Help. Van won't start. totally dead (1 Viewer)

May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Hi Campers

Not been on for months as we've managed a weekend in van since we got it last September. I went over today and it's totally dead. No lights, alarm, central locking...nothing.
I was going over each month to pay the storage rent and starting it up and running for a while, I brought it home and hooked it up overnight before Christmas too.
I realise it's not ideal to leave the van all that time without a good run. Van's a hymer 568. fiat ducato. I'm not sure where the cab battery is on my van but I found a battery under a panel in cab floor so hooked up a battery booster pack. Nothing.
I think I'm going to put in a new one, any ideas on brand/cost ?
I'm going to have to call Green Flag tomorrow to try and get it going and take it to a local repair place.

any advice welcome and thanks in advance
 
Feb 21, 2016
4,910
29,131
Uk
Funster No
41,726
MH
C class
Exp
Since 2017
Spoke to a repairer yesterday and he advised on a solar panel for the future. I don't think the site we're on offers a hook up. I do have a power pack but folk have been saying that can be problematic
Sounds like a very good idea if your van is stored outside. Mine is inside Dec,Jan,Feb (fair weather funster!!),and is on permanent hook up during that time. It has an inbuilt device that stops the onboard charger cooking the batteries. If your van doesn’t have that,a thing called Battery Master is the one to have. You never stop learning about this stuff!!

As to which battery to chose I haven’t got a clue,but as you have discovered,a lot of opinions on here!
 
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Jun 29, 2015
3,428
56,461
Southampton
Funster No
36,999
MH
caravan (for now)
Exp
on and off since 1984
I have my battery on hook up at home, I switch off the on board charger and connect a battery charger/saver, newer vans may have one built-in

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Apr 22, 2018
6,779
12,489
Herts.
Funster No
53,503
MH
Adria Coral lowline
This is the battery that I would be fitting, and they are also a very good company to deal with.
 
Upvote 1
Apr 27, 2016
6,800
7,837
Manchester
Funster No
42,762
MH
A class Hymer
Exp
Since the 80s
Here's an option I've used successfully in the past. A battery powering an inverter to run a charger.

It's based on the CTEK MXS5.0 smart mains charger. This will charge a starter battery or a bank of motorhome leisure batteries. Slow, but gets there in the end.

I power the CTEK from a 150W Pure Sine Wave inverter - it's drinks-can-shaped, usually used for powering a laptop in a car. At 150W it is OK to use from most cigarette-lighter sockets.

The inverter is powered from a spare battery. You can use a wire with croc clips and a cigarette-lighter socket to connect to the battery.

The idea is, the spare battery powers the inverter, which powers the charger. The charger runs until the starter battery is charged, or the spare battery is too flat to run the inverter.

Obviously you won't fully charge the MH starter battery if it's very flat. But you can half-fill it, and go home to charge the spare battery and try again. You could visit the storage every three or four weeks to top it up once it's back to full.

An advantage of the MXS5.0 charger is it has a 'motorcycle' mode, for small bike batteries. I use it to top up the Honda 125 in winter. It's a top-grade 7-stage smart charger that won't overcharge anything.
 
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Jan 8, 2013
8,478
11,516
Dronfield - Derbyshire
Funster No
24,202
MH
Burstner Lyseo 690G
Exp
Happy FLT since 2011
Then there is the question of which one to buy... a minefield by the looks of it after reading a few posts on other sites

Only buy any batteries from a reputable manufacturer. There are so many crap batteries with fancy stickers.

These have a good reputation and include a delivery service


Halfords do range at a good price that are actually Yuasa batteries.

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OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
This is the battery that I would be fitting, and they are also a very good company to deal with.
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll have a look at that one
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Only buy any batteries from a reputable manufacturer. There are so many crap batteries with fancy stickers.

These have a good reputation and include a delivery service


Halfords do range at a good price that are actually Yuasa batteries.

Thanks I had looked on Halfords site but when I put my reg in it comes up as invalid. Which is the case with a few sites. I suspect it must be the reg belonging to a motorhome rather than commercial or a car. I can give them a call
 
Upvote 0
Jan 8, 2013
8,478
11,516
Dronfield - Derbyshire
Funster No
24,202
MH
Burstner Lyseo 690G
Exp
Happy FLT since 2011
Thanks I had looked on Halfords site but when I put my reg in it comes up as invalid. Which is the case with a few sites. I suspect it must be the reg belonging to a motorhome rather than commercial or a car. I can give them a call
Common problem. Its because it was first registered as a Motorhome

Make a note of the VIN number on the front scuttle under the bonnet - that often helps

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Upvote 0
OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Here's an option I've used successfully in the past. A battery powering an inverter to run a charger.

