2017 fiat ducato pvc. dead cab / starter battery.........? (1 Viewer)

[skylinersi]

ok as above, long story but trying to give as much background as possible. 2017 fiat ducato pvc.

havent checked it lately, since start of feb. not run till last monday since then, but has been on hookup for a day a few times.

did have an issue with alarm not working correctly, but unplugged it and plugged it back in, alrm worked fine.......

last monday van went in for low mileage first service, just oil and filter.

noticed starter battery on control panel was low, put on hook up, up to 12.7 v, but dropped to 12v ish over night once hook up taken off. no consumers left on, only alarm and immob,

alternator seems fine

its due its hab check, so this will be looked at , they will do a check to see if its a drain somewhere?


so, is the battery duff?

is it the alarm immob?, although they draw so little?

could something have happened during the service or is it just coincidence?

is it because we havent used the van, or kept it hooked up?

or is it just sods law and the battery has expired anyway.....

should a cab battery only last 2 years??

the battery when i have checked it on the panel has been sat at 12.4 or 12.7 so never been an issue....till the last week or so

so, bit peeved tbh

dealer did say that as the van is still within its base 2 yr warranty fiat would cover and replace the battery????????

all help welcome

 

[MikeD]

Is the charger switched on?

 

[skylinersi]

Is the charger switched on?

which charger?

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[MikeD]

There should be a charger somewhere - The one in the Autotrail we owned was a brainy one and switched automatically between the tab and vehicle battery.

Our IH PVC - i think I have to tell it what to charge.

I can take a picture of it tomorrow and post but there is as far as I can remember a big button on it and a light came on when operational.

 

[skylinersi]

There should be a charger somewhere - The one in the Autotrail we owned was a brainy one and switched automatically between the tab and vehicle battery.

Our IH PVC - i think I have to tell it what to charge.

I can take a picture of it tomorrow and post but there is as far as I can remember a big button on it and a light came on when operational.

im pretty sure ours trickle charges the cab battery when on hook up anyway?, dont have the handbok handy tonite so cant check.

but

havent done anything different since we have had the van and its only just started happening so........?

 

[DaveandJen]

Is this a custom built PVC or one from the well known manufacturers?

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[autorouter]

noticed starter battery on control panel was low, put on hook up, up to 12.7 v, but dropped to 12v ish over night once hook up taken off. no consumers left on, only alarm and immob,

How long did you keep it on hookup? It takes several hours to charge a big flat battery.

Was the reading of 12.7 taken while the battery was charging? I would expect it to go up to about 13.8 while charging. Even 14.8 volts if it's a smart charger. Then it would slowly go down to 12.7 when the hookup is taken off.

 

[Late Starting]

We had a new Ducato based motorhome in April 2015
Went to Autogas for refillable gas fitting end of Jan 2016
On the way home stopped for a meal had trouble
Starting the van after the meal hardly enough power to turn off
the immobiliser but did start in the end.
Booked into Fiat for battery check battery not very well
None in stock will get one sent up from Fiat warehouse
It arrived 2 days later phone call to get it fitted
Went to Fiat got battery fitted start it up said lad that
Fitted it I said I would if I could but that one is flatter
than our original one he then checked it with fancy
tester and agreed it was flat. Took it back off and refitted original one.
Went and had a few words with Stores Manager who was soory for
problem, he said I can get you a Bosch 5 year warranty one from Euro carports to put you on. We came to arrangement that I could keep the
Bosch one if I wanted but what about warranty no problem to me I said
It’s never missed a start in last 3 years..
Cliff

 

[PeteH]

Sounds as if the battery is not receiving a charge, depending on type, but a fully charged lead acid battery should show 12,5 to 12.7V, in the rested state. On charge, you should see somewhere in the region of 13.5+ Volts, which should reduce as the battery charges up.

Not all charging units automatically manage the CAB battery. In which case you may have to get a B-to-B charge device fitted, which monitors the cab battery and tops it up as required. The American Charging unit on my first R-V, did not charge the Cab Battery. The simplest way to get round it (They being in the same location) was a length of cable, two croc; clips and a 10A fuse, connected between the two. (if you forget to disconnect the fuse blows, before the wire melts with the High Current Draw when you try to start up)

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[skylinersi]

How long did you keep it on hookup? It takes several hours to charge a big flat battery.

Was the reading of 12.7 taken while the battery was charging? I would expect it to go up to about 13.8 while charging. Even 14.8 volts if it's a smart charger. Then it would slowly go down to 12.7 when the hookup is taken off.

all readings taken using the diplay on the control panel in the van.

i assume if it shows both full on the panel on hook up and both have had some charge when disconnected that the charger does indeed charge both batteries

hook up overnite, battery read full when on hook up when checked, i dont recall if it was fully charged after disconnecting, i will know more over the weekend as will be at the van and its been on hook up since monday morning, so will see if it has fully charged and how quickly it drops

 

[skylinersi]

Sounds as if the battery is not receiving a charge, depending on type, but a fully charged lead acid battery should show 12,5 to 12.7V, in the rested state. On charge, you should see somewhere in the region of 13.5+ Volts, which should reduce as the battery charges up.

