Am I showing my ignorance? (2 Viewers)

maryanne

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I have noticed recently that the leisure battery in my motorhome becomes completely flat when not in use. Is this normal? I have to plug into the mains to rectify it. I have a solar trickle charger but it doesn't seem to make much difference, perhaps I haven't got it plugged in properly(?) I have checked all the electrical items that could be using the power are off, the MH is just standing on a driveway in the lee of the house. Any comments would be appreciated, even those having a giggle at me!
 
D

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All batteries will discharge if left standing for a period of time. It could be a knackered battery if it's happening quickly or there could be another explanation.

A little more info would help:

What is the battery capacity and how old is it? What is the capacity of the solar panel? This time of the year the solar won't be doing much. Are you sure there is nothing draining it? Is the control panel left switched on? If so that will be using a small current. If you have an alarm what battery is that connected to?

It won't to any harm to leave it permanently connected to the mains but it's worth finding out what's happening.
 
Jul 23, 2013
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I have 170amp leisure batteries and 110amp starter battery and my 100w solar panel with a mttp regulator is managing to keep them fully charged over the winter storage.

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Oct 5, 2012
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The most effective way to diagnose the issue is to buy a cheapish multimeter and perform a parasitic drain test. Just substitute the leisure battery for the car battery in this video.
A multimeter is a handy thing to have in the MH toolbox as you can also check the alternator for charging capability.

 

GWAYGWAY

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I have a small alternator tester for Lidl for about £4 and it has two leads to check the battery whilst the engine is running to tell meif the alternator is working, The same tool across the leisure battery tells me if the solar is working but I have to remove the EHU lead or turn of the mains to get a true figure. I do leave my van on EHU all the time at home, keeps it topped up and I am able to work inside with mains power..
 

magicsurfbus

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I have a solar trickle charger but it doesn't seem to make much difference, perhaps I haven't got it plugged in properly(?)

A solar trickle charger (as in one of those little ones you leave in the windscreen) won't do much, especially in the winter months. Our leisure battery is permanently topped up from the 85W panel on the roof, and if it gets through February without going flat we're doing alright. I drive the MH around for about half an hour once a month in winter just to keep things as they should be.

In our camper the blown air heater fan is independent of the control panel, so if it's left on by mistake it can drain the battery. Multimeters are definitely the way to go if you want to test current and see what's going on.
 

tonka

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What van do you have and what Power supply.. Some of the new one's like Sargent units in Autotrails and Swifts have a constant drain.. Mine is 0.2 amps.. Not a lot but that would mount up over time and soon flatten the battery.
If your solar trickle charger is one of those plug in the cigarette socket and put on dash board then it's almost a waste of time.
 

Movinon

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My vehicle battery would slowly go flat even though my 100W solar panel was supposed to be keeping it topped up. Another dealer lie. I fitted a battery master and now both leisure and vehicle batteries maintain a full charge even during the winter.

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RowleyBirkinQC

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What van do you have and what Power supply.. Some of the new one's like Sargent units in Autotrails and Swifts have a constant drain.. Mine is 0.2 amps.. Not a lot but that would mount up over time and soon flatten the battery.
If your solar trickle charger is one of those plug in the cigarette socket and put on dash board then it's almost a waste of time.
When we got our AT we got hit by the reversing camera running down the leisure battery when vehicle not in use, have to remember to turn it off by the switch in the cupboard with the Sargent charger/electrics.
 
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DBK

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I have noticed recently that the leisure battery in my motorhome becomes completely flat when not in use. Is this normal? I have to plug into the mains to rectify it. I have a solar trickle charger but it doesn't seem to make much difference, perhaps I haven't got it plugged in properly(?) I have checked all the electrical items that could be using the power are off, the MH is just standing on a driveway in the lee of the house. Any comments would be appreciated, even those having a giggle at me!
How is your solar trickle charger connected? If it is through a cigar lighter socket is it one which is live when the ignition is turned off? If not it won't work. You can test by plugging something into the socket like a phone charger. However, if the panel isn't in full sun during the day it isn't going to do a lot of good anyway.

