Replacing T5.1 battery charger

[Ken Barlowned]

By a process of elimination I’m fairly certain our battery charger for EHU isn’t working on our T5.1.

For the second year running we find that even when on an EHU of 10A and only the fridge drawing 4A max (depending on how hard it’s working) our batteries drain. Both batteries are new and 3 pin is working and EHU is showing on the control display.

so.. what’s the deal on replacing the charger? Super tricky? Stupidly expensive? Any advice will be gratefully received.

thanks

 

[WelshGas]

By a process of elimination I’m fairly certain our battery charger for EHU isn’t working on our T5.1.

For the second year running we find that even when on an EHU of 10A and only the fridge drawing 4A max (depending on how hard it’s working) our batteries drain. Both batteries are new and 3 pin is working and EHU is showing on the control display.

so.. what’s the deal on replacing the charger? Super tricky? Stupidly expensive? Any advice will be gratefully received.

thanks

What year is your vehicle?
Is the Battery Charger located in the base of the rear wardrobe?
Have you checked the voltage of both Leisure Batteries directly?
Is the 50 amp cube fuse on the rear Leisure Battery OK?
What voltage is the Control Panel showing On Hookup and Off Hookup?

The Mains Charger is known to fail, but not that common. If located under the fridge then failure is more common.

 

[Ken Barlowned]

it’s under the fridge. Is it a huge job?

 

[Ken Barlowned]

I have checked batteries and I have parity & the fuse is ok. Charging fine when the engine is running. Kettle lead to the charger is seated fine and rcd in the wardrobe isn’t tripped.

It’s looking more and more certain that it’s the charger itself.

 

[WelshGas]

I have checked batteries and I have parity & the fuse is ok. Charging fine when the engine is running. Kettle lead to the charger is seated fine and rcd in the wardrobe isn’t tripped.

It’s looking more and more certain that it’s the charger itself.

What about the Charger fuse under front passenger seat? 30 amp fuse.

This is the fuse between charger and leisure batteries.

 

[Ken Barlowned]

Feeling stupid now. This I haven’t checked! Could be a breakthrough! Which one is it?

 

[v-tec]

There is also a fuse next to the kettle plug on the charger,

 

[Ken Barlowned]

Right.. I need to check my fuses clearly. So there one in the grey box on the cable leaving the charger?

I can check that in the morning for sure. Need to find out which fuse under the passenger seat I need to check too.

I’m actually exited to try these tomorrow

 

[v-tec]

it’s under the fridge. Is it a huge job?

I have posted on here about my replacement charger (genuine VW) Mine was under the fridge, a very bad design, the heat from the compressor heats the charger up, so if you undo the front 2 self tapping screws on the rails that support the charger it will slide right out easily, A new charger is approximately £400 I relocated mine , screwed it to the underside of Shelf in the left cupboard, the shelf being alloy act’s as a good heat sink, and keeps the charger cool. It’s the perfect fix and the wires are all long enough,

 

[v-tec]

If your confident with a multi meter you can check for mains voltage at the kettle plug when plugged into hook up, if that’s ok you would just need to check the fuse at the charger,

 

[Ken Barlowned]

All really helpful advice, thanks. I’m checking first thing tomorrow

 

[v-tec]

If you look where the wires go through the removable inspection door you can see that I’ve made the orifice slightly larger and put some protective foam to prevent the wires chaffing

 

[Ken Barlowned]

If you look where the wires go through the removable inspection door you can see that I’ve made the orifice slightly larger and put some protective foam to prevent the wires chaffing

Cracking job. I might well copy that. Need to find and check these fuses first tho

 

[WelshGas]

Cracking job. I might well copy that. Need to find and check these fuses first tho

There are only a few fuses under passenger seat. Turn seat 90o and slide backwards. Check 30 amp fuses.

 

[T2-Haz]

I had the same problem, checked everything - even stuck a multi meter in the end of the kettle plug which confirmed power is coming into the van - everything pointed to the charger.

Got a charger from a breaker - T5 Cotswolds, think it was around £160 - tested and working from a 2016 van.

fitting it was quite straight forward, follow the excellent Earth shut repair doc in the VIP section for fridge removal, the whole fridge & charger lifts out as one - so make sure you unplug everything incl fridge first.

When i plugged everything back in, the control panel threw up a few fault codes but a reset of the panel fixed that and no further issues.

I will be putting a PC fan on the access hole, with a exhaust type vent over the 2nd leisure battery cover to blow the hot air away. Hopefully that will help.

Good luck .

 

[T2-Haz]

here is my tread on the same problem - https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/changing-leisure-battery-charger.34282/#post-416213

 

[Ken Barlowned]

Mine is similar to your but I have the mains symbol on the control panel.
I need to find that fuse on my current charger unit before I buy a new charger.. I’m not adverse to doing it, I just want to be sure I’ve exhausted all of the options before I drag that flipping fridge out.

 

[T2-Haz]

yes that's what i did - I've just dug my old duff charger out and taken some photos of where you will find the fuse. I'll post these next.

Also I've noticed you are in Southsea... same here - i'm not far from Albert Road. We have probably passed each other at some point - assuming we are talking about Southsea Hampshire... .

Pull the kettle plug out and it’s behind the cover below.

It slides out and use an electrical screwdriver to flip the fuse out. They tray it sits in isn’t designed to be removed.

This is what mine looked like, you can imagine my excitement when I saw this black fuse, alas it wasn’t meant to be that Easy...

But deffo worth checking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ken Barlowned]

yes that's what i did - I've just dug my old duff charger out and taken some photos of where you will find the fuse. I'll post these next.

Also I've noticed you are in Southsea... same here - i'm not far from Albert Road. We have probably passed each other at some point - assuming we are talking about Southsea Hampshire... .

Thanks that’d be awesome.
Haha, I’m on Devonshire Ave.. Silver 5.1 SE. I’ll be sure to give you a wave if I pass you

 

[Ken Barlowned]

Thank you so much. I check it out

 

[T2-Haz]

Thanks that’d be awesome.
Haha, I’m on Devonshire Ave.. Silver 5.1 SE. I’ll be sure to give you a wave if I pass you

No worries - small world - i have deffo been passed your van, most days in fact,
I also have red/white early bay T2 which you may have seen in the area.

Whatever you do, don't drop the fuse, i put a sheet of paper underneath for when it happened to me. lol.

Keep us posted on here .

 

[Ken Barlowned]

Checked the fuse in the unit and it’s fine (that ones a fiddly bugger).. checked the 30a ones under the passenger seat and bingo we have a blown fuse! Now looking to find a place selling fuses in France!

I could swap one in to test but I don’t know what the other two are for and I don’t want to make things worse by dicking around with them. Does anyone have an idea what the remaining two 30a fuses on a 5.1 do?

 

[WelshGas]

Checked the fuse in the unit and it’s fine (that ones a fiddly bugger).. checked the 30a ones under the passenger seat and bingo we have a blown fuse! Now looking to find a place selling fuses in France!

I could swap one in to test but I don’t know what the other two are for and I don’t want to make things worse by dicking around with them. Does anyone have an idea what the remaining two 30a fuses on a 5.1 do?

Most garages should have them. A common fuse. Can't help with the others at the moment. Probably Parking Heater and possibly Roof.

 

[T2-Haz]

I think the other two 30A (Green?) are the roof hydraulics and the inverter on the B pillar, but yea most as @WelshGas says any garage/car accessory store will have them.

 

[Ken Barlowned]

Swapped the B pillar fuse with the broken one. Seems to be working!
Thanks for the help guys.