Cab Battery Low

[nigeee2001]

Hi all
im quite new to all the fun have owning a campervan as only bought my Ford Transit La Strada in June so still learning as not used much just a few weekends away.Van unfortunately left on the road so its difficult to run hook up cable to charge up.Came to van a few days ago and it wouldnt start -managed to take seat out and jump it directly onto cab battery as it wouldnt start when connected under bonnet -i really dont want to mess around with this again so besides starting van every couple of days and running for 10 minutes or so im wanting to be sure van will start
ive read on here about a Battery to Battery charger think its called so im curious if this would do -another thing worth noting is im fitting 2 100 w solar panels soon but ive not bought the MPTT yet-so price permitting wondered if it was a good idea to get one that would charge both batteries by running a seperate feed from this to the cab battery under the drivers seat ?
ive just checked the brochures that came with van and read this
Car Battery (B1) Recharging -when the battery charger is charging,an electronic device allows a recharging (max 2A) of the car battery (B1) the system gives priority to the leisure battery (B2)
Does the above just mean when driven and the alternator is charging the batteries ?
sorry for rambling on
Thanks

 

[andy63]

Car Battery (B1) Recharging -when the battery charger is charging,an electronic device allows a recharging (max 2A) of the car battery (B1) the system gives priority to the leisure battery (B2)

Hi.. that means the start battery will receive a maintenance charge from the mains charger once your leisure battery is charged.. its not referring to a charge from the alternator..

Going fwd once you fit your solar then either do as you have described with a dual output solar regulator...or get a single outlet regulator and fit a battery master type device to keep your start battery topped up..
Om the battery to battery charger..you will only need to consider that if you want or need to improve the alternator charging of your leisure batter..
Hope that makes sense..
Andy

 

[David and Sally]

Battery Master will feed the starter battery from solar once the leisure battery has had it’s fill from the solar. Vanbitz do them.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I fitted a Votronic Duo mppt controller, charges the leisure battery and maintains the starter battery with 1 amp

 

[rosalan]

Cold weather very much weakens your battery power in addition to it not being used or charged. Your solar power idea is a good one, although winter sun in Lincs cannot compare with Southern Spain. It should be enough to keep the battery fairly happy.
Take care of your furnishings in the winter, which can become damp and in the coldest times, take care there is no water in the system that could freeze and cause damage.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Spriddler]

I don't know how easy it is on your m/h but I'd bring the battery (ies) indoors to keep them charged because it looks as though this lockdown will be going on for some time.

Two other asides....
It's illegal to leave the engine running on a parked vehicle.
+
Running the engine without a load isn't particularly good for it. (If you want chapter and verse on the reasons 'Why?' just use the search facility.

 

[nigeee2001]

Morning All thanks for all the very useful replies -im starting now to understand the workings of it now -going to take van out this evening for a run to the local shops and get groceries etc and im pretty sure i will miss my turn coming home and end up on the M180 for 10 miles -oops

 

[poppycamper]

get groceries etc and im pretty sure i will miss my turn coming home and end up on the M180 for 10 miles -oops

You won't be the first....

 

[autorouter]

ive not bought the MPTT yet-so price permitting wondered if it was a good idea to get one that would charge both batteries by running a seperate feed from this to the cab battery under the drivers seat ?

That's certainly one way to do it, but there could be an easier way. There will be a 'split charge relay' that connects the leisure battery to the starter battery/alternator when the engine is running. Obviously it will have a connection to the leisure battery and starter battery. It is often much more convenient to use these connections rather than running wires all the way to the batteries. Sometimes the split charge relay is built into a 12V power distribution/fuse box.

 

[nigeee2001]

That's certainly one way to do it, but there could be an easier way. There will be a 'split charge relay' that connects the leisure battery to the starter battery/alternator when the engine is running. Obviously it will have a connection to the leisure battery and starter battery. It is often much more convenient to use these connections rather than running wires all the way to the batteries. Sometimes the split charge relay is built into a 12V power distribution/fuse box.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[nigeee2001]

Thanks for that I will have a look but if not my cab battery is just onset driver's seat and is hopefully easy to get at then work a route to the mppt controller
Thanks

 

[69473]

If I could interject, my Hymer PVC has two 95 ah AGM's 200w solar and MPTT controller and it still doesn't keep starter battery charged. I have to supplement with 5hrs of electric hook up to keep it at 50% charge.
I suspect the alarm/immobilizer drains the battery over a period of 4 wks with no activity.
If we were in normal times I suspect it wouldn't be a problem.