ENGINE STARTER BATTERY VOLTAGE

[69473]

Good morning to you all.
Looking for some electrical advise please.
We have a 6 month old vehicle, previous posted on a mysterious intermittent flashing of the dash parking light.
However over the last few months I've been a little concerned about the starter battery condition reading low on the control panel.
Last week i fitted a independent battery monitor that supplies information though bluetooth.
Presently parked up in the middle of a field surrounded by sheep and lambs over looking the river Nene, just checked my battery voltage and it's reading low at 12.37v 59% charge.
Is this normal or is it a cause for concern and could it be a factor in this flashing light issue?
I would of thought after driving over 150 miles over the last two days and the battery being only 6 months old it would be fully charged.
Many thanks.

 

[Diabalo]

Are you sure that you haven't got a load on the engine battery? if not then it's low.

 

[69473]

The only items are an Autowatch alarm and Scorpion tracker.
Last night alarm was not set.

 

[funflair]

The only items are an Autowatch alarm and Scorpion tracker.
Last night alarm was not set.

And the device you fitted to measure the voltage and send the information, yes the voltage is on the low side and if you are parked in that idyllic sounding location for long the voltage may become critical so the easiest step would be to fit a Battery Master type device to top up the starter battery, I am assuming that you have solar charging the habitation battery.

 

[Two on Tour]

Try running your engine (if it will start with that voltage) and see what voltage is registered with it running.
The voltage should rise to about 14.4 volts if the alternator is doing its job.
Give it 5 minutes with the engine running and the switch off and watch what the battery voltage does. The voltage should drop and then settle, but if it continues to drop away with no load on it, then your battery is shagged.

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[Lenny HB]

Assuming your device is reading the voltage accurately I would say your battery is goosed.

 

[berni109]

Have a look at the history display on the device u have fitted it will show u what has happened over time.
I did not know it was there either until I stumbled across it.
Just because the vehicle was 'new' to u 6 months ago the battery could be a couple of yrs old and it may have discharged to very low voltage level during that time.

 

[GeoffnDee]

Is it possible that the fridge (if on) has not switched over from 12 volt to gas when parked up ?

 

[69473]

Screen shot of last 24 hrs only items used have been occasional use of radio.
To clarify vehicle is 6 months old.

 

[Richard n Ann]

The alternator must be working because you say it's been happening "over the last few months"
Just press < back and check the voltage when you were driving. If OK it looks like the battery is getting tired.

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[Lenny HB]

If you have just stopped after a run I would expect to see over 13v for a few hours.

 

[69473]

Managed to start vehicle but only for a couple of minutes trying not to disturb others.
Cranking voltage a little low, only to he expected.
Is the idle charge voltage low?

 

[Pausim]

If it is a 6 month old vehicle it is likely to have a smart alternator and the lower voltage may be normal. Some smart systems always under charge the battery to leave room for regenerative recovery when slowing down or braking. The alternator avoids putting a load on the engine until you are slowing down when it adds to the engine braking by cutting in at a higher voltage and load.

 

[Richard n Ann]

12.18v = 59% on my scale

12.37v is more like 75%

 

[Two on Tour]

What do you reckon Lenny HB yet another buggered AGM battery ?

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[chaser]

A lot of these dials and readouts are best ignored, if the van is starting and everything is working in the van you are ok, before you had a van with all these modern gizmos you wouldn't have give it a thought.
One thing though have you got solar on , if so it doesn't seem to be doing much, you should have a figure around ,14 volt when the sun is out.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Screen shot of last 24 hrs only items used have been occasional use of radio.
To clarify vehicle is 6 months old.View attachment 489045

Chassis may be 3 years old
How old are your tyres? ( look on the sidewalls)
im not being daft by the way

 

[Jev88]

Have you got a trusty multimeter? Measure battery directly to know if your measuring widget is fibbing?

 

[pappajohn]

Even a new battery can be faulty.

And as the van is only 6 months old it's the dealers problem, not yours.

 

[Spriddler]

A lot of these dials and readouts are best ignored, if the van is starting and everything is working in the van you are ok, before you had a van with all these modern gizmos you wouldn't have give it a thought.

Couldn't agree more. We're all deluged these days with too far much information; information is not the same as knowledge.
In medical circles such folk are known as the 'worried well'.

If it 'aint broke don't fix it.

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[Richard n Ann]

It's OK as long as you know how to interpret it. I said earlier the battery might be "tired" it's an early warning you wouldn't get otherwise

 

[Lenny HB]

What do you reckon Lenny HB yet another buggered AGM battery ?

It's the starter battery a standard wet cell.

 

[Lenny HB]

Here is a link to my thread about my starter battery, the battery was 4 years old.
In the first post I give a chart of resting voltages and I considered the battery past it and replaced it, the voltages are a lot higher than yours.

Starter Battery Dilemma

Not really a dilemma, as I fairly certain I am going to replace it, would be interested in a bit of feedback from the techies on here Raul ,autorouter etc. Went out to the van to move it a couple of weeks ago, starter started to turn the engine over then the battery died & all lights went out...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Richard n Ann]

Interesting point about the smart alternator though. I don't know how low it will let the battery get, seems a step too far to me just to save a microscopic amount of fuel.

 

[69473]

It does have a smart alternator, at the time of test it was pushing 55 amp in to the lithium batteries

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