davanne Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Has anyone had a problem with engine battery draining on the new fiat euro5 . We hadn't started ours for about ten days when tried to start it to take it in for a replacement sat nav nothing!! Dealer said it happens on this engine if they are not used for ten days or more and wants to sell us a £750 solar panel. Spoken to Fiat today and they said use the battery disconnection switch and use the key to lock the doors. What about the alarm I said ...you won't be able to use it... no alarm no insurance..sorry that's all we can suggest. Any suggestions gratefully received. We have considered going down the solar panel route as the van is already wired and just needs a panel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Well this should be interesting................ I know quite a few people who don't use their motorhome every ten days or so - and many have alarms etc. Not great advice from Fiat, especially to 'use the key to lock the doors' when central remote locking is fitted. D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Mine goes about ten -14 days before the battery gets "iffy", still new and the engine is tight, Resolving thr problem depends on whether you can charge the battery whilst storing the M/home. A multistage charger from Ctek or similar, can be permenantly connected and left on charge. I have one each fro the leisure and vehicle battery. Plan B could be a larger suitcase solar panel, left in your windscreen and connected to your battery. Cheaper than a full solar unit, The latter could be the answer though. If you store the vehicle in a barn, with no electricity. That could be a problem. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 sounds about normal for x250, esp. if alarm is fitted, to late for you, but anyone buying van should try to get a deal on solar imo, we did and have no problems. Answer is as above, either use hookup or get solar, 750 seems a bit dear get other quotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I started a thread re this and my 2011Fiat in March this year. Fiat refused to budge, and as long as battery holds a charge enough to start vehicle there is nothing wrong with it according to them *-) what and where is the "battery disconnection switch" please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 If you are fitting solar then you need to know if it will put charge into vehicle battery as well as habitation batery, some are 'wired' to do this others not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davanne Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 >:-( Another piece of "duff" information from Fiat. Just checked and we havn't got the battery isolator switch on our van. Not that we would use it as the alarm wouldn't work (insurance not valid without it) If it's fitted it's part of the ignition switch according to vehicle manual. We are going to go down the solar panel route if we can get one to fit the limited space on roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 why not leave it on mains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davanne Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 It is on ehu at home but the charger will only charge the leisure or the vehicle battery not both at same time so we wil have to remember to switch over to vehicle battery maybe once a week for a day or so. Not what you expect on a new vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hello Campers, Forgive my obvious stupidity but I don't see why this is a Fiat specific issue. Left to their own devices and locked using the remote a standard Fiat Ducato will not lose charge in it's battery for months. I have a scrap van that has had a major front end accident and the battery will still open the doors and turn the engine over after 8 months of sitting outside! Any devices that draw power from the main battery that are not part of the original spec of the vehicle will cause a drain of some kind and you will just have to take steps to prevent this from being a problem for you. It does not matter whether the vehicle in question is a Fiat, Merc or Transit; If you hammer the main battery it will become flat. Fact. I would have thought it pretty stupid to ask any more of the vehicle's battery other than to be ready to start your engine when you want it to, which is all that it was designed to do. But then what do I know? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 well my CB euramobil on Ford chassis with alarm, would stand unused for many months on end..No problem *-) Fiat? used much more frequently, left for a week and its flat :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 davanne - 2012-06-26 3:37 PM It is on ehu at home but the charger will only charge the leisure or the vehicle battery not both at same time so we wil have to remember to switch over to vehicle battery maybe once a week for a day or so. Not what you expect on a new vehicle. UK van is it? *-) Just get a battery master fitted between leisure and vehicle batteries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 The battery is being flattened by something drawing current. If my arithmetic is right(ish! :-)) a load of only around 0.3A would exhaust an 80Ah battery in about 10 days, and a load around 0.5A in about 7 days. The usual candidates are the radio, and an alarm. What would draw current from the leisure battery when the van is unused? If nothing, and there is a permanent drain on the starter battery, leave the charger set to charge the latter. With no load, the leisure battery shouldn't need charging more than once per month, if then. This would cost you nothing. My guess is that the problem in your case will be the current consumed by the alarm. If this is correct, could you get the alarm feed transferred to the leisure battery? This is unlikely to be possible if it integrates with the immobiliser, since I assume both must be fed from the same source. However, if it is a stand alone unit, this might be possible. So, if you don't like the above idea, as your van is at home, and on charge, and providing it is possible to transfer the alarm feed to the leisure battery, this would be a fairly cheap way out at least in the short term. Failing these, a Battery Master or similar unit as suggested by Eddie, or a solar panel connected to charge both batteries, are the higher cost options. Be careful what kind of controller you get with the solar panel, not all control the charge in the best interests of battery life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 davanne - 2012-06-26 3:37 PM It is on ehu at home but the charger will only charge the leisure or the vehicle battery not both at same time so we wil have to remember to switch over to vehicle battery maybe once a week for a day or so. Not what you expect on a new vehicle. A quick search "battery Charge" will give you a fairly detailed look at the problem. Somewhere in there is a wiring diagram to allow both batteries to charged from a single source. