Flat Leisure battery ?

[Reg1958]

Hi all. I would like a bit of advice about my leisure battery please. I bought my 2017 swift bolero just before lockdown and it has been in storage since.
A few days ago I was able to take it out for a 60 mile round trip runout just to get things running again.
When I got home I noticed the information panel was flashing " low leisure battery 6.2v ".
In my limited knowledge I thought the solar panel would always keep the battery topped up and even so, should it have charged up from the vehicle alternator?.
The weather has been really sunny lately, the van is always in a good spot in storage to catch the sun and the solar panel is clean. Any ideas please?.
Also on my way back a orange triangular warning light appeared on the instrument cluster.
The manual says it's a general failure light pointing to a multitude of possibilities.
The van is based on the Fiat ducato 2.3 so any advice from other owners would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I'd deal with the solar first. Have you got a multimeter to see if the solar panel is working? You should have at least 19v on the solar regulator solar input.

 

[sonny]

All the info is on the Sargent control unit

 

[denisejoe]

If it is 6.2 volts then a new battery needed

 

[robnchris]

All the info is on the Sargent control unit

I would not take any notice of what the panel says, a more reliable reading will be from a multimeter, disconnect the battery first before taking the reading.

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[autorouter]

I would not take any notice of what the panel says, a more reliable reading will be from a multimeter, disconnect the battery first before taking the reading.

Agreed. Get multimeter readings direct from the battery terminals. With engine running and engine stopped. In sunshine and in the dark. If possible also from the starter battery as well. Don't believe the panel display readings until you've confirmed them with a multimeter.

 

[Reg1958]

Thanks for the advice guys. My van is in storage at the mo but I will be picking it up later this week. I remember the little charge status and panel output indicators on the solar regulator were not lit when I looked?.

 

[Oldbob]

Is the control panel switched on ? I know on mine, if I turn the panel off at the main switch then nothing charges, discharges or works from the leisure side of things, and engine battery stays good anyhow.

 

[denisejoe]

My sola reg is black until you touch the screen

 

[Reg1958]

It's so frustrating cos I can't get to the van until next week. I thought when I'm not using it the control panel should be turned off and the solar panel would still charge the leisure battery?.
Really wished I'd listened a bit more when they did the handover but there's so much to take in!
Quick question for oldbob. If you store your van for a couple of months say, how does the status of your battery stay the same. I thought the whole idea of the solar panel was to keep your leisure battery topped up at all times ( sunny weather permitting).
Realising I'm a bit thicker than I was led to believe!!

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[denisejoe]

When we are not away solar keeps ours topped up all year and also the van battery

 

[GeoffnDee]

If you go to the Sargent Electrical website you can down load the user manual for your electrical system, (EC600 ?), this may help with the information you need.
It does state that it should keep both batteries topped up via its solar system settings as far as I can see.

 

[Reg1958]

I have contacted Sargent tech advice and they were really helpful. They said when I get my van home from storage to ring them. They guide me through the control panel to a code from which they can log in to my van and diagnose the possible fault! Amazing eh!
Thanks to all who took time to advise, I will post a thread when I have more news, cheers.