It's based on the CTEK MXS5.0 smart mains charger. This will charge a starter battery or a bank of motorhome leisure batteries. Slow, but gets there in the end.

I power the CTEK from a 150W Pure Sine Wave inverter - it's drinks-can-shaped, usually used for powering a laptop in a car. At 150W it is OK to use from most cigarette-lighter sockets.

The inverter is powered from a spare battery. You can use a wire with croc clips and a cigarette-lighter socket to connect to the battery.

The idea is, the spare battery powers the inverter, which powers the charger. The charger runs until the starter battery is charged, or the spare battery is too flat to run the inverter.

Obviously you won't fully charge the MH starter battery if it's very flat. But you can half-fill it, and go home to charge the spare battery and try again. You could visit the storage every three or four weeks to top it up once it's back to full.

An advantage of the MXS5.0 charger is it has a 'motorcycle' mode, for small bike batteries. I use it to top up the Honda 125 in winter. It's a top-grade 7-stage smart charger that won't overcharge anything.
I'm reading through your reply trying to get my head around it lol. It would mean keeping a spare battery at home with no garage or shed and very little room for it. I do understand though. I think I'll invest in a solar panel and go by the recommendation of the guy I spoke to yesterday at the repairer. They were snowed under and initially told me to call the AA. I wasn't impressed by that so called back and think I got the boss who was very helpful.

edit:
I was just thinking your idea could be useful for keeping the bike charged over winter too and I could keep the spare at the lock up although we're trying to get rid of stuff from there to make room. I wonder if the existing flat one in the van at the mo would be useful once fully charged up :unsure:
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Common problem. Its because it was first registered as a Motorhome

Make a note of the VIN number on the front scuttle under the bonnet - that often helps
Will do cheers. Can you also use the Vin on the search tho?
 
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Apr 22, 2018
6,779
12,489
Herts.
Funster No
53,503
MH
Adria Coral lowline
From what I can see all Ducatos from 1989 have an “019” battery fitted.

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Apr 27, 2016
6,800
7,837
Manchester
Funster No
42,762
MH
A class Hymer
Exp
Since the 80s
I was just thinking your idea could be useful for keeping the bike charged over winter too and I could keep the spare at the lock up although we're trying to get rid of stuff from there to make room. I wonder if the existing flat one in the van at the mo would be useful once fully charged up
Worth a try, I think. I used that method because I already had a spare battery and a battery charger, and could think of quite a few uses for a 150W inverter. An alternative is to use one of those camping Power Pack units, with a built-in inverter. They seem to be around 200 to 300 watts, which would allow you to use a bigger charger if you want.

In theory you could use a B2B charger, but it would need to have a non-voltage-sensitive mode, and many of them don't.
 
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Jul 6, 2009
1,747
2,094
Funster No
7,383
please disconnect the battery by removing the earth lead first then the positive, there is then less risk touching anything metal with the spanner when undoing the positive first. Typically on a fiat if the battery is dead flat a lot of booster packs will not be enough to start it. Using the connections under the bonnet use a good pair of jumper leads and run the donor vehicle for at least 15 mins to put some in the vans battery
 
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OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll have a look at that one
Just had a look and I'm pleasantly surprised at the prices of the recommendations I've been getting. I found a few posts on a site 'Out and About Live' and one guy who looks like he knows what he's talking about recommends the Bosch L5013
or
Varta LFD90

I was interested to read that Euro carparts are overpriced then offer discounts and ending up with similar prices to others

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Upvote 0
OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
please disconnect the battery by removing the earth lead first then the positive, there is then less risk touching anything metal with the spanner when undoing the positive first. Typically on a fiat if the battery is dead flat a lot of booster packs will not be enough to start it. Using the connections under the bonnet use a good pair of jumper leads and run the donor vehicle for at least 15 mins to put some in the vans battery
Thank you for your advice. I'm going to get a new battery. I'm a bit concerned about trying to jump or use my booster pack in case of damage to the ECU
 
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OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll have a look at that one
I
Only buy any batteries from a reputable manufacturer. There are so many crap batteries with fancy stickers.

These have a good reputation and include a delivery service


Halfords do range at a good price that are actually Yuasa batteries.

