Has anyone seen my Leisure Battery? (1 Viewer)

WhiteCheyenneMan

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I know that I have one, it's shown on the Control Panel (y) In fact the Hymer handbook says that it's under the passenger seat, and I can see cables going to it from the side of the cab, and when I remove the front velcro'd panel on the passenger seat base, I can see the Elektoblock but, I can't see the battery, nor can I see how to reach it. It's a mystery :confused:

It's a Transit cab, with a swivel seat. Anyone know how to gain access??? :swear2:
 

andy63

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Transits usually have the leisure battery under the passage seat as you said.. if there is only one it's usually mounted lengthways but if a second has been fitted they are mounted across the plinth... if you have two there won't be much room for anything else in the seat plinth and in spite of the instructions saying you can access them by pushing the seat fwd I've always found it easier to just remove the seat... but the seats are heavy and akward so make a space for it before lifting... as you won't want to be holding it for long..
Andy.
 
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WhiteCheyenneMan

WhiteCheyenneMan

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Transits usually have the leisure battery under the passage seat as you said.. if there is only one it's usually mounted lengthways but if a second has been fitted they are mounted across the plinth... if you have two there won't be much room for anything else in the seat plinth and in spite of the instructions saying you can access them by pushing the seat fwd I've always found it easier to just remove the seat... but the seats are heavy and akward so make a space for it before lifting... as you won't want to be holding it for long..
Andy.

Thanks Andy, at least I have one sensible answer and it sounds useful too (y) I will do my exercises first thing tomorrow and then see if I can remove the seat. So far as I know there is just the one battery and I'm fairly sure that it is at least 100mh but, we'll see.
 

andy63

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Thanks Andy, at least I have one sensible answer and it sounds useful too (y) I will do my exercises first thing tomorrow and then see if I can remove the seat. So far as I know there is just the one battery and I'm fairly sure that it is at least 100mh but, we'll see.
Here's what you can expect to find with the seat off and the battery retaining plate removed.
20160507_123154.jpg


I fitted a second and it fill the plinth space.
20160716_165642.jpg
 
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WhiteCheyenneMan

WhiteCheyenneMan

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It looks as though the two batteries don't include the original, because they seem smaller. Is that correct?

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andy63

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Did you have an Elektroblock there as well?
No .. I would be surprised if that's where yours was fitted...
Im not familiar with an elektroblock but didn't think there would be room under the seat.. I'm sure if that's where it is it would prevent a second battery been fitted.

It looks as though the two batteries don't include the original, because they seem smaller. Is that correct?
I fitted two gell batteries and removed the original battery..
But the battery dimensions were the same as the numax in the first photo...
You are limited to the size of battery you can get in there..
From memory it has to be no more than 190mm height
350mm length and about 180mm wide... (that's to get two in there. )
Andy
 
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WhiteCheyenneMan

WhiteCheyenneMan

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Thanks Andy. Yes the Elektroblock is under the seat, in front of the battery, and blocking the view. So, yes, probably just the one battery.

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I don't know whether this would work in a Transit but in my Fiat-based Hymer I can release the seat bolts then, rather than lifting it, allow / encourage it to slide forwards and tilt where its back cushion will rest against the dashboard. (Or steering wheel in my case because the batteries are under the drivers seat.) It's hard to exaggerate just how heavy and awkward the seats are especially if, as with mine, they come out complete with the swivel mechanism
 

andy63

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I don't know whether this would work in a Transit but in my Fiat-based Hymer I can release the seat bolts then, rather than lifting it, allow / encourage it to slide forwards and tilt where its back cushion will rest against the dashboard. (Or steering wheel in my case because the batteries are under the drivers seat.) It's hard to exaggerate just how heavy and awkward the seats are especially if, as with mine, they come out complete with the swivel mechanism
A good idea... and most probably would work on the transit if all you wanted was access to batteries...
The thought of manhandling the seat puts me off going there unless I have to :D and the slides always go out of sinc when trying to put the seat back in place which is an added hastle:LOL:
Andy
 

suavecarve

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we have a transit and it was 4 bolts. The tilt swivel slide pan and zoom seat bit came off with it. I then just lent it across the passenger seat as it gave me more than sufficient room to get the extra battery in.

Hope this was more helpful than my previous response

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WhiteCheyenneMan

WhiteCheyenneMan

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we have a transit and it was 4 bolts. The tilt swivel slide pan and zoom seat bit came off with it. I then just lent it across the passenger seat as it gave me more than sufficient room to get the extra battery in.

Hope this was more helpful than my previous response

Definitely ::bigsmile:
 
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WhiteCheyenneMan

WhiteCheyenneMan

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So, seat off.....tilted forward! Battery exposed but labels hidden. Extracted a booklet which was in an adhesive pocket on the end of the battery which suggests that it is an Exide G85. The rest of the specification reads 12v 270A(DIN) 85Ah (20h) 95 Ah (100h). Hope fully that means more to someone than it does to me :( I could disconnect the battery and take it out but, I'm not sure what I need to switch off first (apart from the mains connection) and what might need re-setting afterwards (radio?).

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Minxy

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I was going to ask if you actually HAD a leisure battery ... knowing how Hymer charge extra for everything! :D2
 

andy63

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I could disconnect the battery and take it out but, I'm not sure what I need to switch off first (apart from the mains connection) and what might need re-setting afterwards (radio?).
All you shouldd have to do before removing the battery is to make sure your 12v habitation side is shut down... control panel turned off...if you have solar connected look for a fuse and pull that so your leads from the battery arnt still live when disconnected .. or cover the panel...
I wouldn't have thought your radio was off the leisure battery but not sure.. sometimes the new radios don't need recoded anyway... hand book should tell you...
Your battery figures are just giving you two ah ratings at different discharge rates... .
Andy.
 
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WhiteCheyenneMan

WhiteCheyenneMan

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All you shouldd have to do before removing the battery is to make sure your 12v habitation side is shut down... control panel turned off...if you have solar connected look for a fuse and pull that so your leads from the battery arnt still live when disconnected .. or cover the panel...
I wouldn't have thought your radio was off the leisure battery but not sure.. sometimes the new radios don't need recoded anyway... hand book should tell you...
Your battery figures are just giving you two ah ratings at different discharge rates... .
Andy.

Thanks again Andy. I haven't disconnected the battery as I could read the label by partially lifting it. As I say, the label is exactly the same as the booklet. So when people talk about ##Ah batteries, is this what you would call an 85Ah battery?

Next issue is going to be whether to go for a second battery when there is no space anywhere except in the garage (major re-wire!) or a Solar Panel which could feed directly down to the passenger seat. I guess some panels might be too large for such a small battery?

We don't really wild camp, but mainly stop for single nights on Aires/Stellplatz with EHU........but not always.
 

andy63

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So when people talk about ##Ah batteries, is this what you would call an 85Ah battery?
85ah@20h indicates your battery should be capable of supplying 4.25amps for 20 hours without the battery voltage dropping below 10.5 v I believe... ie 85Ă·20=4.25
You may well have read that it's generally considered not a good idea to discharge a lead acid battery beyond 50%of its rated capacity ,so again in your case around 43 amp hours...

I guess some panels might be too large for such a small battery?
Not really within reason... a larger panel will see your battery brought up to fully charged again in a shorter time.. the charge controller you fit will prevent overcharging...

A second battery would be a good idea imo and solar to help with charging...
You might find there is room for a second leisure battery under the drivers seat next to the start battery... that would be a better option than putting the second in the garage ..again imo. ..
Andy

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