Battery Problems

J

Jocko

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Jan 24, 2019
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Somerset
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58,206
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Autocruise Rhythm
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Since 1998
Hi.
I'm currently off grid and running my electric off solar. It's getting a good charge during the day in the beautiful Portuguese sunshine and showing 14 - 14.5 v whilst the sun is out by the end of the afternoon but as soon as the sun goes down the voltage drops and goes down to 12v by the end of the evening whilst only powering a few led lights. It repeats this everyday.

I think I know the answer but does this sound like a dud battery? I have no idea how old it is.

A very helpful neighbour is going to charge the battery for me and load test it in a couple of days so that should give me an answer but any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Also whilst on the subject, does anybody know where to buy a reliable leisure battery in Portugal, particularly in the algarve area.

Many thanks.
 
Can't help with the supply of a new battery ,but it sounds as if you need one.I do believe that some UK battery suppliers will ship to Portugal but not sure of cost etc.
Edit
JJ bought batteries from Tanya UK using PayPal and had them delivered to Portugal.
no issues as I recall 2 X 110ah for £216 delivered. If you put a search in you can see the thread
 
Last edited:
How many hours of sun.?
The voltage you see (14/14.5) is the solar charge voltage, not true battery voltage.
Does the controller show AMPS?
 
Be wary of 'load testing' a leisure battery. They should not be high discharge loaded as they are not starting batteries.

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pappajohn said:
How many hours of sun.?
The voltage you see (14/14.5) is the solar charge voltage, not true battery voltage.
Does the controller show AMPS?
Click to expand...
Around 6-7 hours of sunshine. I tested the battery with a multimeter and it was reading 14.3v with the solar connected and 13.2v with it disconnected. I checked it the following morning with no solar and it read 12.2v. Its read lower then 12v on my analogue display but I've not had a chance to check the battery directly at that time.
 
Eddystone said:
Be wary of 'load testing' a leisure battery. They should not be high discharge loaded as they are not starting batteries.
Click to expand...
Hi Eddystone thanks for the reply. Do you know if there are different types of load testers. I'll ask the neighbour when he does it if he knows that. He seems a clever guy and his house runs on solar but I'll check..
 
Jimbohorlicks said:
Can't help with the supply of a new battery ,but it sounds as if you need one.I do believe that some UK battery suppliers will ship to Portugal but not sure of cost etc.
Edit
JJ bought batteries from Tanya UK using PayPal and had them delivered to Portugal.
no issues as I recall 2 X 110ah for £216 delivered. If you put a search in you can see the thread
Click to expand...
Hi Jimbohorlicks. Thanks for the reply.

That sounds pretty straight forward to do but I don't hold up much hope of getting it shipped out here anytime soon. It took 4 weeks for a small parcel to arrive here from the UK and with covid and lockdowns here and in England I'll probably need to buy local.
 
I don't think it took long for the batteries to be delivered that JJ ordered ,but it was outside the covid issues that we have now.But if you get stuck it's worth a try.
 
Sorry but I don't. I am just concerned that the battery may be damaged if it is incorrectly loaded.

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Does sound like the battery has had it. The only way to test a leisure battery is by a slow discharge.

First charge the battery fully and leave it to settle for an hour then:-

For example if it's a 100a/h battery load it with a 5 amp load and run for 5 hours, this will represent a 25% discharge. (adjust load/time to suit the size of the battery)
Disconnect the load and leave to stand for at least 30 min then measure the voltage.
Repeat the test and you will have discharged the battery to 50%.
You can repeat again then it will be 75% discharged.

1611146601332.png
 
As a GUIDE wait 2 or 3 hours and put a multimeter across the terminals, if the voltage remains steady the battery is ok. If the voltage drops steadily usually by 1/100v every few seconds the battery is duff.
 
Jocko said:
Around 6-7 hours of sunshine. I tested the battery with a multimeter and it was reading 14.3v with the solar connected and 13.2v with it disconnected. I checked it the following morning with no solar and it read 12.2v. Its read lower then 12v on my analogue display but I've not had a chance to check the battery directly at that time.
Click to expand...
You need to measure the battery voltage disconnected, once it has been left to stand for at least half hour. The voltage will still be artificially high from the charging process shortly after the solar disconnection, 13.2V suggests it is still stabilising. Similarly, under load, or shortly after that load is removed, the battery will have a lower voltage than the resting level. As Lenny's table you need to see it's idle amount after half hour or so.
 
Norauto
Lanka park 1
Armazem 11
8200- 856
Alburfeira
Phone- 289 104 050

I have never been there ( but I want to!!!)
I understand it's a bit like a big halfords---------operate in 8 European countries I believe

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That’s exactly how my battery died.

Fine when the sun was shining, died come the evening.
 
Our friends are in Portugal now and his batteries are knackered no one will ship to Portugal due to lock down and brexit

He was quoted over €200 per battery in Portugal

Camperserve shut on the last lock down I would email them first

Also a campsite not sure the name where a German guy does repairs and accessories
 
Jocko said:
Around 6-7 hours of sunshine. I tested the battery with a multimeter and it was reading 14.3v with the solar connected and 13.2v with it disconnected. I checked it the following morning with no solar and it read 12.2v. Its read lower then 12v on my analogue display but I've not had a chance to check the battery directly at that time.
Click to expand...
That points to a failing battery.
It should show 13.6v just off charge and 12.6/12.7 an hour later with no load or charge in that time.
 

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