Battery drain (1 Viewer)

[longdog]

Hi, I have an Ace Adventurer 635EK, (same as a Swift Voyager and probably one of the Bessacar models too). When I check the control panel, there is always a constant drain on the leisure battery in the order of 0.40 volts.

Even when everything is turned off, I still have a drain. Now the leisure battery is a new 110amp but it drops to 10.5 volts within a few hours of parking up if there is no EHU. The result is if I need to use gas to heat water, I have to start the engine to get it back over 10.5 volts to ignite the water heater.

Any ideas or suggestions please?

 

[Mike B]

Remove the fuses one by one, when the volts drop disappears that is the circuit that's at fault.

 

[Baycott]

From a completely non technical view, I would pull the fuses one at a time until the drain stops. That will (should) at least identify the circuit that is causing the problem.
I'm sure someone will give a more technical answer soon. :thumb::thumb:
Good luck
John

Mike you just beat me to it. oh:

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[funflair]

I imagine you mean 0.4 amp drain, but that would not be enough to flatten the battery in the time that you say. If that's the case possibly something that is not going through the control panel.

Has it only just started doing this and have you had any work done recently.

Check the fridge is not on 12volts.

Martin

 

[freelanderuk]

I would think that the battery is also no good as 10.5 volts is a completely flat battery

 

[longdog]

Hmm... Food for thought, thanks gents, I will give this a try, probably tomorrow and report back :thumb:

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[SomeoneElse]

10.5 Volts is the voltage seen on a battery that has lost one cell.
A 12Volt battery has six cells and fully charge gives about 12.7 Volts. IE around 2.1V per cell if its only got five working cells then it give 5 x 2.1V which equals 10.5 volts.

Get the battery checked.

My panel, confirmed by the battery monitor has a discharge of 0.2Amps with everything turned off. The battery is still at 12.5V after two months.

Gordon

 

[pappajohn]

10.5 Volts is the voltage seen on a battery that has lost one cell.
A 12Volt battery has six cells and fully charge gives about 12.7 Volts. IE around 2.1V per cell if its only got five working cells then it give 5 x 2.1V which equals 10.5 volts.

Get the battery checked.

My panel, confirmed by the battery monitor has a discharge of 0.2Amps with everything turned off. The battery is still at 12.5V after two months.

Gordon

10.5v (off load) also indicates a totally dead battery.

Dead battery or dead cell both mean a new battery anyway. :thumb:

 

[cmcardle75]

Hi, I have an Ace Adventurer 635EK, (same as a Swift Voyager and probably one of the Bessacar models too). When I check the control panel, there is always a constant drain on the leisure battery in the order of 0.40 volts.

Even when everything is turned off, I still have a drain. Now the leisure battery is a new 110amp but it drops to 10.5 volts within a few hours of parking up if there is no EHU. The result is if I need to use gas to heat water, I have to start the engine to get it back over 10.5 volts to ignite the water heater.

Any ideas or suggestions please?

The ammeter is probably one of those strap on ones, where you can't trust the zero point. I reckon what you actually have is a knackered battery, not a parasitic drain. Any battery that has been down to 10.5V is probably scrap.

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[longdog]

Well, I have systematically removed each fuse in turn and the output on the control panel still says 0.30 - 0.40 amps output, so maybe the drain is a knackered leisure battery after all?

 

[Scout]

Have you got one or two leisure batteries. If two a fuse on the output on one of them ca cause these symptoms

 

[SomeoneElse]

Well, I have systematically removed each fuse in turn and the output on the control panel still says 0.30 - 0.40 amps output, so maybe the drain is a knackered leisure battery after all?

Do you have a master switch on your control panel? or a switch to select either leisure or vehicle battery?
Either or both of these probably operate a relay to switch the current. A relay will typically consume 0.1 amps when actuated.

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[Gizmouk]

The control panel also gave a reading of 0.4A draw, which considering the only thing "left on" would be the tracker and the control panel itself, seemed somewhat high.
When I checked it with a clamp meter, the actual draw was flickering between 0A and 0.1A - inline with what I would expect.
I've put it down to the meter on the Sargent controller will be "indicative", whereas my clamp meter is calibrated

 

[Daifuse]

The control panel also gave a reading of 0.4A draw, which considering the only thing "left on" would be the tracker and the control panel itself, seemed somewhat high.
When I checked it with a clamp meter, the actual draw was flickering between 0A and 0.1A - inline with what I would expect.
I've put it down to the meter on the Sargent controller will be "indicative", whereas my clamp meter is calibrated

Is it a special clamp meter? Clamp meters only work accurately on AC, not DC. They rely on the alternating magnetic field from a current passing through the wire in the clamp loop inducing a comparative voltage in the loop which is measured to give a reading.

 

[cmcardle75]

Well, I have systematically removed each fuse in turn and the output on the control panel still says 0.30 - 0.40 amps output, so maybe the drain is a knackered leisure battery after all?

Those meters are not accurate, even close to the zero point. Just ignore it. The meter would not read an internal drain to the battery even if there was one.

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