Cannot charge brand new cali!! Help pls!

[Alpy Days!]

We are on the road for a month - our Cali is brand new, only done a few very short trips before. We are unable to hook her up to the electricity whenever we stop and cannot charge the leisure battery. Even when plugged in the little plug icon doesnt show on the display panel. We have checked the electricity source is good, the interrupters in the back are on (red), the plug cable from our Cali is fine... anything we are missing?! Any advice?!
Many thanks
Alpy

 

[bvddobb]

Did it work before, or have you not tried it before?

 

[andyinluton]

We are on the road for a month - our Cali is brand new, only done a few very short trips before. We are unable to hook her up to the electricity whenever we stop and cannot charge the leisure battery. Even when plugged in the little plug icon doesnt show on the display panel. We have checked the electricity source is good, the interrupters in the back are on (red), the plug cable from our Cali is fine... anything we are missing?! Any advice?!
Many thanks
Alpy

Have you tried with the "interrupters" on Green? is the 240v socket on the end of the kitchen live when on hook up?

 

[T6 CFO]

Post 54 on this thread is possibly the issue.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/battery-not-charging-from-hook-up-help.7664/page-3

Kettle lead not in.



Mike

 

[Alpy Days!]

We have tried before, but on short trips where it wasnt critical - we figured we just hadnt doen ti right. Now, having checked everything, we cant seem to get power. Have tried the inturrupters on green. Both of the power sources on the end of the kitchen work...

 

[Loz]

Below the rear storage, behind the rear seat is a panel below the wardrobe, open this with a coin and inside you will see the second leisure battery, just above this you will see the charger, on the side is a power cable with an IEC plug on it. Push the plug in!

 

[T6 CFO]

We have tried before, but on short trips where it wasnt critical - we figured we just hadnt doen ti right. Now, having checked everything, we cant seem to get power. Have tried the inturrupters on green. Both of the power sources on the end of the kitchen work...

Have you tried the above? ..... and the below. Same fix.


Mike

 

[WelshGas]

We have tried before, but on short trips where it wasnt critical - we figured we just hadnt doen ti right. Now, having checked everything, we cant seem to get power. Have tried the inturrupters on green. Both of the power sources on the end of the kitchen work...

Waiting in anticipation! Was the lead plugged into the Charger?

 

[Alpy Days!]

Heading back to campsite shortly....will try as suggested and report back! Finger's crossed........!

 

[briwy]

Are you absolutely sure the cable is OK? How do you know?
We had the same problem years ago and borrowed a cable from people next to us and everything worked. Took the plugs apart on our cabale and one wire was loose. Quick tighen up and all fine again.

 

[bvddobb]

Are you absolutely sure the cable is OK? How do you know?

They wrote that the power sockets on the side of the kitchen are live. So the hook up cable isn't the issue.

They also write that BOTH sockets are live, i.e. the 220/230 V AND the 12V. Meaning the charger/converter (are they one device in the T6? I thought they were in our T5) is working also (otherwise, there wouldn't be 12 V).

Hmmm. Could it be the 50A fuse on the leisure battery? That one is prone to go easily. But then, the other leisure battery under the left front seat would still work, wouldn't it?

So, could the cable from the charger to the leisure circuit be loose?

 

[Loz]

They wrote that the power sockets on the side of the kitchen are live. So the hook up cable isn't the issue.

They also write that BOTH sockets are live, i.e. the 220/230 V AND the 12V. Meaning the charger/converter (are they one device in the T6? I thought they were in our T5) is working also (otherwise, there wouldn't be 12 V).

Hmmm. Could it be the 50A fuse on the leisure battery? That one is prone to go easily. But then, the other leisure battery under the left front seat would still work, wouldn't it?

So, could the cable from the charger to the leisure circuit be loose?

The 12v socket will be live from the batteries if the vehicle is charging it when running, OP reported hookup was not charging batteries but did not say they were completely dead.

The 80A fuse is after the split charge relay so if that was blown the alternator would not charge either battery.

The 75A(50A) fuse is only on the second battery so still should have power to the 12v sockets from the one under the Left hand seat.

If the IEC lead is definitely in the charger then OP needs to Check the 30A fuse in the under seat fuse box as this is the output fuse from the charger.

(I know this wiring off by heart now I have studied it so many times)

 

[bvddobb]

The 12v socket will be live from the batteries if the vehicle is charging it when running, OP reported hookup was not charging batteries but did not say they were completely dead.

The 80A fuse is after the split charge relay so if that was blown the alternator would not charge either battery.

The 75A(50A) fuse is only on the second battery so still should have power to the 12v sockets from the one under the Left hand seat.

If the IEC lead is definitely in the charger then OP needs to Check the 30A fuse in the under seat fuse box as this is the output fuse from the charger.

(I know this wiring off by heart now I have studied it so many times)

Better thinking/reasoning than mine!

 

[kenm]

Recently had this problem on my 2014 cali. The plug had some how dropped out of the charger unit. Pushed back in and all was well.

 

[WelshGas]

Heading back to campsite shortly....will try as suggested and report back! Finger's crossed........!

Any news? Is it sorted?