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davanne Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 EUROSERVE First of all I take exeption to being called stupid. I asked the question to see if any one else had the same problem which they have so it is not just our vehicle. We have had numerous motorhomes over the last 20 years and none have had this problem. The only item not standard to the chasis cab is the alarm. Secondly we have been told by fiat and our dealer that this is a problem for vehicles with the euro 5 engine that are not used regularly. This is not a builders van fiat or any other make it is a motorhome I am sure if it was used everyday we would not have the problem of the battery draining Please keep your nasty comments to yourself I thought this forum was for people to help each other not to make derrogatory comments as you have done. I am just so pleased that everyone else on this thread is not of your mentality and are there to help not insult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 davanne - 2012-06-26 8:06 PM EUROSERVE First of all I take exeption to being called stupid. I asked the question to see if any one else had the same problem which they have so it is not just our vehicle. We have had numerous motorhomes over the last 20 years and none have had this problem. The only item not standard to the chasis cab is the alarm. Secondly we have been told by fiat and our dealer that this is a problem for vehicles with the euro 5 engine that are not used regularly. This is not a builders van fiat or any other make it is a motorhome I am sure if it was used everyday we would not have the problem of the battery draining Please keep your nasty comments to yourself I thought this forum was for people to help each other not to make derrogatory comments as you have done. I am just so pleased that everyone else on this thread is not of your mentality and are there to help not insult. It would seem that you have an extremely thin skin and are taking (what I viewed as) general comments personaly. Myself if I think anyones having a go I draw a breath and walk away for a while, on second reading it's often seen that it may not be a personal insult or not worth bovering about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Ditto...Euroserve said nothing of the kind and has been extremally helpful at all times IMO you have already been told this problem superseded euro 5 vans as mine is 2011 euro 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I have a Euro 5 engine and have been warned that the battery will go flat if I do not recharge it every 7 - 10 days. This is due to the alarm. When I have been on site not hooked up I have watched the battery voltage steadily drop. On the odd occassion that the van has stayed still for over a week, I have hooked up and once the leisure battery is charged, the cab battery charges. If your cab battery does not charge from the hook up then as stated earlier, a battery master or a solar panel with a split charger is the answer. Shop around for a panel though, prices for 120 W panel, as I am going for, range from £400 - £700 fitted with split charger and regulator. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Hello Campers, I have been pulled up (and PM'd) for my post because it has been interpreted as suggesting that an individual is stupid. I did not say that, and am saddened that what I did say could cause that reaction. I thought that my point was quite clear that anyone that designed a system of auxiliary electrical devices such as alarms which would drain the vehicle's starting battery is stupid. Converters; please form a line.... Furthermore if the prescribed builder was to leave his radio on all day while working, and have been charging his cordless drill from the lighter socket and charged his phone and then found that he could not start his van he would rightly be referred to as stupid; not least by himself. I picked up a Euro5 Ducato a week ago from the dealer. It had arrived at their site in March and had not been moved since. It started without hesitation so I would suggest that it is not the Euro5 base vehicle at fault but how the converter has implemented their modifications and the bells and whistles that have been added. Any device that has more than a very modest drain should be attached to your leisure battery unless you have a means of continuously topping-up the battery. That is common sense, which i guess is the opposite of stupid. Have a nice day. Nick PS Wildbill, Is your alarm a Fiat item or something the converter has fitted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 euroserv - 2012-06-27 10:18 AM I have been pulled up (and PM'd) for my post because it has been interpreted as suggesting that an individual is stupid. I did not say that, and am saddened that what I did say could cause that reaction. It's not your fault Nick that some folk are unable to read a post properly and interpret it correctly - it happens all the time on here! You make a very interesting point that unconverted vans do not flatten their own batteries over time. This is a point that most converters and sales people will deny because it would mean a major redesign of the vehicle electrics and it is better, for them at least, to sell you a mains lead or a solar panel! For those of a sensitive disposition the last part was a joke! The point is that for years we have all suffered from both engine and leisure batteries going flat and nobody knows the answer other than a battery master switch so that everything is off - no question. If you disconnect either battery on a motorhome - engine or leisure - and insert a sensitive ammeter in the circuit these days there is invariably a small current drain of anything up to around 300 milliamps and until makers and converters come up with an honest reason rather than excuses we will never get the issue resolved. Don't hold your breath whilst waiting folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirles Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I have had my new euro 5 ducato for 6 weeks now and had the dealer fit an alarm. After 3 or 4 days I have noticed that the step does not fully extend when I unlock the van. It also has a factory fitted solar panel and today it's putting out approx 2.7 amps, and now when I leave the van for a few days I select vehicle charge on the control panel (sargent) and turn the control panel off. It now keeps the vehicle battery at about 12.4 volts, is this enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Empty commercial vans have radios and alarm systems as well..... difference being they do 20-40,000 miles a year while ours 5-10,000 on average I fitted an illuminated cut our switch for radio so that I could kill power and leave radio on when parked..No difference battery still flattens. when I posted my thread on this topic recently I remeber someone said the Fiat ECU is power hungry..that kind of makes more sense as my ford van never had this problem and had alarm/radio etc..as well Fiat need to fit a bigger battery to vans being converted to campers...and address current draw issues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 If the solar panel is charging and it is getting through to the battery the battery would be showing something between 13.5 and 14.5 volts so if it is only showing 12.4 volts whilst charging it ain't charging! A fully charged battery is around 12.7 to 12.8 volts depending on type and 12.4 is about 70% charged depending on whose version of charge state you read. There is lots of info, some of it contradictory and confusing, on google if you type in various combination of the words '12 volt battery, charge, state, voltage' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 We had a 'battery drain' issue with our Transit based RollerTeam 600. Although it only happened if left for over four weeks in winter which I thought was pretty good. Anyway we solved the problem with one of these which sits in the windscreen and plugged into the cig lighter socket via a regulator to stop reverse flow and over charging on very sunny? days: http://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/khxc/index.php?app=gbu0&ns=prodshow&ref=saver15&sid=4x3y2z0s69495r583765b54t793zd2hh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davanne Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Nick I appologise for reading your post wrongly I can now see that you were refering to Fiat not to us as individuals. After further talks with dealer it appears that the main drain comes from the ecu unit. Once again sorry for misinterpretation of your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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