Batteries appear to be draining.

[The Dotties]

Fiat based autotrail Dakota 2011 build. Sargent 500 electrical system.
Van gets 15 hrs a week on hookup via a timer.
Checked each Sunday morning for the last couple of weeks prior to the ehu coming on and the two six month old Hancook batteries show a 15% loss. Battery voltage is 12.6v as is the chassis battery.
I have solar, and while understandably very low is showing a 0.3amp charge against a discharge rate of 1.4 amps, so assume solar is ok.
I am the proud owner of a multi meter but haven’t a clue what or where to check anything or if I’m honest what readings to expect.
There is nothing switched on in hab area though the master switch is obviously on.
Any ideas please peeps?

Geoff

 

[Boringfrog]

I would say 12.6V is 95% fully charged, so no problem.

 

[Phill D]

the chassis battery will be in constant use from the main vehicle computer systems even though the ignition is off so you should expect some discharge.

if you have it on a timer am i correct in assuming its permanently plugged in?

if so you could leave it on longer and see if there is any difference.

alternatively you could use your multi meter and see if its charging.

 

[TheBig1]

the alarm, tracker, ecu, radio etc all have a drain on the battery. If wired to charge both battery banks, you often see a drain on the leisure battery as well.

15 hours continuous charging will normally be sufficient to replace this drain. Is there a reason you don't put the charger on twice a week? Once fully charged the charger will maintain the batteries with minimal current, so it should cost very little more to run twice for 15 hours a week

 

[pappajohn]

alternatively you could use your multi meter and see if its charging.

See below

I am the proud owner of a multi meter but haven’t a clue what or where to check anything or if I’m honest what readings to expect.
Geoff

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[Podney]

As others have said,leave it on charge for longer,or do it twice per week.
My system regularly shows 1.5 amp drain,but garage tell me they’ve checked it and it’s actually only 0.4.

 

[tonka]

I found a drain on my 2012 Apache 700 with everything off a long time ago.. 0.2amps seems the usual amount.
Contacted Sargent and they confirmed that was normal, just a case of living with it.. My 120w solar keeps up usually in winter BUT if I leave it for more that 3-4 weeks then I do give it a 1 day blast on EHU.. Van is now 7 years old and always been the same. Has EC500 same as yours..

NOTE.. Be aware if you have Smart charge set up you must leave the black Shutdown switch turned "ON".. This way the system switches between the cab and leisure batteries.. If you turn it off, only the Leisure gets charged.

 

[The Dotties]

the chassis battery will be in constant use from the main vehicle computer systems even though the ignition is off so you should expect some discharge.
Phil,
The chassis battery seems to be ok, although I don’t have a read out for as in amps, only volts.
It’s the hab batteries that are discharging

if you have it on a timer am i correct in assuming its permanently plugged in?
The timer is permanently plugged in, but timed to switch on once a week for 15 hours

if so you could leave it on longer and see if there is any difference.
That wouldn’t be a problem


alternatively you could use your multi meter and see if its charging.

Across which terminals? After charging for 15 hours the Sargent read out goes back to 100%

the alarm, tracker, ecu, radio etc all have a drain on the battery. If wired to charge both battery banks, you often see a drain on the leisure battery as well.

Thanks

15 hours continuous charging will normally be sufficient to replace this drain. Is there a reason you don't put the charger on twice a week? Once fully charged the charger will maintain the batteries with minimal current, so it should cost very little more to run twice for 15 hours a week

No reason whatsoever, just assumed 15 hours would be sufficient for batteries with no demand on them

I found a drain on my 2012 Apache 700 with everything off a long time ago.. 0.2amps seems the usual amount.
Contacted Sargent and they confirmed that was normal, just a case of living with it.. My 120w solar keeps up usually in winter BUT if I leave it for more that 3-4 weeks then I do give it a 1 day blast on EHU.. Van is now 7 years old and always been the same. Has EC500 same as yours..

Thank you

NOTE.. Be aware if you have Smart charge set up you must leave the black Shutdown switch turned "ON".. This way the system switches between the cab and leisure batteries.. If you turn it off, only the Leisure gets charged.

Yes, always left on.

Thank you all for your replies.

 

[The Cricketers]

My Sargent has a .24 amp drain with everything switched off and the master switch on.
A 100 watt solar panel hardly kept up with the drain in winter
I now leave the master switch off and have fitted a Battery master, both batteries stay charged all winter

 

[The Dotties]

Error

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[autorouter]

the two six month old Hancook batteries show a 15% loss. Battery voltage is 12.6v as is the chassis battery.

You don't say what the battery charge capacity is so assuming it's 200 Ah, then 15% of 200Ah is 30Ah. Over 1 week (168 hours) that's a current of 30/168 = 178 milliamps which is about par for the course. In fact it's quite small if you leave the alarm, tracker and panel on.

You could check by probing the battery on the actual terminals if they are accessible. Set the multimeter to the 20V DC range, plug the black lead into the 'COM' terminal and the red lead into the terminal marked 'V' and a Greek capital omega (looks like a headphone symbol). The reading should be between 11 and 15 volts. If you get them the wrong way round you will see a '-' sign in front of the number.

After charging for 15 hours the Sargent read out goes back to 100%

I'd say it's probably right, so just carry on switching it on for 15 hours once a week.