Battery charger - Dometic Control Panel on Nugget 2023

[felixwolf]

Dear all,
according to the official Nugget manual (2021 - pages 48–50), the starter battery should be recharged when the vehicle is plugged into 230V. However, this is difficult to verify, because the charge status of the starter batteries is not displayed on the Dometic panel, and neither the Ford dashboard, the FordPass app, nor the available Ford APIs seem to display such info.

Nobody in Ford is able to confirm the above information (are starter battery charged by 230V?), and both Westfalia and Dometic answered me "Ask Ford!"... catch 22.

I therefore kindly ask you if you can confirm (even some of) the following points:

1) When the vehicle is connected to a 230V power source (with the residual-current circuit breaker switched on), does this connection also charge the starter batteries?
2) Is the installed Dometic control panel 9600028306 (“Dometic Control Panel – Westfalia Version”) capable of displaying the charge status of the starter batteries?
3) Are there a user manual and a wiring diagram in PDF format, any language, available for this Dometic panel?

Thanks!
Andrea

 

[Heinz Wolff]

If you watch the informative videos on Silver Nugget Adventure (probably titled "the electrical system") I remember them including the answer to your first question about what gets charged once "hooked up" to the mains.

In my distinctly limited experience of my Nugget, the control panel only displays the charge level of the leisure battery.
The system as a whole seems designed to protect the starter battery so as not to leave you stranded. If you've "deep discharged" the leisure battery and lost campervan systems (fridge etc) you'll still be able to start the engine, either to move or recharge the leisure battery.
I'm not a big fan of tech but even I found the (later version) of the control panel to be intuitive. Fresh/grey water levels, leisure battery charge level, inside/outside temps and heating controls - choose your temperature and fan speed that you want now plus you can get programme 3 time slots (on then off).
My Nugget is missing the manual, is there a part or reference number on yours so I can order a replacement?

 

[felixwolf]

If you watch the informative videos on Silver Nugget Adventure (probably titled "the electrical system") I remember them including the answer to your first question about what gets charged once "hooked up" to the mains.

In my distinctly limited experience of my Nugget, the control panel only displays the charge level of the leisure battery.
The system as a whole seems designed to protect the starter battery so as not to leave you stranded. If you've "deep discharged" the leisure battery and lost campervan systems (fridge etc) you'll still be able to start the engine, either to move or recharge the leisure battery.
I'm not a big fan of tech but even I found the (later version) of the control panel to be intuitive. Fresh/grey water levels, leisure battery charge level, inside/outside temps and heating controls - choose your temperature and fan speed that you want now plus you can get programme 3 time slots (on then off).
My Nugget is missing the manual, is there a part or reference number on yours so I can order a replacement?

Thank you very much. I watched all their videos a long time ago (very helpful, along with the Cali Camper family; thanks to all of them), maybe even before receiving the vehicle from the dealer, and I don't remember the details. I'll watch them again.

I agree with your observations on the display, the system and the intuitiveness but, having just solved an expensive problem with the start/stop batteries, I would like to understand how to monitor the charge status of both (start/stop, and services), also considering the "ambiguities" of the manual (it is clearly stated that charges both; but the engine one cannot be checked, and nobody seems to know it).

I received the paper manual of the 2021 Nugget, in Italian, from the dealer. I remember it was in a Ford or Westfalia catalog, at a high price, but I am unable to find it.
On the last page there is the contact: Westfalen Mobil GmbH - Franz-Knöbel-Straße 34 - D-33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück
(I have found also: +49 (0)52 42 – 15-0 - infoservice@westfalen-mobil.de).
In my experience: they respond immediately, but always with: "contact the Ford dealer", and here for me the chain breaks...