 

[JohnGuppy]

Well it goes to show Dealers don't check things before they hand over to the new owner , how much would it cost to supply a hook up lead and 13amp to 16 amp blue plug and a bottle of gas at least it would have shown the electrics work and they can boil a kettle its all part of the personal service people expect and give them the confidence to return or recommend

When I carried out a complete check of my T6 all I could find was table leg adjuster screw missing and the piezo

 

[JohnGuppy]

opps piezo lighter not working ( wire off ) the screw was ordered and fitted within 24 hrs
Also I was contacted by VW for a 15 min survey to how my dealer performed and the last Question was would I mind the dealer reading my comments 5 stars for them

 

[Brindisi]

Well it goes to show Dealers don't check things before they hand over to the new owner , how much would it cost to supply a hook up lead and 13amp to 16 amp blue plug and a bottle of gas at least it would have shown the electrics work and they can boil a kettle its all part of the personal service people expect and give them the confidence to return or recommend

When I carried out a complete check of my T6 all I could find was table leg adjuster screw missing and the piezo

 

[JohnGuppy]

I have a spare too

 

[Alpy Days!]

Below the rear storage, behind the rear seat is a panel below the wardrobe, open this with a coin and inside you will see the second leisure battery, just above this you will see the charger, on the side is a power cable with an IEC plug on it. Push the plug in!

Finally back in wifi territory - felt soo sure this was the answer. Found the hatch and the 'kettle' lead, it was in but not tight.... husband pushed it in, it clicked....excitedly we plugged back in, but still no charger icon and no charge reaccing the battery. Ugh.

 

[Alpy Days!]

The 12v socket will be live from the batteries if the vehicle is charging it when running, OP reported hookup was not charging batteries but did not say they were completely dead.

The 80A fuse is after the split charge relay so if that was blown the alternator would not charge either battery.

The 75A(50A) fuse is only on the second battery so still should have power to the 12v sockets from the one under the Left hand seat.

If the IEC lead is definitely in the charger then OP needs to Check the 30A fuse in the under seat fuse box as this is the output fuse from the charger.

(I know this wiring off by heart now I have studied it so many times)

Loz - thanks for your reply here - think possibly a fuse issue as checked everything else....we have found a fuse box under the drivers seat, but it doesnt seem to bear any resmblance to the picture in our manual (which is also in french which makes things more tricky....). If I send you a photo of the fuse box, would you be able to pin point anything I wonder...!?

 

[WelshGas]

Finally back in wifi territory - felt soo sure this was the answer. Found the hatch and the 'kettle' lead, it was in but not tight.... husband pushed it in, it clicked....excitedly we plugged back in, but still no charger icon and no charge reaccing the battery. Ugh.

Sorry to hear that. Visit to Dealers on your return I would suggest,

 

[mikeringrose]

I was forced to go on a 2 week trip without hookup owing to a fault my local dealer could not fix. Surprisingly by moving on every couple of days the engine put enough power in the battery to keep us going and we watched TV most nights. If the power lead is OK (test it on another van) sounds like the inverter.

 

[WelshGas]

I was forced to go on a 2 week trip without hookup owing to a fault my local dealer could not fix. Surprisingly by moving on every couple of days the engine put enough power in the battery to keep us going and we watched TV most nights. If the power lead is OK (test it on another van) sounds like the inverter.

I'm sorry to be pedantic but your choice of words is likely to cause confusion.

The California has a Mains power Charger Unit located above the Rear Battery or Under the Fridge in older vehicles in the SE/Ocean variant, or behind the Left Rear Trim panel in the Beach ( if the Beach has a factory Mains Hookup ). The Charger converts Mains 240V to 12V to charge the Leisure Batteries and on later models the Starter battery as well.

The California SE/Ocean, since 2008, also has a 12V Inverter situated behind the Left Lower B Pillar Trim. This unit is powered by the Leisure Batteries and converts 12V to 240V to run Mains AC powered items but has a150Watt power limit so suitable only for low powered items. The vehicle does not need to be plugged into the Mains for this unit to work.

It may seem a small matter but judging by the comments members have made about some Dealerships. it you went into one and said " My Leisure Batteries aren't charging, could you check the Inverter ", then some of the Numpties would do just that and report 'No Fault".

 

[JohnGuppy]

To fault find you need to start from the beginning
1. Do you have power where you are plugged into ? is the trip switch up on the mains post its normally down for off
2. is the fuse ok in your 13amp plug
3. Check blue short connector lead for wired correctly and connections tight
4 Now check your long lead connections don't take it for granted its correct
5 using a meter check you have 220v at the plug that plugs into the van
Now you can be sure you have 220v at the plug in the side of the van
6 Check in n/s/r cupboard and see the trip is UP down is off
7 Plug in a hair dryer or something into the 22v socket and see if it works ( if it does you know you have 22v inside
8. The kettle plug feeding the charger you have checked ( that is feeding the 12v charger which could be faulty )
I feel you have been let down by your dealer who should have made sure it was working before he handed it over to you that means testing's the leads you are going to use , but you may just be looking for something simple like the trip in the back or no mains from your post outside or turned off
hope this helps but you will need to find an electrician not a dealer tec he is not in most cases qualified