Cab battery (1 Viewer)

[DavidG58]

Having had yet another close call on not starting due to flat battery I intend to change my battery this week, I don't even know exactly where it is, I am certainly going to struggle to get any detail off it

How likely is it that it will be a standard battery as fitted to all the base chassis or is it likely to have been uprated as it was going on a motorhome?

We use a local commercial vehicle place for servicing that do not have specific motorhome knowledge


edit - I should have included that it is a Hymer on a Mercedes Sprinter LWB chassis

 

[irnbru]

At a guess I would say just the same battery as any other base chassis. It's starting the engine not the MH....but then what do I know..I'm just a woman

 

[carolyn]

On our old van we just got our local mechanic to do it and I think it was just a normal one. He is a motorhomer so would know. He is very good but it was only about £100 fitted so I would think it wasn't anything fancy.

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[Bacchus]

I would agree with irnbru, I can't see why anyone would change the cranking battery.

Don't Halfords offer a fitting service for batteries? I know they do for headlight bulbs, I got them to fit one of mine once, feeling not like a proper man paying someone to change a bulb, but something broke and he was there for 45 minutes in the end so I felt not like a proper man, but at least a smug man...

Not that I would suggest "using" people, but you could always ask them for a price? They'll come out and get the details for you then...

 

[Techno]

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/x250-cab-battery-change-in-pictures.78883/

 

[Manic]

Our Fiat based Hymer 2001, has it's engine battery on the left as you look in the engine bay and it's a standard battery. It shouldn't be to hard to replace yourself.

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[Cal54]

My sister recently went to Motor Mania and had them replace the engine battery. It was set into the floor under the passengers feet. Not cheap but did go for the biggest that would fit.

 

[Techno]

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[DavidG58]

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/x250-cab-battery-change-in-pictures.78883/

Thanks Andy

Will my Mercedes Sprinter be identical to your Fiat

and do you think it is likely to be a 'standard' Sprinter battery?

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[Techno]

Thanks Andy

Will my Mercedes Sprinter be identical to your Fiat

and do you think it is likely to be a 'standard' Sprinter battery?

No sorry David I assumed yours was on a Fiat chassis

 

[Techno]

Looking at a sprinter battery box I would say yours is in the cab floor too
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If you go on eurocarparts and put your reg number in and look for a battery it will at least give you a spec so you can find a better priced one

 

[Manic]

No sorry David I assumed yours was on a Fiat chassis

Me too

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[DavidG58]

Our Fiat based Hymer 2001, has it's engine battery on the left as you look in the engine bay and it's a standard battery. It shouldn't be to hard to replace yourself.

not laughing at you, but I have zero skill levels when it comes to anything needing tools

the last electrical thing I did (other than change the odd fuse) burnt out a wiring loom on an old Maxi, cost me £100's to put it right, somebody else will definitely be doing this for me

edit - The Maxi wasn't old when I did it

 

[Techno]

Me too

The later Fiat from late 2006 (X250) is in the cab floor

 

[irnbru]

We had KwikFit do ours in the last MH . Took the time to take the seat off and swap battery over for free...Well I guess it's in the cost of battery.

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[funflair]

Hi @DavidG58 I agree with the in the cab floor posts and yes it will be standard Sprinter, if they can fit one thats about 4 times normal size you might be OK.

Martin

 

[DavidG58]

Hi @DavidG58 I agree with the in the cab floor posts and yes it will be standard Sprinter, if they can fit one thats about 4 times normal size you might be OK.

Martin

I only had my phone plugged in the weekend, although I was using it as a hot spot, that does seem to kill the battery in the phone, but now suspect the real problem has been a weak cab battery all the time, nothing to do with my misuse / abuse

 

[canopus]

Our starter battery is under the bonnet on our 616 Sprinter. I reckon when we need to replace it we will need Houdini to do the job, as there isn't room to swing a cat under there.

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[JeanLuc]

Our is on a 316 2003 Sprinter and it has a standard starter battery in the engine bay RHS looking in. Yours is more recent and may be in a different location. When ours failed a few years back (the evening before we were setting off) I called out the at-home recovery service that is part of the Comfort Insurance deal (RAC I think). The chap did not have a battery on board, but gave me the spec and I went into town to Halfords to get one which he had no difficulty ion fitting. Bosch Silver Dynamic with a 5 year warranty. Remind whoever fits it that they need to disconnect the starter battery from the charger if there is a handy fuse. I seem to remember that yours has a non-standard Reich box so I don't know where the fuse is, but in the case of a Schaudt EBL - the 50 amp fuse is next to the Starter battery normally.

