Changing engine battery (1 Viewer)

[XRN]

Went to the MH today at the storage and tried to start the engine, but battery is flat. Battery looks like it has been there for ever so may be kaputt. Don't have any power for charging at the storage so will have to remove it to charge. I am thinking that I might as well just put a new one in but I am concerned about how to do it safely as the van is fitted with a solar panel and a battery master. I know I should remove the fuse and panel input wires from the solar controller first but thereafter not sure.
The van is an A class Hymer with the battery right inside the engine bay on the nearside which with the restricted access makes it really awkward to get in and out. It weighs about 22kg so liable to rip my shoulders out which are already shot so has anybody else done it and how did you lift it in and out?

 

[EX51SSS]

Obviously not a solution for your current situation but have you considered one of those power banks? Small, compact and certainly worked on my 2.3 engine when battery was flat.
It cost about £75.00 at one of the shows but I think you can get them around £40.00 I git it for piece of mind.

 

[pappajohn]

Get your breakdown service to get you started then drive to halfords or quickfit and get them to struggle with it.

But.....if the vans left for a few weeks the new battery will also be flat.
Too many parasitic loads, alarm, radio etc on modern vehicles.

If you do it yourself disconnect the battery earth then the pos....refit in reverse order.

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[XRN]

I can probably jump start it from the car battery but being a tight northerner I wanted to save a few quid by buying online rather than using Halfords, however the struggle fitting it may prove the decider!! Will totally disconnecting the battery for removal, either by me or Halfords, lose any memory from ECU's etc?

 

[Figaro]

Changing a battery is usually a straight forward operation but having watched the breakdown guy replace mine last year I`m glad I called them out. On an A Class Hymer it`s quite tricky. He had to bend at the knees and arms outstretched lift the thing out ! If you have dodgy shoulders knees or back, think twice about tackling it yourself !
The guy had a battery with him on the van and charged about £90 fitted. Maybe not the cheapest, but I was glad to get going and not to have to strain myself.

 

[XRN]

On an A Class Hymer it`s quite tricky. He had to bend at the knees and arms outstretched lift the thing out ! If you have dodgy shoulders knees or back, think twice about tackling it yourself !

Exactly what I thought!

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[two]

I’d throw a towel over the solar panel and disconnect the EHU to ensure that nothing can get to the starter battery. Take photos before disconnecting in case you have a poor memory. Disconnect the Battery Master to prevent the habitation battery from trying to top-up.

Remove -ve, then +ve, from starter battery and then the fun begins. You will probably get on best with a straight bar to hang the battery from. The idea is to be able to lever the battery up from a fulcrum point behind, then slide it forward towards the front. If you can only raise it a couple of inches at a time, have something to slip underneath while you tie-up again. Not easy, but very satisfying once achieved!

Try the removal first and then decide about the purchase. Replacement should be much easier

 

[Figaro]

Bars, leavers, ropes, wedges, you could but much simpler to call your recovery.
They will send a strong young man who can just lift it out
You can then get satisfaction by making you both a steaming mug of coffee !

 

[KeithChesterfield]

What size battery is fitted - 019, 020?

Just had to change mine - flat as a pancake and not holding its load when recharged - don't like spending money but it's difficult to push start a 3.5 MH!

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[canopus]

We had same problem a week or two back though our van is parked on the drive. Rang Safeguard our Insurers and they told me we were covered by the AA. The AA turned up an hour later, checked the battery and confirmed it was US. Asked him if he could recommend anywhere to buy one. He replied he carried a few on his van. He had one on board with sufficient cold cranking power but physically slightly smaller. Yuasa £139.75 fitted and old one taken away. No brainer IMO.

PS Also checked the alternator was outputting volts when the engine was running.

 

[rangi]

Lidl this week selling a battery & alternator tester way under £20

 

[iceclimber]

Hi, in my Burstner 660 A class, I always feared the vehicle battery failing, due to the stupidly restricted access to it through the 1/2 bonnet ??
The battery was at least 4 years old ...... So I had the battery changed when I had the cam belt done !!

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[two]

Easier than changing the m/h!

 

[JeanLuc]

I have a B630 Star-line with the same engine bay layout as yours. Starter battery failed a few years ago in the drive. Looked at the problem, thought about it then called RAC home start. Strong young man removed the battery, tested it and declared it dead. No idea how he managed to lift it out, I watched in awe! Then I drove to Halfords (only place open at the time) and bought a Bosch Silverline. He fitted it in double-quick time and we were on our way.
Remember to remove both fuses (50 & 20 amp) next to the starter battery (there may be a small 2amp fuse near there too, if so, remove it). Also a good idea to switch off the EBL on the front plate if yours has a switch there. You should not need to disconnect the solar panel as that will still be connected to the habitation batteries which are remaining in-circuit.

 

[JeanLuc]

Correction to my post above
On thinking more about it, I would disconnect the solar panel from the regulator, particularly if it is a twin-battery model such as the Schaudt LR1218 because this has a direct connection to the starter battery as well as the main link to the habitation batteries.

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[SIFTA SAM]

I can probably jump start it from the car battery but being a tight northerner I wanted to save a few quid by buying online rather than using Halfords, however the struggle fitting it may prove the decider!! Will totally disconnecting the battery for removal, either by me or Halfords, lose any memory from ECU's etc?

Please contact me (PM) if you are still having problems. I don't live too far from you and may be able to assist.

 

[XRN]

I am working for the next week so won't have time to look at it again. Thanks for the advice @JeanLuc I will look where the fuses you mentioned are as I was just going to disconnect the battery at the terminal posts after disconnecting the solar panel from the regulator. I am concerned that the battery master that is fitted would back feed from the leisure batteries and therefore the + battery cable end would still be live after disconnection from the battery and if it touched the bodywork during battery removal would cause a flashover. I take it the fuses you referred to will break this circuit? @SIFTA SAM thanks for the kind offer of assistance hopefully I won't have to call on your services but will bear it in mind.

 

[JeanLuc]

I don't know much about the Battery Master but perhaps you should disconnect that too. In fact, I'm not sure why you would have one at all in a Hymer, since the EBL charges both habitation and starter batteries when plugged into the mains and the alternator charges both when you are driving.

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[XRN]

The BM was fitted when I bought the van and I believed it charged the engine battery from the excess solar when the leisure batteries were fully charged. The van is rarely on EHU and not at all in storage so from your advice I assume the EBL (99) wouldn't charge the engine battery from solar, or is that incorrect?

 

[JeanLuc]

It depends which solar regulator you have. If it is the Schaudt LR1218 that was designed to go with the EBL 99, and it has been fitted correctly, then yes, the solar panel will charge the starter battery too.
There are some other twin-battery regulators too that would do the same.

If, on the other hand, you have a standard single-output regulator connected to the habitation batteries, then the Battery Master will pass current to the starter battery once the hab., batteries are 'full '.

 

[SIFTA SAM]

I can't comment on the function of the BM, but I found that after firstly disconnecting the Neg Terminal and the battery securing plate/bolt, the battery could be pulled forward a few inches that helped with access to the rear Pos Terminal.
Think I unbolted (but left connected), the Power Steering reservoir.
Once the battery was fully disconnected, I levered the front end of it up and slid a big strong plastic carrier bag under it which allowed me to pull the battery clear of the tray and rest it on the cardboard protected bonnet cross-member.
Hope this may be of some help.
I did take photographs prior to any electrical disconnections
Good luck.

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