and when plugged into the 3 pin adapter on our own power. Not sure where the mains charger is but ill check that thanks.

 

[stevesilverGC]

I've looked for the maintainer/charger but cant obviously see it in the electrical cabinet, but don't really know what I'm looking for. There is a Blue DC to DC converter in the panel below the fuses (12 screws), no lights showing on that connected of unplugged. There is an unconnected lead with a foam covering on the terminal, which I imagine may be an accessory lead of some kind (I hope). I'm wondering about the fuses but cant find any fuse diagram or explanation of purpose in any manuals! I'm a bit flummoxed. Any ideas would be appreciated thanks.

 

[Laercio]

Hi Steve,

Check all the plugs under the driver seat, the charger plug is in there and sometimes it could get disconnected when you move your seat, let me know if works!

 

[WelshGas]

I've looked for the maintainer/charger but cant obviously see it in the electrical cabinet, but don't really know what I'm looking for. There is a Blue DC to DC converter in the panel below the fuses (12 screws), no lights showing on that connected of unplugged. There is an unconnected lead with a foam covering on the terminal, which I imagine may be an accessory lead of some kind (I hope). I'm wondering about the fuses but cant find any fuse diagram or explanation of purpose in any manuals! I'm a bit flummoxed. Any ideas would be appreciated thanks.

Unfortunately I don't know the GC electrics, but the Mains Charger should be accessible for replacement. It should be somewhere along the External EHU socket to Mains RCD circuit breaker to Leisure Battery run. Your Leisure Battery is under the bonnet, you could check there. A black box with a mains type kettle plug at one end.

 

[Laercio]

Unfortunately I don't know the GC electrics, but the Mains Charger should be accessible for replacement. It should be somewhere along the External EHU socket to Mains RCD circuit breaker to Leisure Battery run. Your Leisure Battery is under the bonnet, you could check there. A black box with a mains type kettle plug at one end.

The main charger is under the driver's seat and don't need to be replaced is just the plug that sometimes get disconnected if it was not firmly inserted on the factory, actually is a common occurrence on the GC.

 

[WelshGas]

@stevesilverGC see above. If you have a RHD then the Mains Charger should be under the Passenger seat.
@Laercio says his is under the Drivers seat on a LHD.

 

[stevesilverGC]

Thanks very much to you all, I found the charger under passenger seat and it wasn't plugged in! Van is now charging and all is good. I appreciate the advice, I've never used one of these forums before and this has worked out amazing and saved me a trip to the dealer. Thanks to you all.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks very much to you all, I found the charger under passenger seat and it wasn't plugged in! Van is now charging and all is good. I appreciate the advice, I've never used one of these forums before and this has worked out amazing and saved me a trip to the dealer. Thanks to you all.

Thanks for letting the Forum know the outcome. It is extremely helpful.

 

[Laercio]

@stevesilverGC see above. If you have a RHD then the Mains Charger should be under the Passenger seat.
@Laercio says his is under the Drivers seat on a LHD.

You are right I forgot that, thank you.

Thanks very much to you all, I found the charger under passenger seat and it wasn't plugged in! Van is now charging and all is good. I appreciate the advice, I've never used one of these forums before and this has worked out amazing and saved me a trip to the dealer. Thanks to you all.

You are welcome Steve

 

[Soton Campers]

And it also saved me today too! Just had this exact scenario with a customer. All sorted now. Happy days

 

[krimarc]

Hi
I have the same problem and after a bit of searching I found the cord pulled out.
Now it charges as it should again and I see that it charges on the display.
What an easy fix

 

[nutrafin]

Hi All

I currently have this problem with my GC600, and even after a trip to VW it doesn't appear to be fixed.
I have looked under the passenger seat and there are lots of wires but I cannot see anything that looks to be disconnected.

Any help with description of the cable, or a photo would be very much appreciated.

thanks

 

[WelshGas]

Hi All

I currently have this problem with my GC600, and even after a trip to VW it doesn't appear to be fixed.
I have looked under the passenger seat and there are lots of wires but I cannot see anything that looks to be disconnected.

Any help with description of the cable, or a photo would be very much appreciated.

thanks

IEC plug.

May be plugged in but not fully pushed home.

 

[nutrafin]

Sorry ignore that - think I have found the answer here: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/control-panel-questions.44369/

 

[nutrafin]

IEC plug.

May be plugged in but not fully pushed home.

View attachment 93755

 

[nutrafin]

Thanks so much for helping
So VW didn’t find this either whilst in with them, they changed the leisure battery and the control unit behind the dash, and gave me the vehicle back saying it was all fixed.
Here is a picture of my unplugged cable
Found it to the top left of the passenger seat underside.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks so much for helping
So VW didn’t find this either whilst in with them, they changed the leisure battery and the control unit behind the dash, and gave me the vehicle back saying it was all fixed.
Here is a picture of my unplugged cable
Found it to the top left of the passenger seat underside.

View attachment 93798

Unbelievable. Glad you’re sorted.

 

[Mr T]

Thanks so much for helping
So VW didn’t find this either whilst in with them, they changed the leisure battery and the control unit behind the dash, and gave me the vehicle back saying it was all fixed.
Here is a picture of my unplugged cable
Found it to the top left of the passenger seat underside.

View attachment 93798

Just ridiculous, isn’t it! Glad all working now for you. Such a simple fix!

 

[EuropeanVanderlust]

Thank you for this thread!
We were doing a dry run before our first big trip and we paid for an electric site and had the van plugged in- outlets were working but then next morning we realized that the leisure battery didn't charge.
So when we got home I searched here first. Turns out it was the mains cable! Just found it unplugged, plugged in and now leisure battery is charging at home!