I had to replace the vehicle battery on our Ford Transit based 2021 Roller Team Zefiro 696 because it was wrecked by being completely drained when the MH was in storage. To prevent this happening again I installed a VanBitz Battery Master. Easy to do with excellent instructions. However I am really disappointed to find the battery is still down to 11.9V after 4 weeks with the leisure battery at 12.9V. The MH is stored outside with no shading of the solar panel. The lights on the Battery Master indicate it is wired correctly and working. Reading the blurb I believe the the Battery Master can deliver a maximum of 1A while other similar systems can feed higher currents to the vehicle battery. Is the Battery Master man enough for the job? I appreciate that in late autumn the solar panel will not be generating as much power as in the summer. Am I being mislead by reading the leisure battery voltage during daylight when it is being charged so that its voltage in the night is much lower. Thoughts please!
Van Bitz Battery Master doesn't keep vehicle battery topped up.
- Thread starter BarumMike
- Start date
Is there something drawing power? Alarm? I found the BM worked aok when I had one.
Measure all voltages with a multimeter.
The BM should deliver power to the SB if there is a 0.5v difference to the LB.
Yes, I believe you are reading the LB voltage whilst it is being charged.
It may well be that the BM cannot make up for any current draw you have.
Measure all voltages with a multimeter.
The BM should deliver power to the SB if there is a 0.5v difference to the LB.
Yes, I believe you are reading the LB voltage whilst it is being charged.
It may well be that the BM cannot make up for any current draw you have.
ManTheVan
LIFE MEMBER
That’s a shame. Ours has operated flawlessly.
What is the LED showing on the Battery Master?
"When the voltage in your vehicle leisure battery is significantly Higher than the engine battery, the Battery Master will allow a controlled transfer of current:
When the transfer is taking place the LED will show RED.
When the voltage in both batteries becomes approximately equal, Battery Master will cut off the transfer and the LED will change to GREEN."
"When the voltage in your vehicle leisure battery is significantly Higher than the engine battery, the Battery Master will allow a controlled transfer of current:
When the transfer is taking place the LED will show RED.
When the voltage in both batteries becomes approximately equal, Battery Master will cut off the transfer and the LED will change to GREEN."
We have a solar panel and a Battery Master (both supplied and fitted by VanBitz).
Our van is parked outside and in the shade of large trees, so it does not get much direct sunlight.
The roof gets covered in black leaf mould within a couple of weeks being parked up.
I wipe down the solar panel using a truck telescopic windscreen squeegee every time we take out the van, which at this time of year is monthly.
The battery remains topped up even in the middle of winter.
I'd suggest getting someone that understands the problem to take a look, VanBitz themselves or a caravan/MoHo auto electrician.
Our van is parked outside and in the shade of large trees, so it does not get much direct sunlight.
The roof gets covered in black leaf mould within a couple of weeks being parked up.
I wipe down the solar panel using a truck telescopic windscreen squeegee every time we take out the van, which at this time of year is monthly.
The battery remains topped up even in the middle of winter.
I'd suggest getting someone that understands the problem to take a look, VanBitz themselves or a caravan/MoHo auto electrician.
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funflair
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I think it's more than 0.5v, more like 0.7 or 0.8.
MisterB
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- enough to know i shouldnt touch things i know nothing about ....
Why not speak directly to Vanbitz ...... AshVanBitz
I'm sure they will sort out what is/should happen and make sure it's working as it should !
You could be right. I was going from memory.
PP Bear
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And at your age!!
Mine works as above all through winter but I have to shut my Sargent EC500 PSU down to minimise the parasitic drain.
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Lenny HB
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If you are having problems with a BM try an Ablemail Battery Maintainer they have the option to double the charge rate.
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Think I would cover the solar panel or isolate it if you have that facility then wait half an hour and check leisure battery voltage again. I suspect that may be the problem as mine goes above 13 v with the slightest solar input
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Is it not simpler to disconnect the engine battery whilst the van is in storage perhaps making sure that the alarm, tracker etc, if you have them, is powered off the leisure battery? I have powered trackers off both batteries by fitting a pair of diodes in the supply wire so that the battery nominally with the highest voltage will supply them.
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If your battery was reasonably charged when you left it then 1amp is plenty to keep it charged. Mine does its job nicely.
My ctek charger that I use on my VX220 only delivers 0.8 and still works well.
My ctek charger that I use on my VX220 only delivers 0.8 and still works well.
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Is this another case of smart alternator keeping starter battery at minimum charge. Fine for a delivery van used daily not so good for a motorhome?
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BarumMike Have tried this test?
