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The Control Panel in the Wanderer does
not have a panel voltage meter, just LED's for high and low
indication to monitor the leisure battery.
When the LED for 'Low' is displayed
it's too late! So a meter was purchased from my local caravan dealer
and fitted to the ZIG panel position. This had switch control.
The advantage
of a switched controlled volt meter is; It is now possible to monitor
the Van and leisure batteries before turning on the voltages to the
system. When the system is turned on, at the control panel, it is
possible to monitor the voltage drop and this will give an indication
of the charged condition, of the batteries.
A battery always gives a higher
voltage when not connected, than when connected and a load is taken
from it. So if monitored over a period of time the battery condition
can be assessed. For example; Off load the battery will indicate 13.8
volts, on load the voltage will drop to 12.6volts, if this drops to
10.6 then it's possible you have a defective cell, i.e. 12.6 -
10.6 = 2volts lost from the defective cell.
It can be checked over time for
indicating the battery's loss of capacity, this is shown as a
progressive lowering of the voltage on load. Once the battery,on
load, shows a voltage of about 11.8volts after a couple of
years, then it's time to buy a new one.
'Load' definition;
When the battery is supplying volts to
the caravan interior. |