You can find the PDFs in various editions (2011, 2021, 2024, etc...).
The 2024 version (and only that) can be downloaded freely from this page: https://nugget-store.de/en/models/ford-nugget-l1-2024-pop-up-roof/, from which you can access the document: https://x5b7k3i9.delivery.rocketcdn...1/Bedienungsanleitung-Nugget-V710-ab-2024.pdf

"Someone" has uploaded the 2021 English, French and German pdf manuals in the files section of the Facebook "Westfalia Ford Nugget owners - italian group". If you find a way to contact me privately, I can give you more info.

Best!

 

[Heinz Wolff]

I've also never had any luck contacting Westfalia, bouncing my request for a Nugget manual in English between 3 different Westfalia email addresses. I had high hopes of "infoservice@westfalen-mobil.de" but got no reply - no info, no service. If the Ford dealership had been helpful I wouldn't need to be chasing Westfalia.
The 12 volt battery in my Transit Custom (not the Nugget) had to be replaced under warranty as it was part of a bad batch. No problems since.
In a way, both your batteries are being monitored. The main battery would light the symbol on your dashboard and the campervan control screen displays the leisure battery's charge level and charging when connected to the mains.

 

[felixwolf]

I've also never had any luck contacting Westfalia, bouncing my request for a Nugget manual in English between 3 different Westfalia email addresses. I had high hopes of "infoservice@westfalen-mobil.de" but got no reply - no info, no service. If the Ford dealership had been helpful I wouldn't need to be chasing Westfalia.
The 12 volt battery in my Transit Custom (not the Nugget) had to be replaced under warranty as it was part of a bad batch. No problems since.
In a way, both your batteries are being monitored. The main battery would light the symbol on your dashboard and the campervan control screen displays the leisure battery's charge level and charging when connected to the mains.

Ok, you know the drill as well as I do... But you can still download the PDFs, maybe they will be useful to you.

I ordered the Nugget in December 2021, received it in February 2023, and had to replace the (two) engine batteries last February (Ford refused the warranty, but that's another story...). My hypothesis is in fact that they were part of a defective batch, because I'm not the only user from that period with the same problem: when is your Custom from?

In my case the symbols on the dashboard never came on, and the start failed directly. A clear indicator of the battery in trouble was the START/STOP always disabled.
I just changed the batteries, and again, every now and then, the START/STOP is disabled... I would like to monitor them and charge them without having to go to the garage and, before buying a tester, a charger and opening the hood, I explore this possibility hidden in the manual...

 

[Heinz Wolff]

I bought it in summer 2020 but it could have been sat in a compound through lockdown. My first clue was that it wouldn't let go of the charging cable (it's a PHEV). When the breakdown guy turned up he measured the voltage, I forget the exact number but it was obviously not enough for the computer controlling routine tasks. As soon as a jump start battery was connected everything was OK.
I concede that no warning symbol was displayed. It's normal for a vehicle with stop/start to disable that function unless/until there's sufficient charge in the battery. That's often cured by a longer journey or you could connect a battery maintainer from CTEK while parked at home.

 

[felixwolf]

I bought it in summer 2020 but it could have been sat in a compound through lockdown. My first clue was that it wouldn't let go of the charging cable (it's a PHEV). When the breakdown guy turned up he measured the voltage, I forget the exact number but it was obviously not enough for the computer controlling routine tasks. As soon as a jump start battery was connected everything was OK.
I concede that no warning symbol was displayed. It's normal for a vehicle with stop/start to disable that function unless/until there's sufficient charge in the battery. That's often cured by a longer journey or you could connect a battery maintainer from CTEK while parked at home.

Thanks for sharing.
I'm worried precisely because it's normal for START/STOP to be disabled when the battery is low: it happened (randomly) again, even with brand new batteries...
Longer trips didn't solve the issue with the old batteries—they were definitely gone.
The battery maintainer was an option, but apparently the standard 230 V hookup on the Nugget is enough, as confirmed by the Silver Nugget Adventure video, even for the starter batteries; only the panel (old type in their case, but it seems the same applies to the new one) doesn't display anything about the main batteries charge. I might consider an OBD device...
Bye!