If you are keeping the MH at home I suggest plugging in the EHU. For convenience it shouldn't cost much to have a socket fitted to the wall beside the MH if there is something like a mains socket to take a feed from on the inside of the house. It will need at least an isolating switch fitted in the house but it shouldn't be difficult to do.
 
Aug 18, 2014
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My vehicle battery would slowly go flat even though my 100W solar panel was supposed to be keeping it topped up. Another dealer lie. I fitted a battery master and now both leisure and vehicle batteries maintain a full charge even during the winter.
Must be something wrong with the installation as it should easily cope.

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Movinon

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Must be something wrong with the installation as it should easily cope.
If I understand you correctly you are saying that the vehicle battery should be have been adequately charged by the solar panel? Not if the vehicle battery was never connected to the solar panel, or the leisure battery, in the first place. I was specifically assured by the dealer about the battery setup prior to purchase. Unfortunately on this matter, and others, the dealer was talking through his arse. As it would cost me more in travel costs to return the van to the dealer I had a battery master fitted locally.
 
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maryanne

maryanne

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Many thanks to you all though I'm not sure I understand all your replies! Please tell me - what is a battery master? where would I get one and what would it cost?

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Movinon

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A battery master is a small electronic box which tops up the vehicle battery from the leisure battery. Vanbitz and other motorhome repair centres will fit them. Cost around £80.
 
D

Deleted member 29692

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Many thanks to you all though I'm not sure I understand all your replies! Please tell me - what is a battery master? where would I get one and what would it cost?

A battery master wouldn't be of any help to you in the situation you describe in your OP. As has been posted it keeps your vehicle battery topped up from the leisure battery if you have adequate solar which it sounds like you don't.
 
Jul 29, 2013
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A battery master wouldn't be of any help to you in the situation you describe in your OP. As has been posted it keeps your vehicle battery topped up from the leisure battery if you have adequate solar which it sounds like you don't.


But in the OP it said parked in lee of the house so may be shaded if so it won't be doing anything!

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Motorhome Man

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Hi Maryanne by the sound of things you have a faulty battery. If your motorhome is fitted with a panel that has battery monitoring.You could try charging the battery from the internal charger on EHU for a couple of days, the voltage reading on the monitor should read over 13 volts which will let you know that the onboard charger is working ok. Then turn the charger off for a couple of days and re check voltage reading if this is below 12 volts then your battery has had it. This is assuming no appliances, lights are causing the drain. If no battery monitor use a meter to measure voltage across battery terminals. Hope this helps. Luke
 
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Hi Maryanne by the sound of things you have a faulty battery.

Not necessarily (y)

Take the example from earlier in the thread of a Sargent power supply, common on British vans. That has a constant 0.2A drain even when on standby with nothing actually switched on.

Say you have a 100AH battery so have 50AH before it's flat.

0.2A x 24 = 4.8A per day so you have about 10 days before the battery is flat if you aren't putting anything back in.
 

Motorhome Man

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Hi Nick yes there is a constant drain on some sargent units this is because of the remote panel electronics,but 0.2 amps would not cause a battery to go flat after a couple of days, perhaps a couple of months. That is why after charging it should be checked within a couple of days. The other thing is unfortunately we do not have all the facts and i am only offering a simple test to eliminate one possible cause of the flat battery.Luke

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Motorhome Man

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Ok Nick, for starters I dont think the drain is 0.2amps, the other thing is if after charging, the battery is flat within 2 days, what would you think the problem is. Once again assuming there is no other drain on the battery. The other thing is that none of us are actually at this motorhome and therefore we cannot run tests ourselves. And this, which i think is the main thing, the idea of replying to the original thread is to help the OP and not confuse with minor disagreements. I am an electrical/mechanical engineer, and have been for over 45yrs and my reply was to try and assist the OP with the problem and not confuse. Regards Luke
 
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Hi Nick yes there is a constant drain on some sargent units this is because of the remote panel electronics,but 0.2 amps would not cause a battery to go flat after a couple of days, perhaps a couple of months. That is why after charging it should be checked within a couple of days. The other thing is unfortunately we do not have all the facts and i am only offering a simple test to eliminate one possible cause of the flat battery.Luke


