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Post by WindDancer on Jan 23, 2014 9:30:38 GMT
My leisure battery is as flat as a pancake, after 2 weeks of being parked up with no use, and nothing switched on I've tried to follow the other thread but keep getting lost! I know it's not receiving a charge when the vehicle is running, but don't know why it's discharging. Vern, Tom, is it because the wire needs replacing?
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Post by Etienne Le Croq on Jan 23, 2014 9:54:34 GMT
If your not using the van,then disconnect the LB and charge it up.Then with no loads connected you can check with a metre to see if it holds charge.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 11:13:19 GMT
That's what I did with my leisure battery and discovered that within 24 hours the old one had dropped from fully charged to 10.5v (therefore well and truly dead) but the new secondhand one I'd got was only dropping about 0.1v in a week so therefore perfectly normal.
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Post by Firefox on Jan 23, 2014 11:48:35 GMT
That wire we were talking about will only help charge your battery when running see point (a) below 12v acid batteries will discharge themselves normally 10% a month but could be up to 30%. Any more and the battery is in poor condition. To lose its charge in only two weeks suggest battery has been left flat got sulphate on the plates and therefore holds very little charge to start with and can't hold on to it. In only two weeks, I wouldn't expect to see a self discharge of more than 0.1v a week as wvw says, so 0.2v maximum in two weeks. So three possibilities (a) Your battery wasn't charged properly before you left it - which it probably was. (b) Your battery has got damaged and is not holding charge (see Ellisboy's test) (c) There is a hidden load (appliance - light/controller etc) connected to your battery. Even a 12w light (1 Amp) will knock off 24Ah a day. That will flatten a 100Ah battery in 3 to 4 days (again see Ellisboy's test to check discharge without loads attached). It is really worth getting one of these Put it in a socket run off your leisure battery. Don't keep it in all the time as that in itself draws power, but put it in when you visit the van, and when camping at various times, to work out the exact state of your battery and form a picture as to what is happening.
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Post by stonedaddy on Jan 23, 2014 22:33:32 GMT
Hi Christine this is not the cheapest but is next day delivery. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Display-Cigarette-Lighter-Electric-Voltage-Meter-for-Auto-Car-Battery-DC-12V-/360535437380?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53f1963044From what I can remember your battery was not getting a charge after the split relay when the engine was running which made it look like a broken circuit from there to the battery. I think that is why it is flat now as it never got a charge after Verns genny was taken off. I think there may be a fuse somewhere in that line that may have blown or a very poor connection along the line. It could be a broken wire but highly unlikely. The best place to start is with Ellisboy's test on the disconnected battery fully charged then keep checking it over a couple of weeks with your little yellow multimeter. Also if I remember right the wire went into that fuse box just check in there to see if it goes into a fuse and see if its blown. It was a pity the weather was so bad when we looked but it did not look as if it could be a lot wrong but lets start with the battery holding a full charge disconnected and we can go from there. .... Tom ....
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Post by gaz on Feb 4, 2014 13:01:11 GMT
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Post by edina on Feb 4, 2014 13:15:09 GMT
Never seen those before; handy gadget and soon pay for itself I should think. I wired the radio through the leisure battery cos the permanent live to it takes a little out of the battery and with the panels charging the L batt it's not a problem.
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Post by gaz on Feb 4, 2014 13:17:51 GMT
hmmm that seems a good alternative ...oh wise one gawd nose what an auto sparky would charge to pin point the prob least ya can have a tinker mesel without doing damage to nowt bloody electrics whack yer head n build it in to a merc it becomes a bad combination too much electronics ...its not a good idea really
the prob could be heater plug relay or alternater or starter motor or etc etc
gonna start at earth strap and progress from there kinda niggles me there is a prob and its always at the back of me mind when we go away
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Post by edina on Feb 4, 2014 13:48:18 GMT
hmmm that seems a good alternative ...oh wise one gawd nose what an auto sparky would charge to pin point the prob least ya can have a tinker mesel without doing damage to nowt bloody electrics whack yer head n build it in to a merc it becomes a bad combination too much electronics ...its not a good idea really the prob could be heater plug relay or alternater or starter motor or etc etc gonna start at earth strap and progress from there kinda niggles me there is a prob and its always at the back of me mind when we go away That's all you can do, just check every possible leak one by one and hope you find a fault. We jump started a chap in Portugal once who was complaining about a faulty battery that was fairly new; problem turned out to be a relay not isolating fully and nothing wrong with the battery at all. I wanted to put a cigar skt in the bedroom/office in our van and the obvious thing was to disconnect the 12v din skt in the shower room cupboard (daft place for it) and continue the wiring on to the bedroom. There were 2 wires, blue and brown and I assumed brown would be live, but luckily I put a meter on before connecting it up and the blue was the live. German technology - I don't take anything for granted now !!
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Post by robmac on Feb 4, 2014 14:56:13 GMT
Never seen those before; handy gadget and soon pay for itself I should think. I wired the radio through the leisure battery cos the permanent live to it takes a little out of the battery and with the panels charging the L batt it's not a problem. I've got one of those, but never used it yet. Make sure you get the right size as they come in standard and mini blade sizes.
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Post by gaz on Feb 4, 2014 16:19:52 GMT
cheers rob might look for some that offers both sizes good tip mate ive got a multi meter but it can be a right faff in some places
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Post by stonedaddy on Feb 4, 2014 22:35:30 GMT
cheers rob might look for some that offers both sizes good tip mate ive got a multi meter but it can be a right faff in some places Gaz if u got a multimeter disconnect the positive side of the battery and put the multimeter onto the terminal and the other lead on the main cable connection that you have just taken off and see if there is any drain on it. Like as been said there should be a slight one which keeps the radio live connected. Most vehicles have this connection and they can be left for weeks without it flattening the battery. If you look at your fuses pull the radio one out and see if that stops all the drain. If its still there pull the fuses one at a time and see if you can lose it. Good luck. .... Tom ....
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Post by gaz on Feb 4, 2014 22:41:00 GMT
cheers tom will have a go at that ...nice one
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Post by edina on Feb 7, 2014 5:00:17 GMT
Come on Gaz, don’t keep us in suspenders, I’m laying awake nights, waiting for the next report. Have you sorted it and if so, wot was the cause of it going flat. This might help, it shows what Stonedaddy advised. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCT-YZbU5o
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Post by gaz on Feb 7, 2014 9:20:42 GMT
oops so sorry yeah.... i tried that yesterday after cleaning the engine strap earth mount and the earth from the battery to the chassis and ive come to the conclusion i have a duff battery gonna go back in to the dealer at the weekend and see what they are sayin after all the battery is less than a year old ....i actually looked like i knew what i was doing for a minute or two but as usual no one there to impress
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