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Battery Isolator


Harveys Dad

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Harvey our Ford Transit MK8 (2018) based Roller Team is kept in a secure location. After initial lockdown I returned to find a flat battery - this did not recover and now has been replaced. This transit is a single battery under the seat model. Apart from going every coupe of weeks to run and charge (ideal but things do happen and some long haul trips are planned ) I wondered about fitting a battery isolator. However, have heard it said if the battery is disconnected for a long time other issues (battery codes etc) can be lost. Mains power is not available and no solar gets into the building. Anybody got any ideas please.
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What does your Transit owners handbook say about disconnecting the battery?

 

Many modern vehicles do not require radio codes so reconnection might be simple process.

 

Keith.

 

PS But do bear in mind if you have an alarm or tracker connected to the starter battery it will not work with the battery disconnected.

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Keithl - 2020-06-27 1:31 PM

 

PS But do bear in mind if you have an alarm or tracker connected to the starter battery it will not work with the battery disconnected.

 

my tracker is connected to my leisure batteries, as I'm away from home 6 months a year I always disconnect my car battery when I leave and have been doing so for many years, returning home I just reconnect the battery, turn the ignition key on until the fuel pump stops then fully turn key ,it starts first go with no problem, the car is at least 20 years old

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As your motorhome’s starter-battery was replaced after it went flat and coud not be revived, unless whoever removed/rplaced that battery deliberately took measures to ‘save’ a radio-code that MIGHT be present, if the radio (and everything else) functioned normally after the battery removal/replament exercise, it may be assumed that isolating the starter-battery as you are proposing to do should not cause any knock-on problems.

 

Battery drain was discussed in this 2019 thread

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/bad-battery-drain-/51503/

 

and a picture of an isolator is on aandncaravan’s posting of 6 March 2019 3:51 PM

 

It’s stating the obvious, but if any starter-battery is left disconnected indefinitely, it will eventually lose all its charge. The ability of the starter-battery of teccer1234’s car to start its motor after the battery has been ‘isolated’ for 6 months suggests that the battery is a good ‘un and that it was fully charged when isolated.

 

(I vaguely recall warnings that attempting to start a modern vehicle (ie. by using the ignition-switch) when its starter-battery is disconnected can cause problems.)

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