Constant dead vehicle battery!

jenmocraig

jenmocraig

Joined
Oct 9, 2023
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burstner
Hi all
A cry for help, online winge or advice with our sorry tale.

We bought a Burstner IXEO 2019 from a main dealer, north of £80K a few weeks ago.

Returned it a week later as main vehicle battery dying v quickly. Clearly after having extra solar (270Watt) and a new battery master fitted this was not meant to happen. After returning it they said it was a completely dead leisure battery (we have 2), and replaced it….drive away (after a 13 hour day getting this sorted).
Couple days later Van again dead, even unable to jump start. The dealer said replace the main battery as that was now ruined (they paid for this), which we did and all good.
Set off for sunny Spain , driving down all good (as batteries getting good charge on journey). Arrive near Malaga, all good not a cloud in the sky, lovely jumbly and the solar will keep all the batteries nicely charged.…..ummmm
Just been out to the van…completely dead main battery again (11.4volts showing) and won’t start! 😡🤬.
Now in Spain with a dead Moho and it’s the weekend. Will get it sorted/started on Mon by a garage I guess, but my thinking is…
A: The solar/battery master not putting any charge in the main vehicle battery , the leisure batteries are 13.6v
B. The van battery is dying after 2 days…some serious electrical drain (as yes everything off in van)
C. This has damaged the brand new vehicle battery..

is this something seen before, or are Moho‘s always come with these issues….it’s our first one, so really not loving the life at moment!
 
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The 13.6V on the leisure batteries is showing they are getting a charge. Fully charged, standard lead-acid batteries rest around 12.6-12.7V. You can only check resting voltage once all charging and loads are removed for around 30 minutes as the battery chemistry takes a while to settle down.

But for engine battery to go flat so quick yet leisure seems to be getting charged sounds like you are using engine for something when parked up. Is there any switching on the main control panel to let you select leisure or engine for habitation use?

Other thing to check is that the fridge is no running on 12V off the engine battery when parked up. You should switch that to gas or mains power.
 
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Have you checked that the battery to battery is connected correctly and that the leisure is not receiving a top up from the starter battery🤔
 
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jenmocraig said:
Couple days later Van again dead, even unable to jump start.
Click to expand...
Just to clarify possibility of a poor connection between starter battery and chassis..........
Does the dashboard light up?
Do the vehicle lights work (brightly) ?
Do you hear a 'click' when turning the key to the 'Start' position?

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Spriddler said:
Just to clarify possibility of a poor connection between starter battery and chassis..........
Does the dashboard light up?
Do the vehicle lights work (brightly) ?
Do you hear a 'click' when turning the key to the 'Start' position?
Click to expand...
OP said engine battery showing 11.4v
 
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Okay… thanks so far 👍🏼
Yes we do have a Pioneer Rad/Sat nav unit 🤔
Everything including fridge is switched off.. van has a fitted Gemini alarm tho, which would draw a tiny amount.
When trying to start, yes get click and very sluggish turn over a couple times, but nothing good enough to start… battery voltage will still be dropping, so no chance now to start and weekend in Spain. Will get a garage out Mon, but main battery will be ruined then!
 
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Do you definitely have some arrangement to keep the starter battery charged? From the solar, for example, or using a battery maintainer like a BatteryMaster? Many motorhomes don't have a method for charging the starter battery except when on mains hookup. Is your solar controller a single-output or dual output type?

It sounds like there is a drain on the starter battery, and you need to find out what is causing it. There are many possibilities, such as a blown diode in the alternator, or a vehicle ECU not switching off when the ignition is off. As Lenny HB suggested, Pioneer head units are famous for this.

To stop the starter battery going completely flat, one bodge is to connect a jump lead between the positive of the starter battery and the positive of the leisure batteries. You'll have to keep an eye on this, because obviously you could end up flattening all the batteries, even though the solar is charging them. But it might be enough to get the engine started. Make sure you disconnect the jump lead before trying to start the engine
 
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Unfortunately with no serious tools (socket set etc) am unable to disconnect the battery myself whilst on holiday.

The voltages I state above are on the display unit in the motorhome. I have just called out breakdown cover, who if they can get it running can put some charge back into battery before the voltage drops any more and kills a brand new £250 battery. Then I’m guessing I will keep engine running 30 or so minutes a day to charge the battery up to get home. Then once home the dealer is saying they need it for a week to find the issue.

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jenmocraig said:
Yes we do have a Pioneer Rad/Sat nav unit 🤔
Click to expand...
A lot of Pioneer units have a high drain in standby mode (they don't actually switch off). quite normal for a Pioneer unit to flatten a starter battery if the supply to it is not isolated.

