Battery problems

[Marilyn]

Hi everyone, hoping someone may help with an on going issue we have with flat vehicle battery.

We have an Autotrail Cheyenne 840D and unfortunately this year we haven't managed to go away in the van as much as we would like and therefore it has been standing for long periods of time. On going to start the vehicle we have been experiencing a flat vehicle battery every time. On reading posts before it was recommended we have a Battery Master fitted to help this problem which we did back in the summer but still over a period of time the vehicle battery goes flat. If we put jump leads across it doesn't take much to be able to start the van but then within maybe 2 days it is flat again. We have checked to make sure nothing has been left on and we haven't even set the alarm in case this could be draining the battery but still no good. We bought a new vehicle battery earlier in the year and once the van is starting on the display panel it is saying t the voltage from the vehicle battery is 12.1 volts (good). Any ideas would be most welcome as we do not know where to go from here.

 

[Richard n Ann]

12.1v is too low, it should read 13 or 14v with the engine running. Sounds like it could be faulty alternator but needs a good looking at by an auto electrician.

 

[PhilandMena]

Hi,
Sorry to hear a out your issues and my immediate thoughts are your alternator is not charging your battery. However, You need to establish what exactly is going on as you may also have a drain on your ca battery too. Get a cheap digital multi-meter start the engine and measure voltage going into ca battery and you should e getting around 14.4 volts. I would at the same time check your hab batteries and see if any voltage is going to them also. If you have 14.4 going into ca battery then your problem is a drain and I would advise going onto U Tube to see how a drain is identified using a multi-meter. est of luck.

 

[lunarman]

What solar panel installation have you got. There may not be enough output from the panel at this time of year to support the battery master in keeping the habitation and vehicle batteries charged.

 

[autorouter]

As Richard and Ann says, 12.1V is quite low for a starter battery. It is about 50% discharged, and would take several hours of charging to take is back to 100%. Five or ten minutes of running the engine at idling speed won't put much charge into it, but it will boost up the voltage short-term, so that it might look charged if you are just looking at the voltage. After a few minutes it will drop down to 12.1 again.

How is the habitation battery? Do you have solar panels, and if so are they charging the hab battery?

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[pappajohn]

Even with a new battery, If its been allowed to go flat a few times for a reasonable length of time before trying to restart, the battery will be shot.
Don't waste any more time flogging a dead horse.... Replace the battery.
If the vans stored at home connect a small battery charger to keep it charged