New to motorhome

[Idavison]

Hi bought a new motorhome not been out in it yet , but both leisure and vehicle batteries are losing power , is this normal ? Do I need a leisure battery charger to charge battery whilst not in use ? Tia

 

[Spriddler]

Do you know the age of the batteries?
How are you determining that they are 'losing power'? Voltage test with a meter on the batteries or a panel display, dim lights or some other way; e.g. engine won't start?

WRT charging, is the m/h at home, in storage, do you have access to 240v, solar panels..........?

 

[Idavison]

Hi , it’s a brand new swift motorhome so I can only assume the batteries are new , I get the readings from the swift command system built in the motorhome, both batteries have dropped from 12.5 v to 6.5 in standing two weeks

 

[Spriddler]

Blimey! They're dead. Could be several issues. You need to get it back to the dealer.

 

[bigalw35]

Absolutely, as Spriddler said

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Idavison]

Could it be that the batteries have never been fully charged as we have not been away in it yet or is something draining the batteries

 

[Landy Andy]

Do you have the ability to connect your Moho to the mains?

 

[Spriddler]

Could be many things. You could try recharging them but I wouldn't meddle with anything and risk invalidating the warranty.

 

[Idavison]

I did connect to mains about 2 weeks ago for about 4 hours this was when it was showing 12.5 now 6.8

 

[Spriddler]

You said both batteries were losing power. Did you recharge both batteries which are now at 6.8V ?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Idavison]

No I just connected the motorhome to the mains so this would just charge leisure battery would it not

 

[Spriddler]

Well if you want to check if it's charging put a test meter across the battery with the EHU off and note the voltage (maybe 6.8V). Then turn on the EHU and check voltage again. If it's being charged the voltage reading will be greater than it was before (prob around 14V). Provided that the second reading (EHU On) is greater than the first reading (EHU Off) it's being charged. Whether or not the battery is still any good or will recover I can't say as they don't like being run dead flat.
No offence but I hesitate to help further as I don't know how familiar you are with electrics and if you cock something up your warranty may be affected.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[TUCANO]

Sorry i can't help with your problem but you are only entitled to 5 free posts and you appear to have used them up. The £15 it costs to become a member of this forum will be the best money you have ever spent
And a warm to the FUN

 

[WynandJean]

Hello and welcome from West Midlands.

Wyn

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[denisejoe]

Well if you want to check if it's charging put a test meter across the battery with the EHU off and note the voltage (maybe 6.8V). Then turn on the EHU and check voltage again. If it's being charged the voltage reading will be greater than it was before (prob around 14V). Provided that the second reading (EHU On) is greater than the first reading (EHU Off) it's being charged. Whether or not the battery is still any good or will recover I can't say as they don't like being run dead flat.
No offence but I hesitate to help further as I don't know how familiar you are with electrics and if you cock something up your warranty may be affected.

if it’s only 6 volts charger might not work a lot won’t

 

[Spriddler]

if it’s only 6 volts charger might not work a lot won’t

No indeed, as I said:

Whether or not the battery is still any good or will recover I can't say as they don't like being run dead flat.

 

[Vipar]

Greetings peeps welcome from Bexley

 

[Bailey 15]

 

[Hirsch]

. I just know you'll join.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Al-Di]

 

[Snoopy]

Hi and welcome , hope you get it sorted

 

[wigster]

Looks to me if you can spend 15 quid subs for the year you can be part of a community that can help and save you money and grief in the short and long term . No one is asking you to though

 

[autorouter]

A fully charged battery that's not being charged and has no load on it will settle at about 12.8V. If it gets down to 12.0V or less, then I'd be looking to do something about it. That applies to both the leisure and starter batteries. When it's being charged, the voltage will go up to between13.4 and 14.4V.

You need to get a multimeter and measure the voltage on the actual battery terminals. Compare it with the voltage displayed on the control panel to give you some confidence it's accurate, and all the connections are good.

You can use the fact that voltage rises when charging to check if both batteries are charging from the mains charger, engine alternator, and solar if you have any.

But the first thing is to get the batteries back to full charge ASAP. It will take the best part of 24 hours, or at least overnight, to get them back up to full charge again. Batteries suffer by being left in the discharged state, it may already be too late.

If the motorhome is new to you, then if the battery is not charging when the mains is connected, it might be something like a switch setting that's wrong.

 

[bigalw35]

A fully charged battery that's not being charged and has no load on it will settle at about 12.8V. If it gets down to 12.0V or less, then I'd be looking to do something about it. That applies to both the leisure and starter batteries. When it's being charged, the voltage will go up to between13.4 and 14.4V.

You need to get a multimeter and measure the voltage on the actual battery terminals. Compare it with the voltage displayed on the control panel to give you some confidence it's accurate, and all the connections are good.

You can use the fact that voltage rises when charging to check if both batteries are charging from the mains charger, engine alternator, and solar if you have any.

But the first thing is to get the batteries back to full charge ASAP. It will take the best part of 24 hours, or at least overnight, to get them back up to full charge again. Batteries suffer by being left in the discharged state, it may already be too late.

If the motorhome is new to you, then if the battery is not charging when the mains is connected, it might be something like a switch setting that's wrong.

Not only all the above but if the voltage gets too low during the winter (cold/freezing weather) that finishes batteries quicker than ever and normally beyond redemption