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Sorry for my ignorance, but if you were on mains hook up why wasn't the battery being charged ?

I'm no expert, but if the battery is holding some charge (for 2 days at least) when you take it out and charge it at home, then it looks like the charger in the van is not doing it's job. It maybe worth investigating that first before shelling out for a new battery.

Our battery is always charged in situ and the caravan charger always charges it fully.

I had a similar problem and thought it was the battery and by sheer chance I checked the fusebox (on my Bailey there is a fuse box with several fuses for various items under the nearside front seat/bed) and the fuse for the on board charger had blown - no idea why. Replaced the fuse, available from any motorist supplies, for about 50p and all sorted......that was 12 months ago. (NB fuses are different colours for different amp rating so make sure you replace like for like).

On mains hook up I leave the switch on 'caravan' and switch to 'off' when at home (and make sure the motormover switch is off also). The 'car' setting is if your connection to the car is enabled to allow you to charge the van battery from your car battery and run the fridge while you are travelling - remember to switch fridge to '12v' setting....and don't forget to change those settings back if your car is not running for a while otherwise you'll drain the car battery!

The pump switch on the Zig Unit should be switched off at night. The reason for this is that if there is a leak inthe system, this would drop the pressure in the pipes, exactly the same way as it would if you turned on a tap. The pressure switch, sensing a drop in pressure, would switch on the pump. Then any leak would get pressurized and continue to flow until the aquaroll was empty. Then the pump would continue to run dry until it burnt out.

Any light switch on the Zig Unit can be left on while the van is occupied.

You do not say how old your caravan battery is but I would not expect any caravan battery to still be A1 after 3 years, although I am sure that some do remain so.
It sounds to me as if one of the cells in your battery is failing. Best to get it checked out at a garage that has such test facilities.

Quote: Originally posted by LobeyDosser on 09/6/2010

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The pump switch on the Zig Unit should be switched off at night. The reason for this is that if there is a leak inthe system, this would drop the pressure in the pipes, exactly the same way as it would if you turned on a tap. The pressure switch, sensing a drop in pressure, would switch on the pump. Then any leak would get pressurized and continue to flow until the aquaroll was empty. Then the pump would continue to run dry until it burnt out.

Any light switch on the Zig Unit can be left on while the van is occupied.

You do not say how old your caravan battery is but I would not expect any caravan battery to still be A1 after 3 years, although I am sure that some do remain so.
It sounds to me as if one of the cells in your battery is failing. Best to get it checked out at a garage that has such test facilities.

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If you have to turn the pump of at night for this reason you would have to do it every time you went out just in case it leaks as you would not be there when it did.

I would rather hear the pump going and sort it out

Turn it all on and leave it on.

No power is taken from the car battery when it is not running so you can leave it hooked to the car as long as you like.

The fridge does not use 12v from the caravan only from the car

Our manual says that the TV ariel signal booster uses power so the 12V system should be switched off when not in use. I try and do this anyway when the caravan is not plugged in to the mains as I have left lights switched on before !

We always switch the pump off when we go out for the day. At night we'd hear it so we don't tend to bother.

Quote: Originally posted by shirl250 on 09/6/2010

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Our manual says that the TV ariel signal booster uses power so the 12V system should be switched off when not in use. I try and do this anyway when the caravan is not plugged in to the mains as I have left lights switched on before !

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depends on the car battery, I had a spare from my deisel, that would go for 3 days, even though it wouldnt start my car, I also had a small car battery from a 106 that would last 12hrs...

You can only but try the other car battery and see if it will work.

As for turning off the 12v at a master switch, well many modern vans have Alarms and Tracker Systems which mean that the 12v system can never be turned off.

Switching off the Pump at the Zig Unit is for your own peace of mind. That is why the folks who manufacture Zig Units and those who manufacture caravans and therefore wire them up, that have their pumps connected to switches at the Zig Unit, put them there in the first place.
Caravan Owners who ignore these switches do so at their own risk. Personally I would rather have the peace of mind than a flooded van.

Fitting another battery that you know to be working properly is certainy the first step in tracing where the problem actually lies.
Having had a number of secondhand units, I would say the 5 times out of 6, the battery was at fault, but once it was the Charging Unit and that cost me about £70 to replace. That was some 5 years ago so it will be more now.

Also, just because there is a problem, do not presume that there is only one problem. there could be a number of them.
Caravans "shoogle" when being towed and 12v wiring can cause a lot of problems, especially as it gets older. Corrosion leading to bad earths, damage, dampness, short circuits and neglect can all cause problems that seem to point to malfunctioning units when in fact it is the wiring that is at fault.

Either invest in a Haynes Caravan Manual and some Test Equipment or get a qualified Caravan Service Engineer in to trace and sort out your problems. It could save you money and it will certainly save you frustration.

Not all caravans are set up the same. Mine has neither a Zig Unit nor a Master Switch, although I have had these on previous vans and campervans.
So much of the information you get on here may be irrelevant to your particular problems and really you need to get someone who knows, to have a look at your own van.