I'll have a look at them. I'm wondering about size though for my van?
 
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Aug 4, 2019
1,923
8,510
North East Riviera
Funster No
62,993
MH
Low profile
Exp
Enough to Survive
Spoke to a repairer yesterday and he advised on a solar panel for the future. I don't think the site we're on offers a hook up. I do have a power pack but folk have been saying that can be problematic
If you go the solar route, which is always going to help, make sure that you have either a controller that feeds both hab & cab batteries, have a battery master/cbs type device fitted to charge the cab battery or that your vans electronics are capable of supplying charge to the cab battery, as not all do.👍🏼
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
If you go the solar route, which is always going to help, make sure that you have either a controller that feeds both hab & cab batteries, have a battery master/cbs type device fitted to charge the cab battery or that your vans electronics are capable of supplying charge to the cab battery, as not all do.👍🏼
thanks for your help. Once I get the van going I'll be booking it in for the solar etc. The repair place said it is like a feeding frenzy now with folk smelling a bit of freedom so hopefully get it booked in by april. He's closed his books for this month now

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OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
I took the battery out today and it's a Fammia? anyone heard of it? there's not many markings on it other than that.
Can I also ask another newbie question? if I bring the van home every two weeks or so and put it on hook up does this charge both the hab and leisure battery's?
 
Upvote 0
OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
This is the battery that I would be fitting, and they are also a very good company to deal with.
I spoke to Tanya today and the guy confirms what you say and that if he were fitting one this would be it. Cheers
 
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Aug 4, 2019
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North East Riviera
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Enough to Survive
Can I also ask another newbie question? if I bring the van home every two weeks or so and put it on hook up does this charge both the hab and leisure battery's?

It can vary from van to van....a lot charge both batteries when on EHU, but some only charge the leisure battery, which is when you’d need a battery master type device fitted to send some charge to the starter battery.
 
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Feb 21, 2016
4,910
29,131
Uk
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41,726
MH
C class
Exp
Since 2017
hogger . If you are able to take photos of the electrical equipment on your van that might help the more knowledgable people on here to answer. Somewhere you will find a collection of boxes with wires going all over the place......complete mystery to me but easily recognisable to the likes of pappajohn and Lenny HB
 
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Dec 24, 2014
9,033
46,431
Hurstpierpoint. Mid Sussex.
Funster No
34,553
MH
Compass Navigator
Exp
Ever since lighting was by Calor gas.
....if I bring the van home every two weeks or so and put it on hook up does this charge both the hab and leisure battery's?
A simple and fool-proof way.........
Check the voltage at each battery with a test meter at least 30 mins after you get home - engine stopped, no EHU connected. It'll be somewhere around 12 volts.
Connect the EHU, and check battery voltages again with the EHU still 'on'.
If being charged the voltage at each battery will be higher than before the EHU was connected.

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Last edited:
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Sep 3, 2012
7,452
25,837
Cheshire
Funster No
22,759
MH
C Class Elddis 175
Exp
8+ years
I took the battery out today and it's a Fammia? anyone heard of it? there's not many markings on it other than that.
Can I also ask another newbie question? if I bring the van home every two weeks or so and put it on hook up does this charge both the hab and leisure battery's?
If your going to take the battery out every 2 weeks you may as well leave it at home till you need it.
 
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rbescape

Free Member
May 30, 2020
17
46
Stafford
Funster No
71,239
MH
Swift Escape
Exp
Since 2018
I just learnt of this in the handbook I have. I'll need to have another read up on it. Is it just a matter of removing the key in that position to isolate the battery?
Yep. I think you get 30s before the isolation happens, to give you enough time to get out and activate the central locking

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OP
OP
H
May 15, 2019
394
306
Funster No
60,850
MH
looking
Exp
newbie
Erm....I'm an idiot folks. It's 4am and while standing making a cuppa I remembered the little black toggle switch I was advised by the previous owner to switch off when the van is sitting for a while. It's beside the leisure battery and on all the electronic gubbins in the access hatch halfway down the van....oops
I've taken the battery out and charging at home now and a new battery ordered from Tanya... I now have a spare.
I opened the passenger door to get access to the engine bonnet and because of no power was unable to use the central locking to lock it again. There's no key lock on the passenger side.

I'll get over there asap today and get the old battery in again and a multi-meter is on order

Apologies for my stupidity folks. A lesson learnt:blush:
 
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