 

[Don Quixote]

@DavidG58 get one of these when you have new battery fitted could save you a lot of money:

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/12v-smart-battery-charge-alert.113410/#post-1504747

 

[appydaze]

If you are in RAC they will come to you and supply and fit at not a bad price

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[Abacist]

If the battery has failed then you obviously need to change it but did it die a death due to old age or because its not being looked after properly. Does the van have an alarm? Could this be running the battery down between the times when you use the van if you don't keep the van on an electric hookup. I think these are the sort of questions you need to consider or your new battery will go the same way as your old one. I had a similar problem until I fitted a Vanbitz battery master so that the leisure batteries pass some of their charge to the cab battery when they are on a hookup and this keeps it in a very good state of charge all of the time. Is it a wet battery that needs topping up which you haven't been doing or maybe its a sealed unit and so maintenance free. If you can let us know a bit more about your problem then we might be able to offer more help than "just change the battery"

 

[DavidG58]

@Abacist I am not very technical, however

I do know we have no alarm, that's another long story

I also know the MH had very little use in its first few years of life with a previous owner and the leisure batteries had suffered a similar failure

As far as I can see by monitoring my control panel 2 bits of nothing are being drawn from the cab battery while stood, with the exception of my phone charger this weekend and the battery goes flat when off charge

I have flattened it very quickly when connected to an inverter for too long, or so I thought, but maybe the battery condition is the real problem not my misuse

It does though recover when on a run or back on hook up, so your concerns are more than just

For my own sanity and peace of mind I will change the battery and see what happens, the cost of investigating other possible issues could well be more than a battery and inconclusive

edit - the MH was built in 2008 and this is the original battery

 

[Abacist]

If it's an original 2008 battery then it's done quite well and due for a change.

The inverter should run off the hab batteries and not the cab battery.

Do you store the van at home? If so can you connect your hookup cable to keep the batteries charge topped up?

I assume you can select which batteries to charge - either hab or cab and if so I would have one week on cab followed by one week on hab and repeat or get a vanbitz battery master which will then keep both types charged up when on a hookup.

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[DavidG58]

If it's an original 2008 battery then it's done quite well and due for a change.

The inverter should run off the hab batteries and not the cab battery.

Do you store the van at home? If so can you connect your hookup cable to keep the batteries charge topped up?

I assume you can select which batteries to charge - either hab or cab and if so I would have one week on cab followed by one week on hab and repeat or get a vanbitz battery master which will then keep both types charged up when on a hookup.

thanks for the advice

I am lucky enough to be able to keep it at home on permanent EHU and have a charging system which automatically tops up the most needy battery, plus a bit of solar to assist when away from home

the inverter I refer to is a little 150W which plugs into my cigar socket, but I have now banned it from entering the front of the MH, meaning if used it comes off the hab batteries

will hopefully resolve all with a new battery, but I will confirm on here

 

[Bobby22]

http://news.advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/?p=477

Check this out for your battery location @DavidG58

Its under the seat.

Probably your engine battery doesn't like the deep cycle treatment and that maybe its problem. Many engine batteries are not designed to "deep cycle" and will deteriorate if run down too much too often. (Modern stop/start car batteries are now more suited to deeper discharge but they are looked after by the engine starting its self if too much power is being drained)

 

[dabhand]

Our starter battery is under the bonnet on our 616 Sprinter. I reckon when we need to replace it we will need Houdini to do the job, as there isn't room to swing a cat under there.

I took one look on my last van and called the RAC as had same prob. He told me to buy a new battery and came next day to fit it, well chuffed!

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[DavidG58]

http://news.advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/?p=477

Check this out for your battery location @DavidG58

Its under the seat.

Probably your engine battery doesn't like the deep cycle treatment and that maybe its problem. Many engine batteries are not designed to "deep cycle" and will deteriorate if run down too much too often. (Modern stop/start car batteries are now more suited to deeper discharge but they are looked after by the engine starting its self if too much power is being drained)

I might be proved wrong tomorrow when I see where it goes, but as far as I can see it isn't under the seat

They both spin and allow fairly good view underneath

 

[JeanLuc]

According to the MB Commercial website, current Sprinters have the starter battery in a compartment that is sunk into the driver's foot-well, covered by a removable plate. I think that means it is on the left-hand side (as in driver's side for we LHDers). Since yours is a recent model, perhaps it is the same?
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[DavidG58]

According to the MB Commercial website, current Sprinters have the starter battery in a compartment that is sunk into the driver's foot-well, covered by a removable plate. I think that means it is on the left-hand side (as in driver's side for we LHDers). Since yours is a recent model, perhaps it is the same?
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Thanks Philip

recent I guess is relative, our MH is actually on an 07 chassis, but I think you are right about location, I seem to recall the RAC man saying that was where it was, but he also pointed out the jump points he needed under the bonnet, so I never actually found out

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