Uncooperative utilities

Gracious friends didn't mind using Penny with no water or electric for a weekend, but it was puzzling news to Nigel Donnelly

- Nigel Donnelly

THE CONVERSATION WENT something like this. “Everything go OK?” I asked Paul, a friend returning Penny after a week of frolics at Glastonbury.

“Yes, mate. Perfect,” he said. “It makes such a difference having your own toilet and a proper bed. It’ll be hard going back to a tent!”

I helped him unhitch Penny from his Passat, poured him a coffee, and we chatted before he headed home. As Paul was leaving, though, he said: “So is there a trick to getting the water and the lights to work?’

“No, no,” I assured him. “Just flick the main switch as you go in, and everything works.”

“Must have done it wrong,” Paul replied. “It didn’t matter to us. We had torches.”

As I waved him off, I was a bit surprised that he hadn’t put a touch more effort into getting the lights to work. He was there for four nights. Granted, he’s no caravanner, but he’s not an idiot and it’s not exactly brain surgery getting the lights on in a 25-year-old tourer. Puzzled, I decided to take a look.

As soon as I stepped inside the van, it was obvious that something wasn’t right.

Looking at the lights

The battery monitor that we had installed previously was showing a blank screen, which was not very promising.

The main 12V power switch in the doorway was on, but none of the lights did anything. In fact, nothing did anything.

Given that I had updated the battery cables and the clamps, I thought perhaps something had come loose. In the locker, all the connections were tight.

My multimeter, however, told the story. Running the meter between the two battery cables inside the van gave a reading. Just over 3V. The first check I should have done was to see the leisure battery wasn’t flat.

Outside the van, we swung the locker door open and put the meter across the battery terminals. Confirmation. The battery was toast.