How to test a Van Bitz Battery Master The Battery Master has a little LED on it. This is Green when the batteries are balanced, Red when it is working. If you want to test it, get someone to "crank" the engine but not start it, so a quick short turn of the key, and as the starter motor "kicks in" you will see the LED go from Green to Red. If you can't get a willing volunteer, turn the ignition on, but don't start the engine, put the hazard lights on, the heater blower, the headlights on full beam, anything and everything that will put a drain on the engine battery. Watch the LED on the Battery Master and you will see it change from Green (balanced) to Red (charging) If the LED does not change from Green to Red, you may need to get assistance and conduct a crank test as described above. If after performing the crank test the LED doesn’t change to Red then something is wrong.
How to test a Van Bitz Battery Master The Battery Master has a little LED on it. This is Green when the batteries are balanced, Red when it is working. If you want to test it, get someone to "crank" the engine but not start it, so a quick short turn of the key, and as the starter motor "kicks in" you will see the LED go from Green to Red. If you can't get a willing volunteer, turn the ignition on, but don't start the engine, put the hazard lights on, the heater blower, the headlights on full beam, anything and everything that will put a drain on the engine battery. Watch the LED on the Battery Master and you will see it change from Green (balanced) to Red (charging) If the LED does not change from Green to Red, you may need to get assistance and conduct a crank test as described above. If after performing the crank test the LED doesn’t change to Red then something is wrong.
Turn off any parasitic loads including the controller but excluding the alarm/tracker, shield or disconnect the solar panel and measure the vehicle battery drain with a DC clamp meter or disconnect the battery negative terminal with a basic current reading multimeter already connected (if possible). That will give you a feeling for the scale of any challenge. The battery master certainly might not be supplying an amp after dark. There are cheaper alternatives than the battery master giving around 4A, but I wouldn't claim they are better in the typical case.
Really brilliant replies. The lights on the Battery Master behave as they should. I will bring the motorhome out of storage, check the leisure battery voltage with the solar panel covered, and check the vehicle battery drain using a clamp meter with the leisure battery disconnected. And I have picked up MrB's suggestion of a PM to AshVanBitz. I will keep you posted.
12.9v on your leisure battery when receiving charge from solar is low, assuming your solar is working OK.
If the leisure battery is in good condition and fully charged then on float from the solar you should see about 13.5v 'ish.
As you say stop the solar charging, let the leisure battery rest for an hour and check its voltage.
If the leisure battery is in good condition and fully charged then on float from the solar you should see about 13.5v 'ish.
As you say stop the solar charging, let the leisure battery rest for an hour and check its voltage.
1A is more than enough to keep your starter battery topped up. Is your starter battery receiving the charge? If so, what‘s draining your starter battery?
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AshVanBitz
Funster
Good afternoon BarumMike,
Have you spoken to anyone in the office regarding your issue? If not please give me a call and we can carry out some tests to see what is going on and get it rectified.
Kindest regards
Ash
Thanks for the offer and I will ring the office as you suggest. It won't be until Monday pm as I will need to bring the MH out of storage to do the tests.
Regards
Mike
AshVanBitz
Funster
Not a problem at all. Look forward to speaking with you then.
Ash
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Keep us in the loop Ash … curious.
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Does this mean that if you have a Lifepo4 leisure battery and a Lead acid starter battery, the Battery Master will be constantly on and charging due to the different voltage profiles?
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I don’t know. The BM works by sensing a higher voltage of the LB against the SB. I assume it doesn’t know the difference between chemistries.
- Sep 29, 2007
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It depends if the LiFePO4 is being charged (and what the difference is).
The BM activation is based on difference between Leisure and Starter battery, when it exceeds 0.75 the starter battery is then trickle charged.
So let’s say your healthy starter battery is sitting at 12.8v, add 0.75v to that and the leisure battery needs to be at 13.55 or higher to activate charging. That happens usually when the leisure is being charged, as most LiFePO4 will rest at around 13.4 to 13.5 (and some a bit less).
IMO the 0.75 diff is a good compromise and in our experience keeps a starter battery in good nick without draining the leisure battery. If however you have a staring parasitic drain on your starter battery it won’t help.
I‘s sure AshVanBitz can provide more info and correct me if I’m wrong
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- Jan 23, 2019
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Excellent question. I’m keen to understand this too, as we have Lithium leisure and Lead Acid starter.
Kannon Fodda
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On my van with std engine battery and sterling lithium leisure battery the vanbitz battery master only charges the engine when needed not if engine battery is full.
That's a really good explanation. Thank you.
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