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Am I right to expect that there will be a battery charger installed somewhere in our 2001 ABI Brooklyn 400/2 van?  And that it can be charged via the EHU whilst on site? 

We've found a gauge which shows the condtion in the battery, and there's a switch to charge the battery whilst towing.  Do I assume that when this switch is not on the car symbol, then it's charging the battery when its connected to the EHU?

Unfortunately, the handbook doesn't mention a battery charger at all!

Jenny

Thats what we thought too, but after investigation, we've not found a separate switch at all. Perhaps someone might have an idea where it would be.  We've had caravans much older than 2001 in our time - which have had a charger - so I'm sure that technology had advanced enough for one to be installed in a 2001 model, but I'll be darned if it can be found!!!

Jenny

Yes there is a built in battery charger somewhere in your caravan that the manufacturers install as a standard fitment.

The switch is normally a rocker type which usually either has a symbol of a car or states the word 'car' and a symbol of a caravan or the word 'caravan' on the opposite side. The rocker switch on the 'car' side should only be switched after the electrical towing connections are made with the towing vehicle which the leisure battery will then be charged by 12 volt via the towcar. When on site and the plug connections are dismantled the gauge should then register 0 as there is no charge being injected. When the rocker switch is then switched to 'caravan', the gauge should register again with power identified solely from the source of the caravan leisure battery. When you connect the 240 volt mains lead to the caravan the gauge should register slightly higher indicating that the on board battery charger has been activated which will then be charging from the EHU 240 volt mains supply.

You can check the mains source with a generator if the van is in storage but it is important that you insert and remove the electrical plug from the generator first before switching off the appliance as generators don't have a smooth amp flow like 240v mains does. This is called a 'spike' which can possibly damage the on board battery charger if the generator is switched off before removing the electrical plug first.