MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
My van (T5) is currently sitting on the drive awaiting the arrival of the RAC man, 'cos it wont start.
Now, it's mid-camper conversion, and I was initially worried that I'd ballsed up the fitting of the leisure battery and it was draining charge from the main battery. However, thinking about it, I've probably started it 7 or 8 times, maybe more, over the past week or so (moving it around the drive etc. while I'm working on it) without actually taking it for a proper run. So I'm now thinking that that is probably the problem, the battery is just dead from being used without be recharged.
Am I probably right? How many starts does a battery typically have in it before its pooped?
while working on it
does that mean interior and courtesy lights on and off as you open/shut doors? when camping i've found i have to take interior light fuse out (galaxy and now espace) as the opening shutting doors lights/on off trained battery in 2-3days - fuse out no problem
how olds the battery ?
aging well used batterys tend to die in the first cold of winter - ie this week
rac boy will tell you
How's it going with the conversion IHN? Mine is slow but getting there. Leisure battery in and leds for the interior all insulated. Carpeted the metal work but not the ply yet
Interior lights etc - not much, they've been unplugged as I've been lining it. A bit though I suppose.
The battery's probably as old as the van (54 plate).
[i]How's it going with the conversion IHN? [/i]
yeah, slow but getting there. Insulation, floor, electrics, carpeting done. Some of the furniture built. Need to stick the windows in (which was supposed to be today's job, had a nice warm and dry indoor carpark lined up to do it in, grrr...), finish the interior lining and get the furniture in.
Need to get the paperwork off to the DVLA in the next two weeks to meet the insurance terms, so time's looking a it tight...
batteries take alot of power to start van so starting it and not running it will drain it.
the cold weather will reduce the voltage as well and the cold carnking amps
Yu should get more than 7 mind depending on how long you cranked it suspect you wil require a new one - you can get it tested at any decent auto electrician
If you have some jump leads, you can use the leisure battery to jump start the van. Not something to get into the habit of, but could get you out of a fix.
Rewire the vans radio to the leisure battery if you'll be using this whilst in the van, if you are playing CD's they take a fair bit of current.
What is your charging setup? If its a voltage sensing split charge, check it is disconnecting after stopping the engine. It may take a few minutes for the voltage to drop enough to switch the relay, you can turn on your fridge or headlights etc to lower the voltage slightly which should make the relay switch sooner.
Re: the insurance deadline, they will often give you an extension if you are behind schedule 🙂 Got any pics? http://projectcamper.wordpress.com for mine.
Antigee, can't you just switch the interior lights from door sensing to off rather than pull the fuse?!
I understand its a good idea to put your LB on charge periodically, say once a month, if not using your van. You've reminded me I must put mine on charge 😀
Yeah, thought about jumping it from the leisure battery, but I thought I'd get the RAC fella to check it out.
Stereo is already running from the leisure battery, and the switch relay is working okay (or it was when I tested it after first putting it in).
I'm sure it's the fact that it's been started quite a few times and never run for more than about two minutes.
Pain in the @rse though, I want to get the window in (which I'm a little nervous about anyway, and this isn't helping my anxiety levels...)
Pics here:
its a pretty simple job to determine if there is current being drawn from the battery when everything is supposed to be 'off'.mention your concern to your rac man.
It's worth pointing out that lead acid batteries also loose charge quickly in cold weather. This is when spent batteries are most likely to flake on you.
If you keep a batery at full charge, it will last a great deal longer than on which isn't cared for so well.
Leaving a lead acid battery discharged will ruin it very rapidly.
As cheap solution, you can get little solar chargers which plug in to your cigarette lighter socket. These won't charge a flat battery, but will keep a charged battery topped up. They are good for recharging slightly discharged batteries too - light duties.
For proper dual battery charging, if you have a leisure battery (i.e. High amp hours with a low rated SAE), you'll need a split charging system.
Using a leisure battery as a starter battery will kill it as they aren't engineered to withstand sudden high current demand.
Intelligent 4 stage chargers will prolong the battery life considerably, but aren't cheap. The batteries need to be of the same type of cell for these charges too.
My advice is to consult a qualified auto electrician.
I disagree spongebob, for basic dual charging a split charge is all you need, but for proper charging a battery to battery or alternator to battery (b2b or a2b) charger is best. Sterling do a range of stuff but as with all leisure/boaty stuff, it costs.
I've stuck with a basic split charge for now, I have 170ahr of leisure capacity, but a split charge will only realistically charge to 80 or 90% of battery capacity, so I would guess I have 140ahr after a good drive. But then they shouldn't be discharged below 50%, so really I can only use 70ahr before they are due a recharge. By getting a b2b or a2b I would gain 15ahr of usable power as it would charge to near enough 100%. An b2b or a2b would also charge the battery at the full rate for longer, unlike a split charge system where the charge rate starts off high, and then quickly tails off, ending up at little more than a trickle charge when the batteries reach 80-90%.
you can use the leisure battery to jump start the van.
dont recomend this they are designed for cyclical operations and nopt for the cranking amprs required for starting - is long slow drain of a fwa amps not hundreds for a very short period. Some just wont start a vechile full stop.
dont advise them waste too much Amps just fit a diode - charge can only go in one directio so leisure cant flat starteryou'll need a split charging system.
Sterling do a range of stuff but as with all leisure/boaty stuff, it costs.
Excellent but it ruins fan belts - you wont need this unless you plan to live off 12 volt and never drive. You need a large battery bank to take your full alternator current I get 80 amp into 600 amp hour for example on the boat. This into one battery will boil it IMHO. You need to understand some electrics to fit as well I use a battery alternator regulator I have never used their battery management stuff which is probably more fit and forget but if you have 240 v hook up andy charger will do
Leisure are rubbish get some traction batteries dear as can be but brilliant
If my battery was that old id change that before looking for problems anywhere else.
[i]ont recomend this they are designed for cyclical operations and nopt for the cranking amprs required for starting[/i]
Thats why I said its not something to get into the habit of. Even expensive leisure batteries are very close relations to cranking batteries, and a lot even state a cranking capacity which lets on that really its a normal battery with a leisure sticker on it. An occasional top up of the cranking battery is not going to kill it.
[/i]dont advise them waste too much Amps just fit a diode - charge can only go in one directio so leisure cant flat starter[i]
Diodes have a voltage drop across them, a quick google suggests around 0.7 volts which is significant. Split charge is just a relay, think my setup with two huge fuses and the relay loses around 0.2v so with a diode thats pretty much 1volt, half the charging capacity.
The sterling stuff is fine for smaller batteries, its a smart sensing system so will detect the voltage of the battery and adjust the charge rate accordingly.