Very common problem on Carthagos where the head unit is turned off but there is a media switch on the control panel that isolates it & if not turned off, a flat starter battery in the morning.
 
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Okay thanks, we always actually turn the Pioneer off (as the dealer told us). However we have never seen any media switch on the control panel. The handover of the van was very comprehensive (Burstner and Carthage main dealer and took a few hours) and nothing of any media switch mentioned.
 
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Lidl in the UK is selling a clamp/ multi meter this week in the middle isle. Wouldn't surprise me if Lidl in Spain has the same so worth getting it if you can. This will enable you to measure voltage and current, for example between the battery master and the cab battery when there's solar. It should be trickle charging it.
 
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jenmocraig said:
Hi all
A cry for help, online winge or advice with our sorry tale.

We bought a Burstner IXEO 2019 from a main dealer, north of £80K a few weeks ago.

Returned it a week later as main vehicle battery dying v quickly. Clearly after having extra solar (270Watt) and a new battery master fitted this was not meant to happen. After returning it they said it was a completely dead leisure battery (we have 2), and replaced it….drive away (after a 13 hour day getting this sorted).
Couple days later Van again dead, even unable to jump start. The dealer said replace the main battery as that was now ruined (they paid for this), which we did and all good.
Set off for sunny Spain , driving down all good (as batteries getting good charge on journey). Arrive near Malaga, all good not a cloud in the sky, lovely jumbly and the solar will keep all the batteries nicely charged.…..ummmm
Just been out to the van…completely dead main battery again (11.4volts showing) and won’t start! 😡🤬.
Now in Spain with a dead Moho and it’s the weekend. Will get it sorted/started on Mon by a garage I guess, but my thinking is…
A: The solar/battery master not putting any charge in the main vehicle battery , the leisure batteries are 13.6v
B. The van battery is dying after 2 days…some serious electrical drain (as yes everything off in van)
C. This has damaged the brand new vehicle battery..

is this something seen before, or are Moho‘s always come with these issues….it’s our first one, so really not loving the life at moment!
Click to expand...
Could it be a knackered alternator?
 
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Not sure about the alternator as the battery was charged everyday on the drive south which took a week. Only issue is when an sits around for 2 days then battery dies.

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A single engine start may take longer than 30mins to replace the current it took to start it.
 
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To give some more detail, jumped started it now, and now just sitting in it to hopefully put some charge into the battery and then do the same everyday until we drive home. Hopefully brand new main battery hasn’t suffered too much with voltage dropping to 11.4v
A big thank you to all the great advice, this is a great service. 👍
 
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Recommended to actually drive the vehicle rather than just idle it from cold. Too many sensors and things in modern engines that can gum up. Idling may work OK once it has fully warmed the whole system through but until then? On the other hand you don't have a great deal of choice when dealing with your battery issues.
 
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Have you checked to see if on EHU the van mains charger can charge the starter battery? Lots of the mains chargers prioritise the hab batteries but also feed the cab battery with a modest amount of power to keep them topped up. Some Pioneer head units have a removable panel like an old fashioned anti theft front removal. If you have one take it off when not in use as it reduces the power consumption of the unit when "off". Also is it worth you getting a portable small jump pack to start the van yourself if stuck? One of these (a lower spec model) was able to start my 2.1L Merc Vito when it went flat. https://www.halfords.com/motoring/b...mp-ultrasafe-lithium-jump-starter-216406.html

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simple test, pull the fuse for the radio/head unit and charge the van battery. If problem is gone you have the answer
 
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jenmocraig said:
Unfortunately with no serious tools (socket set etc) am unable to disconnect the battery myself whilst on holiday.
Click to expand...

Ask around the site. If I was on road next to you I'd have the tools. A lot of motorhomers takea full set of sockets and a vehicle toolkit with them -> I keep ours out and ready in with the spare fuses and multimeter next door to the fusebox as it's crazy not to today with battery problems being so common. And agree pull the fuse for the head unit it's almost certain to be that with it being pioneer and them having "form" for it.
 
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starquake said:
A lot of motorhomers takea full set of sockets and a vehicle toolkit with them -> I keep ours out and ready in with the spare fuses and multimeter next door to the fusebox
Click to expand...
And I do. It's the best insurance for not needing them.
 
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Does it have an inverter? They draw power on standby. If so, isolate.
 
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To confirm it is working as it should , the Vanbitz battery master (if that is the type fitted ) green indicator would normally be seen to turn red while the engine is being turned over.
The Vanbitz battery master installation information ,on their website , also explains how to do this test to confirm it is working ok.
 
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