Leisure batteries keep going flat (1 Viewer)

Jun 10, 2011
464
361
Yorkshire (nr. Leeds)
Funster No
16,820
MH
C Class
Exp
Since 2011 (so a bit of a newbie)
I bought the MH new last year from Discover Leisure.

It has 2 leisure batteries under one of the seats. They appeared to work fine last year, but since I opened it up this year they seem to go flat all the time.

They'll be fine after a good run out (according to the battery display), but when I go in a few days later they're dead.

Any ideas?
 

pappajohn

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 26, 2007
43,207
48,814
Dark side of the moon
Funster No
172
Exp
Since 2005
depends what you mean by 'a good run out' ?

charging flat batteries from the engine will take a lot of hours running.

what you are seeing is a 'surface' charge......a charge which is only present for a short while, as the charge current hasn't been absorbed by the battery.

the only sure way is via the mains...either by the onboard charger or a stand alone charger and then it will take quite a long time.

your charger is probably rated at around 12 to 15amps so to charge a couple of flat 110ah batteries will take around 10 to 15 hours to charge properly.

also, if they have been stood all winter in a discharged state there is a good chance they are knackered....batteries don't like being left flat and the plates become sulphated and soon wont recharge.
 
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OP
yorkieman
Jun 10, 2011
464
361
Yorkshire (nr. Leeds)
Funster No
16,820
MH
C Class
Exp
Since 2011 (so a bit of a newbie)
depends what you mean by 'a good run out' ?

charging flat batteries from the engine will take a lot of hours running.

what you are seeing is a 'surface' charge......a charge which is only present for a short while, as the charge current hasn't been absorbed by the battery.

the only sure way is via the mains...either by the onboard charger or a stand alone charger and then it will take quite a long time.

your charger is probably rated at around 12 to 15amps so to charge a couple of flat 110ah batteries will take around 10 to 15 hours to charge properly.

also, if they have been stood all winter in a discharged state there is a good chance they are knackered....batteries don't like being left flat and the plates become sulphated and soon wont recharge.

I did recharge them one time from the mains, but it probably wasn't for 10 to 15 hours, more like 5 or 6. I'll give it a longer charge this week.

As for leaving it standing, it was only from October to beginning of March. I would have thought the batteries on a new MH would have been able to cope with that. Should I have been giving them a blast once a month do you think?

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RobGriff

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 2, 2010
240
208
TONYPANDY Rhondda Wales
Funster No
12,986
MH
Autotrail Tracker LB
Exp
Since 2009
Motorhome Batterys

:thumb:
I bought the MH new last year from Discover Leisure.

It has 2 leisure batteries under one of the seats. They appeared to work fine last year, but since I opened it up this year they seem to go flat all the time.

They'll be fine after a good run out (according to the battery display), but when I go in a few days later they're dead.

Any ideas?
 

Techno

LIFE MEMBER
Deceased RIP
Jul 28, 2010
15,475
20,752
Leeds the one up North
Funster No
12,905
MH
Rapido 7090F 3 litre 160
Exp
May 2010
Batteries simply do not like the cold and hate sub zero. They must be kept charged and not neglected. If you're in storage without hook up then solar is the way to go.
If you're going to hibernate the van for months I would take them off and take them home in the warm at least
 

RobGriff

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 2, 2010
240
208
TONYPANDY Rhondda Wales
Funster No
12,986
MH
Autotrail Tracker LB
Exp
Since 2009
batterys going flat

Hi some leisure batterys are only guarantee'd for 2 years, Are the battery cells ok, do they need battery acid, or you could have a short somewhere :thumb:

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pappajohn

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 26, 2007
43,207
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Dark side of the moon
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172
Exp
Since 2005
I did recharge them one time from the mains, but it probably wasn't for 10 to 15 hours, more like 5 or 6. I'll give it a longer charge this week.

As for leaving it standing, it was only from October to beginning of March. I would have thought the batteries on a new MH would have been able to cope with that. Should I have been giving them a blast once a month do you think?
chances are the batteries were flat after a month or so running parasitic loads.....alarm etc......or even self discharging, (all batteries will self discharge with time) so after 6 months there's a very good chance they are goosed and wont recover.

if you can, leave them on charge for 3 or 4 days (wont do any harm) then see how they perform.

ideally they need a multi stage charger with a de-sulphating mode....which provides at least 14.4v for a few hours to break down the coating on the cells but they may recover over time with your onboard charger.

if you have access to hookup when not in use for any length of time, buy a cheap plug-in timer set to switch on the vans mains for an hour or so every week.
 
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OP
yorkieman
Jun 10, 2011
464
361
Yorkshire (nr. Leeds)
Funster No
16,820
MH
C Class
Exp
Since 2011 (so a bit of a newbie)
if you can, leave them on charge for 3 or 4 days (wont do any harm) then see how they perform.[/I][/B]

You were right. It worked ::bigsmile:

I took myself off up to North Yorkshire for three days and had the MH plugged into the EHU all of the time, and they now seem back to normal health.

I am going to follow the advice about solar panels though as I suspect something such as the tracking device is slowly draining them, although I can't be sure. I want solar any way and if I tell my dear wife that I was advised to get it from the geniuses on my favorite forum she'll sign off the necessary allowance for me :Smile:

If anyone has any suggestions as to best solar panels to get and where to get them do let me know. I'm in Leeds, so I'd need somewhere local to fit them as I'm hopeless with a screw driver.
 

Techno

LIFE MEMBER
Deceased RIP
Jul 28, 2010
15,475
20,752
Leeds the one up North
Funster No
12,905
MH
Rapido 7090F 3 litre 160
Exp
May 2010
You were right. It worked ::bigsmile:
If anyone has any suggestions as to best solar panels to get and where to get them do let me know. I'm in Leeds, so I'd need somewhere local to fit them as I'm hopeless with a screw driver.

Yes I supply and fit I'm Leeds I fit at yours only at £700 for 2x80 with quality LCD display regulator
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A big 'thank you' to Andy (Techno100) for the great job he did fitting the two 80w solar panels. Totally professional, incredibly neat and a nice bloke for putting up with me looking over his shoulder and asking daft questions all day long. Highly recommended.
 
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