electrical woes

[karalal]

can any one help
I have an autotrail scout 2007 nomally I use the van on ehu last week i was using the leisure batteries which was showing 12.6 volts and showing good on the display within 30 mins the display dropped to 10.6 poor there were only the 5 lights on and the current draw was showing 3.3 amps. On driving the van for 1 hour the display for the leisure batteries did not charge and was still showing 10.6 volts when on ehu the display reads leisure battery charging at 15.1 amps. when the batteries are fully charged they have not lost any of the charge as they show 12.6 volts 1 week later its only when i use anything on the 12 volt side that they discharge quickly. the batteries are 2 identical numax 110 amp which are 20 months old any help would be appreciated

 

[michaelc]

in answer,

HI, have you checked the batteries with a meter, when the engine is running you should get a reading of around 13.5 to 14.5 volts across each set of battery terminals.
If the batteries are none sealed type have a look at the plates, have the batteries off load for a long time.
Forget what the van meters tell you, check the batteries with a meter, off charge and then on.
You may of cooked them by having them on the mains to long, and they have dried out.
try removing them and using a smaller charger to recharge them both off the van.
michael

 

[Wildman]

A fully charged battery should read 13.8V one hour after removing the charge. At 12.6V the battery is only half charged. 10.6 is a dead battery, looks like you need new batteries and to get your charging tested.

 

[karalal]

thanks for the reply michael
the batteries are sealed and are both showing green in the window I have taken them off the van to charge and the charger is showing them to be fully charged same reading as the display in the van the volt meter was showing the same reading as the display in the van 12,6 when charged and when the reading dropped to 10.6 the volt meter said the same

 

[scotjimland]

I agree with wildman, they are probably duff

It kills a battery to fully discharge it, the recommended limit is 40 - 50 % of the capacity, or around 12v .. it's very unlikely they will recover..
the charge you see after taking them off the charger is the 'surface charge' , to get a proper reading they need to be left 'off charge' for at least four hours.. see chart ....

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[hilldweller]

the batteries are sealed and are both showing green in the window I have taken them off the van to charge

Then you are one step from good or bad news.

Charge up.

Find a headlamb bulb ( or similar load ), wire to battery and keep looking at the volts. You know the bulb current, the time it last will enable you to work out the Ah for real.

 

[karalal]

Thanks for all the replys to my post
I have found the problem regarding the split charge on the van there is a white connection block on the main panel that was not fully pushed home I have now checked the charge going to the leisure battery and it now shows 14.45 volts [
I`m hoping that the readings I was getting are related to the connector and the battery will now charge

 

[Douglas]

When measuring a battery with a volt meter please remember that if you take a reading when the battery is either being charged or discharged that the reading you get is not the batteries true voltage!!!!!

To get a true reading the battery MUST be at rest. that means no charge and no discharge for at least 20 min. and preferabley after a small discharge to remove the "surface charge" if it has just come of charge.

Doug...

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Crap batteries !

As you can see from my details I too have an Autotrail Scout ! My numax batteries were replaced after one year and replaced under guarantee with two more numax batteries, need i say more ! last year i bought two state of the art batteries from Dave newell in Telford when i had the habitation check (also had an inverter fitted) since then no problems !!! if i lived in California they could connect "old sparky" up to me with no problem !........:thumb:

 

[karalal]

As you can see from my details I too have an Autotrail Scout ! My numax batteries were replaced after one year and replaced under guarantee with two more numax batteries, need i say more ! last year i bought two state of the art batteries from Dave newell in Telford when i had the habitation check (also had an inverter fitted) since then no problems !!! if i lived in California they could connect "old sparky" up to me with no problem !........:thumb:

What batteries did you have fitted

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