Knaus Sports Traveller - How to change leisure battery?

[DSmith]

Hi,

I have to change the leisure battery on my Knaus Sports Traveller. It is housed under the passenger seat.

I'm having a very hard time trying to access the battery. I need to remove the passenger seat but there are two nuts and bolts that are defeating me.

Here are some images:

There were two bolts on the front and I got them out fairly easily. The chair assembly swivels on top of that black plate.

This is a view from the rear of the seat:

There is a bolt with a flat head which looks like it will open with a six sided allen key.

and I used my phone's camera to see as best I could, the nut underneath:
Here are some of the photos:

.

I've tried a socket set and wrench, but I can't get a grip because there's so little room there.
I don't think the nut is welded to the frame either.

Does anyone know if I am getting something wrong here?
Surely there must be a way to access the leisure battery?

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

 

[GeoffnDee]

Would it be possible to remove the seat base frame fixings to the floor and lift/tilt the complete seat/base to get access to the battery ?

 

[Guigsy]

On my seat base, I can only get to the bolts by sliding the seat back and forwards on the rails.

 

[DSmith]

Thanks for the replies,

A friend came round with these tools:

and managed to open the bolt with one of these allen keys.

I've got access to the battery now:

..

I've got to try and get my head round how to isolate the leisure battery from the engine battery as well as the solar panel before removing it to get a new one.

I wish there was a manual for this
.

 

[pappajohn]

Remove the positive battery clamp and put it in a heavy/thick plastic bag.
Remove the earth terminal.
Undo and remove the battery.
Install new battery in reverse order.

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[DSmith]

Remove the positive battery clamp and put it in a heavy/thick plastic bag.
Remove the earth terminal.
Undo and remove the battery.
Install new battery in reverse order.

Thanks pappajohn,

I'll do what you said

 

[Lenny HB]

And when you are there replace those awful quick release battery terminals with proper brass ones.

 

[PeterCarole29]

We have just removed our 2 batteries from a knaus
And found the cables crimped with a straight collar if you change the battery terminals as Lenny suggests get the correct battery terminals that will take your cable end and make sure your spanner is insulated so it doesn’t earth out to the seat base

 

[DSmith]

We have just removed our 2 batteries from a knaus
And found the cables crimped with a straight collar if you change the battery terminals as Lenny suggests get the correct battery terminals that will take your cable end and make sure your spanner is insulated so it doesn’t earth out to the seat base

This is why I wish there was a manual with step by step instructions, as well as pictures.
Something like "How to change a leisure battery for Dummies"

I watched a YouTube video, the title was "Changing the leisure battery on a Fiat Ducato motorhome".
My Knaus is based on Fiat Ducato.
The link to the video is here - it is 48 minutes long.

Anyhow, the man in the video clearly knew what he was doing - unlike me!
He did something to his engine battery as well as tying up a cable with electrical tape.

I'm trying to follow what that man on YouTube did, I don't want to break anything electrical, especially the solar panel because the solar means that I don't have to hook-up in a campsite. Oftentimes all the electric hook-up pitches are full, but the non-electric have spaces, which is why the solar is really important to me.

Just out of interest, is it possible to revive the battery I've got with something like battery fluid or is this not a possibility?

What happened a couple of weekends ago was that at about 2am, my phone started making charging-up noises at about 2am. This woke me up and I checked my battery meters.

The engine battery was full, but the leisure battery was empty.
Next morning, after the sun came up, everything was back to normal. This was because the solar put power into the battery.
So I deduced that my leisure battery was only lasting about say 5 hours after the solar panel stopped supplying power to it.

I'd prefer to add battery fluid if this is a possibility, just to save money. But if this isn't feasible, I guess it's going to have to be a new battery.

.

 

[autorouter]

Nearly all modern batteries are the sealed type, with a pressure release valve in case of a buildup of pressure. They produce hardly any gas in normal use, but need the valve if something goes wrong, with the charger for example. They don't need to be topped up with water like the old batteries. The old batteries had six vented screw plugs in the top, to allow you to top up. I can't see any screw vents in the top of your battery, so it must be the sealed type.

It is important for best battery life that the battery is fully charged to 100% at least once a month, otherwise its capacity degrades, and it starts acting like it was a smaller battery. Taking a shorter time to charge up,and a shorter time to go flat. If you can get it on hookup overnight that's the best way to fully charge it. Maybe this dull weather has reduced the solar too much. Now you know this, you can perhaps prevent the new battery going the same way as the existing one.

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[PeterCarole29]

Before you refit the battery look for the small hole in the floor I found my battery vent like this still not passed through the floor . We have just bought the van and the previous owner had these professionally fitted don’t take too much notice of you tube they can be as bad

 

[PeterCarole29]

What ah size battery do you have and what area do you live