Battery level

[DEE1]

We have auto cruiser fiat Ducato. Am I expecting too much for battery levels to go above 12 on indicator panel. On charge both batteries go up to 14 but soon drop back to 12. Have solar panel fitted

 

[Lenny HB]

Sounds like your batteries have had it.
Should charge up to around 14.4v then drop back to a float charge of 13.8v. If you only have a single stage regulator with no load on the batteries they should hold at 14.4.
Overnight with no solar and no load on the batteries they should hold above 12.7v.

 

[Stealaway]

We have auto cruiser fiat Ducato. Am I expecting too much for battery levels to go above 12 on indicator panel. On charge both batteries go up to 14 but soon drop back to 12. Have solar panel fitted

As above new batteries.
Have a look at Tayna batteries.

 

[PhilandMena]

We have auto cruiser fiat Ducato. Am I expecting too much for battery levels to go above 12 on indicator panel. On charge both batteries go up to 14 but soon drop back to 12. Have solar panel fitted

It depends on what is going on as you do not provide enough information and members are having to make a guess at what is happening. When you say they drop to 12 when the charger is switched off. If you have a sizable load on the batteries when the charger is switched off this may be the cause of the low reading As it's very difficult to measure a battery state or condition when it's under load. If there is no load on them, then they are goosed.

 

[autorouter]

Battery voltage is not a good indication of battery state of charge (SOC). A battery that's not being charged and has no loads connected will gradually settle to its 'resting voltage'.

A full battery has a resting voltage of about 12.6V to 12.8V. A fairly flat battery has a resting voltage of about 12.0V. A heavily discharged battery can be down to 11.0V, or even 10.5V.

When it's being charged, the charger raises the voltage to over 13.0V, often as high as 14.5V. If you see a voltage like this, it just means the battery is being charged, it doesn't tell you how charged the battery is.

You may notice that when the battery is full, the charger drops the voltage from about 14.5V down to about 13.5V. If you notice that happening, maybe in the afternoon after charging all day, then it's reasonable to suppose it's fully charged. When the sun goes down and the solar controller goes off, the battery voltage will probably drop to its 'resting voltage' again. Even if it's 100% full.