magicsurfbus
Free Member
When I store my MH I connect a temporary split relay circuit from the leisure battery to the engine battery to keep the engine battery topped up. This arrangement has worked fine in the past.
Today when I picked it up, the leisure battery (linked to a solar panel) was full to the brim, with the charge controller light flashing to indicate full battery, and a battery voltage at one of the habitation area sockets of 13.6v in bright sunshine.
However the engine battery was flat as a very flat thing. It took twenty minutes on jump leads from my car engine before it would start up.
The split relay circuit is working - I've got the MH on EHU and I'm using the split relay to recharge the engine battery indirectly from the mains. I've checked the voltages, and the relay is clicking on and off as it should.
Nothing was left on in storage to cause a battery drain, and with the current sunny weather you wouldn't have thought an engine battery would go flat so easily.
The leisure battery is carbon fibre and is 5 years old, the engine battery is more recent.
My personal theory is that the leisure battery may be getting on a bit and is getting too weak to pass enough surplus charge on to the engine battery to keep it alive. It's OK on EHU with 14v in the circuit, but maybe just standing with the solar panel on isn't enough any more?
Any thoughts/observations most welcome. I realise my engine battery will be less efficient for having discharged and I plan to keep close tabs on it during the next trip out.
Today when I picked it up, the leisure battery (linked to a solar panel) was full to the brim, with the charge controller light flashing to indicate full battery, and a battery voltage at one of the habitation area sockets of 13.6v in bright sunshine.
However the engine battery was flat as a very flat thing. It took twenty minutes on jump leads from my car engine before it would start up.
The split relay circuit is working - I've got the MH on EHU and I'm using the split relay to recharge the engine battery indirectly from the mains. I've checked the voltages, and the relay is clicking on and off as it should.
Nothing was left on in storage to cause a battery drain, and with the current sunny weather you wouldn't have thought an engine battery would go flat so easily.
The leisure battery is carbon fibre and is 5 years old, the engine battery is more recent.
My personal theory is that the leisure battery may be getting on a bit and is getting too weak to pass enough surplus charge on to the engine battery to keep it alive. It's OK on EHU with 14v in the circuit, but maybe just standing with the solar panel on isn't enough any more?
Any thoughts/observations most welcome. I realise my engine battery will be less efficient for having discharged and I plan to keep close tabs on it during the next trip out.