Battery Question

[Daveyfos07]

Hi Guys, can I ask for some battery advice?

Our fridge works on gas, EHU and also via the alternator while driving. About 3 weeks ago the fridge suddenly started flashing while driving through England. This basically meant the fridge wasn't being charged via the alternator relay

I had a play around with a multimeter and couldn't figure the problem out so I left the van into an auto electrician.

They discovered the problem and believe it or not a snail had crawled in behind my control panel, got electrocuted and damaged the cable going from the alternator to the fridge.

Anyways, the auto electricians sorted it and I drove the half hour home to my house. While engine was running the control panel was on and fridge was working fine. As soon as I stopped the engine the control panel went off and so did the fridge. I tested the terminals of the leisure battery and got a reading of 11.2v. Obviously the auto spark has been working at things and drained the power of the leisure battery.

I now have the van on EHU at the house but the 12v control panel and 12v element of the fridge are not coming on.

I have 2 questions:

1. Is the 11.2v just not enough power to work the control panel, lights, 12v fridge element etc and just needs charged?

2. Has the leisure battery dropped too much to be recharged and reused or should I buy a new leisure battery (the one I have is only 6 months old).


I was going to leave it on EHU overnight and check the battery in the morning but I've heard if a leisure battery ever drops below 12v then it cannot be recharged successfully as it will not hold a charge. Obviously the half hour drive home was not enough to charge it so do any of you think leaving it overnight on EHU will be OK or am I better just going and buying a new leisure battery?

Thanks so much in advance

 

[Abacist]

The 12 v feed only works when the engine is running.
Plugging in the EHU should show immediately show at the battery but it will obviously take time to store that power in the battery. I would leave it on overnight at least and even after disconnected the battery will need to settle before you can take an accurate reading.
The control panel often has an automatic shut down function to try to protect the system so may take some time before it will come on again

 

[Reallyretired]

I have a Bluetooth monitor on my leisure battery to check the solar charging while in storage.
Interested to see the surface charge takes about 12hours to dissipate. I was surprised it took so long. So if you want to ascertain the state of charge from voltage it needs to be off charge for quite a long time.

 

[Lenny HB]

Depends how your van is wired if the fridge can run off the hab battery (mine does) did the electrician leave it switch to 12 v and it flatterened the battery.
Battery should be OK taken down to 11.2v.

 

[autorouter]

I was going to leave it on EHU overnight and check the battery in the morning but I've heard if a leisure battery ever drops below 12v then it cannot be recharged successfully as it will not hold a charge.

It's more a matter of how long it is left in the discharged state. A few days is OK, but a few weeks will probably ruin it. From what you described, I'd say it's worth charging it up to 100% on EHU and then trying it. Chances are it will be OK.

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[autorouter]

Start at the beginning and work through your system.

Check starter battery and leisure battery voltage when the engine is stopped, with no solar or EHU active. Should be between about 12.0 and 12.7V.
Start engine, check starter battery voltage rises, to between 13.4 and 14.6V. If not, alternator is faulty.
While engine is running , check leisure battery voltage, should rise to almost the same as the starter battery voltage. If not, the split charge relay, or the wiring, is faulty.

Probably the split charge relay is inside the distribution/fusebox. There will be a thick wire from the starter battery to the fusebox, with a big fuse, 30A or 50A maybe, very near the starter battery. There will be a similar wire to the leisure battery, with a big fuse near the leisure battery.

What make/model of motorhome is it? What make/model is the 12V distribution/fusebox?

 

[Essgeebee]

I had a two-year old leisure battery on my caravan give up the ghost unexpectedly a year or so ago. Going on holiday the next day so I just went and got a new one.
The same thing happened and it discharged after a while in storage. I put it on charge in my garage and the charger got really hot. I thought I would have to do the same thing again and buy a new one. But no! I set the CTEK charger to recondition mode and 24 hours later I had a fully charged battery which is holding the charge fine.

 

[Daveyfos07]

Start at the beginning and work through your system.

Check starter battery and leisure battery voltage when the engine is stopped, with no solar or EHU active. Should be between about 12.0 and 12.7V.
Start engine, check starter battery voltage rises, to between 13.4 and 14.6V. If not, alternator is faulty.
While engine is running , check leisure battery voltage, should rise to almost the same as the starter battery voltage. If not, the split charge relay, or the wiring, is faulty.

Probably the split charge relay is inside the distribution/fusebox. There will be a thick wire from the starter battery to the fusebox, with a big fuse, 30A or 50A maybe, very near the starter battery. There will be a similar wire to the leisure battery, with a big fuse near the leisure battery.

What make/model of motorhome is it? What make/model is the 12V distribution/fusebox?

I've done this. So with engine running, both batteries are reading 13.8v/13.9v, control panel switches on and so do the lights and anything else that is 12v.

Switch engine off and the leisure battery drops to 11.2v, control panel won't come on and lights don't work so obviously 11.2v isn't enough power to run the habitation side of the motorohome. It's been in the auto electrician place for a few days now getting the fridge relay repaired as well as a few other niggles. I would hazard a guess and say it hasn't been on EHU the whole time it was away (6 days).

So I have got it back today and when engine starts everything is perfect but when engine is switched off nothing that is 12v works. I have it on EHU now at the house so I'll check in the morning if the leisure battery has been charged enough to run lights, fridge, TV etc. If not then I would say it's a trip to Halfords for a new battery.

I just hope being discharged for 4 or 5 days hasn't damaged the battery.

It's a 2008 Ford Kentucky Rimor. We use it for motocross so when we are at a motocross track we need 12v power as there is no external EHU's and our generator always needs switched off by 10 or 11pm.

 

[Daveyfos07]

I should also note the smart charger states C2 which means it is assessing the battery prior to applying charge though I haven't been out to check it in a few hours so may have moved to C3 or C4. When it reaches C7 battery is fully charged and being stabilised

 

[Daveyfos07]

Hi Guys, so I left on EHU all night. Leisure battery is showing 13.9v and is fully charged however with engine off nothing is working. Put engine on everything works. Switch it off and nothing. No lights, toilet flush, control panel, nothing at all.

I'm going away tomorrow morning. Has anybody any idea what this could be? Would it be a loose connection that when engine is switched off the alternator relay isn't switching over?

I'm going to have to ring auto electricians as soon as I get into work but can you guys think of anything else I can try myself first? Thanks

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[Abacist]

I would ask if they disconnected something when they had it last and explain the problem!

 

[Lenny HB]

Is it a Brit van?
If so it will have a relay that turns off the hab electrics when the engine is running, could have been disconnected and reconnected incorrectly.

 

[Daveyfos07]

I feel like an idiot. Scrap all my previous posts and I will put myself in the bin.

I had forgotten to switch the master switch beside passenger seat back on.

Stupid wouldn't be in it lol

 

[Abacist]

Pleased to hear its all resolved! Have a good weekend!

 

[Essgeebee]

I feel like an idiot. Scrap all my previous posts and I will put myself in the bin.

I had forgotten to switch the master switch beside passenger seat back on.

Stupid wouldn't be in it lol

So pleased I’m not the only one who does things like that! Glad you’ve solved the problem.

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[Daveyfos07]

Thanks guys! Have a good one!