Sargent Unit Battery

[LMJ34]

Hi all

I was told by Sargent my battery needs replacing in my 2019 Swift. I'm having real difficulty identifying how to get to it to change it - and that's with Sargents top secret guidance!

I clearly don't expect directions being supplied online here - given security implications - but out of curiosity has anyone experienced the same problem- or not as the case may be?!

Thanks

 

[Ravelin]

Our 2017 Swift had the same issue with the backup battery in the tracker. I bought a new battery, got instructions on where the tracker is located from dealer, and confirmation from Sargent that the battery is internal to the unit.

Managed to find the tracker behind a panel but I've never been able to actually extract it from there, as it seems well fixed in place, and in a tight, awkward spot. Without being able to get it out I can't replace the battery and have given up. It still works after all, as long as you have a 12V supply from the leisure/vehicle battery.

Seems like a poor setup really, backup battery could easily have been plugged into unit, or if internal then why not make it rechargeable. Obviously they don't want the trackers to be easy to find and remove, which makes replacing a failing backup battery very difficult.

 

[Pausim]

The 12V supply to a tracker is easily cut by a thief. The back up battery is there to keep it tracking after a theft and if it was also easy to remove or unplug there would be no point in having it.

Thatcham (apparently) say that the back up battery should have a minimum 3 to 5 year life which sounds pathetic to me. Where I live the fire alarm units are having to be replaced because the lithium internal back up batteries are now 10 years old so why can’t a tracker manufacturer mange 10 years? Do they tell you when you buy a tracker that it will need expensive work every few years? My Vodafone tracker is still going at nearly 5 years but I wonder how much longer before that will need a new backup battery.

 

[Ravelin]

Which is why I can't understand why they battery in the unit isn't just rechargeable, kept topped up for the 99.9% of the time there's a 12v supply from the van. The battery in our tracker might have been needed a for couple of short periods when the leisure battery got a bit too low, before we moved house and the van was in a storage yard, and before we had a solar panel fitted. They are quite bulky batteries so I'd struggle to believe it's been depleted through use. Do they degrage through age even if not used, or do Sargent just automatically flag that it needs replacing after a certain time has elapsed?

I have a £50 replacement battery sitting in my 'bits box' as I can't see a way of getting the tracker out of a very tight space without disassembling half of the motorhome panelling. I can remove one small section to see it, but it seems very firmly stuck in place. So awkward a position I can't be sure how it's fixed in place, if screwed in I'm snookered, if stuck down with double sided tape I might be able to yank it free, but don't want to risk doing damage and there's little room for manoeuvre.

When I talked to the dealer about ordering the battery, and getting the location of the tracker, they'd never replaced a tracker battery. I suspect most motorhomes over around 5yrs old with trackers have 'duff' backup batteries by now.

 

[Pausim]

I am surprised it is not rechargeable. What is the type/specification of the replacement battery?

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[Ravelin]

Here it is...



Bought before I realised quite how much of a PIA it would be to fit it. I can usually do most things, but this has so far defeated me.

 

[Pausim]

That looks like a rechargeable battery to me, which is what I would expect.

 

[Ravelin]

Quite possibly, but if so should it need replaced at around 5yrs? I was reacting to an email from Sargent/Swift that suggested the battery needed replaced, can't remember exactly what it said. It was to my wife, as the van is in her name, so not sure if a trawl of my own email would find it.