Ok Nick, for starters I dont think the drain is 0.2amps, the other thing is if after charging, the battery is flat within 2 days, what would you think the problem is. Once again assuming there is no other drain on the battery. The other thing is that none of us are actually at this motorhome and therefore we cannot run tests ourselves. And this, which i think is the main thing, the idea of replying to the original thread is to help the OP and not confuse with minor disagreements. I am an electrical/mechanical engineer, and have been for over 45yrs and my reply was to try and assist the OP with the problem and not confuse. Regards Luke

I don't have a British van so am not saddled with a Sargent unit. Someone else earlier in the thread mentioned 0.2A so I've used that.

In the absence of any definitive information to the contrary assume it's correct and do the basic maths. 0.2A per hour is 4.8A per day. This would take a 100aH battery to it's maximum 50% discharge in a little over 10 days so unless you have a huge battery bank I don't know where you're getting a couple of months from.

I did ask the OP in post #2 of the thread for some more info but so far she hasn't given us any.

There could be lots of things causing it. A knackered battery is no more or less likely that any of those things. I wouldn't suggest it as a possibility based on the info provided because if the OP decides to go and buy a new battery based on that advice and the same thing happens who do you think she'll blame? :whistle::D

PS I was an electrical engineer as well for a long time until I saw the light and escaped so don't assume I don't know what I'm talking about (y)
 

Motorhome Man

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Hi Nick im not saying you dont know what your doing, but, firstly i haven't suggested buying a new battery at all, what i suggested was running a very simple test to see if the battery was faulty. Secondly we don't know what motorhome or PSU is fitted, thirdly the "couple of months " quote was assuming there was no external drain on the battery and would be the natural discharge of the battery.Once again your post will only confuse the OP and offers no real assistance. You also seem to be letting all this get out of hand, my suggestion to do a simple in place test is no more unreasonable than anybody else's replies. Best wishes and Bye.Luke

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Aug 18, 2014
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If I understand you correctly you are saying that the vehicle battery should be have been adequately charged by the solar panel? Not if the vehicle battery was never connected to the solar panel, or the leisure battery, in the first place. I was specifically assured by the dealer about the battery setup prior to purchase. Unfortunately on this matter, and others, the dealer was talking through his arse. As it would cost me more in travel costs to return the van to the dealer I had a battery master fitted locally.
I read your post as though it wasn't capable of coping , not that it wasn't connected. :)
 
D

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Awesome :rofl:

A patronising reply from someone who started a thread complaining about patronising replies. :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 

Motorhome Man

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Hi Nick, don't understand why you are carrying on with this. You accuse me of "telling the OP to buy a new battery" which wasn't the case at all, I suggested doing a simple test. If you look back to the 2nd post in this thread, which is your post by the way, "It could be a knackered battery" is what you suggested. You have then gone on to provoke an arguement with trivial rantings. Nick, let it go it's not that important. PS it wasn't patronising it was factual. Luke

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Mar 11, 2013
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Sometimes it appears the light at the end of the tunnel has gone off ,perhaps a battery problem?
 
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@maryanne Several people have quite rightly suggested that you get a multimeter to help check what is happening. The very basic ones will only measure voltage, which is often all you need. But if you need to check whether a current is flowing, you need one that will also measure amps. That's what you see happening in the two videos back on page 1. The type of multimeter shown requires that you disconnect the circuit you want to measure & connect the meter into it. This usually requires tools & often means that you have to disconnect the battery itself, meaning reprogramming radio codes & other complications.

Instead, you can get a multimeter that will measure current without the need to disconnect anything. They have jaws that just clamp round the cable.

On the recommendation of @Techno I got a UNI-Trend UT210E. It's a great little multimeter, not too expensive & easy to use. Search on google for it & you will find it offered from several places - I got mine via Amazon. It is very useful for checking to see if your solar panel is actually doing any charging.

How long do you have to leave the motorhome before the battery goes flat?
 

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