Not all charging units automatically manage the CAB battery. In which case you may have to get a B-to-B charge device fitted, which monitors the cab battery and tops it up as required. The American Charging unit on my first R-V, did not charge the Cab Battery. The simplest way to get round it (They being in the same location) was a length of cable, two croc; clips and a 10A fuse, connected between the two. (if you forget to disconnect the fuse blows, before the wire melts with the High Current Draw when you try to start up)

i will double check with the moho dealer to see if ours does charge cab battery as well, are the B to B 's easy to fit?

many thanks

 

[skylinersi]

cannot edit my original post for some reason??

to clarify.

If the battery is dead so be it, but if im not doing something i should be, or there is a drain, i need to know so as to avoid such future irritation. Im beginning to think a better quality battery, eg bosch 5 yr thingy and a b to b charger.


im reluctant to leave it on hookup 24/7 when at home as im told this is not good for hab batteries?


Our moho is a 2017 adria twin, the moho dealer is geoff cox, who are amazing and tbh always have been with us, so this will be looked at when the van is being hab serviced next week, they have bent over backwards to get us in earlier than planned due to this, so cannot fault them in any way at all, in fact im delighted at their service every time i use them and have recommended them to many.

the oil and filter job was done by a fiat pro main dealer, not geoff cox.

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[Lenny HB]

Normally the starter batteries on Ducato's last 6 years plus, so may just be a different one.
Has it been left at anytime without a charge for more than a few weeks? Depending on alarm current draw and anything else that may be drawing current the battery will only last without a charge for 2 - 4 weeks.
Has it been left to go flat in the past as sometimes just flattening a battery once can serverly shorten its life.

 

[skylinersi]

Normally the starter batteries on Ducato's last 6 years plus, so may just be a different one.
Has it been left at anytime without a charge for more than a few weeks?

yes

Depending on alarm current draw and anything else that may be drawing current the battery will only last without a charge for 2 - 4 weeks.

buggers


Has it been left to go flat in the past as sometimes just flattening a battery once can serverly shorten its life.

nope............as far as i recall......


so should i leave it on hook up in future, even if battery is replaced?

thanks

 

[Lenny HB]

nope............as far as i recall......


so should i leave it on hook up in future, even if battery is replaced?

thanks

Probably best to or fit some solar panels.

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[skylinersi]

Probably best to or fit some solar panels.

it something i am considering bud

 

[skylinersi]

it something i am considering bud

so is it ok to leave hooked up constantly do you think?

 

[Ronny]

I leave mine hooked up permanently to keep the hab battery in good order but I got an AA solar for £25 which just sits on the dash and plugs into the EOBD socket for the vehicle battery, also comes with crocodile clips if you want to keep the hab battery topped up although it's only a trickle charge.

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[PeteH]

Battery issues on Caravans and Motorhomes, are an ongoing concern for most. Those who are not "fortunate" in being able to put power on on a regular basis are often scratching about for answers, especially where stored. The use of solar panels, is an option but they are not a cheap option. Keeping 3 or (even more) batteries in good condition requires a sizeable Array. The "£20 plug in" is not man enough. And any array with sufficient capacity is going to need a sophisticated management system to avoid overcharge. At that point one has to consider the potential costs, verses the likely-hood of needing to replace batteries before the end of their design life. One of our friends with a caravan in that situation, has 2 batteries and swaps them out at regular intervals, just to keep his Tracker system alive. In all IMV, a Cost-v-Convenience-v-Need Conundrum.

 

[skylinersi]

ok, so having consulted the various manuals.........

the schaudt electrobloc ebl 208 sg is fitted to our van, the manual states:

both batteries are charged while travelling

on mains connection a float charge of starter battery at max 2 amps

will check state of play tomoro when im in the van

will check fuses also

 

[Ronny]

I think it’s all coming round to you now leaving it on EHU whilst parked up or trickle chargers. You don’t need a huge bank of solars to keep your batteries in good nick!

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[skylinersi]

i just find it odd that the starter battery has failed, and the hab battery is fine.

its been on hook up since wednesday morning, so will check tomoro, the hab battery will be fine i reckon, but we'll see about the starter, i still think theres a massive drain somewhere

so.........

how do i look for / find a drain on the starter battery?

bearing in mind my ability........... to use complicated leccy gadgets......

 

[skylinersi]

I will update tomoro when sober....