BML Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I have a 2002 Autosleeper Polensa with the normal two batteries which I know nothing about and every so often I find that either my vehicle battery, leisure battery or both are so flat so due to the Corona crisis and no travelling to charge either of my batteries I decided that something needed to be done such as setting up a system that keeps my batteries charged. I've received the following advice: 1. Take the vehicle for a road run every couple of weeks. 2. Connect up the Electric Hook up and leave the vehicle on it. 3. Check both batteries with a meter every week and use a battery charger when required by a low charge showing. 4. Install a roof mounted solar panel set up to serve both batteries. I recognise that every one of those suggestions may be faulted and would welcome suggestions that would at least relieve me from the near impossibility of connecting the positive a jump lead to the positive stud on the vehicle battery due to idiot designers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Brian I’ve browsed through your earlier forum postings and noted these two https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/I-m-considering-setting-up-a-Solar-Panel-unit-/52821/ https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Leisure-battery-questions-/47131/ If you genuinely know nothing about the basic principles of a motorhome’s electrical system, the simplest approach would be to drive your Pollensa in daylight for about 40 miles on open roads every couple of weeks - though this also assumes that the motorhome’s batteries are in good condition and (at present) that UK COVID-19-related regulations permit this. Connecting the Pollensa to a 230V EHU should allow its onboard battery-charger to maintain the leisure-battery’s state of charge, but I don’t know if your Pollensa’s onboard battery-charger can also charge the starter-battery. The onboard battery-charger of many motorhomes just charges the leisure-battery, but it’s normally fairly easy to fit a small device (eg. a “Battery Master”) between leisure-battery and starter-battery to permit both batteries to receive charge. Some folks leave their motorhome continuously ‘on charge’ from an EHU when the vehicle is out of use: other people prefer to have the EHU only provide charge periodically. A suitable solar-panel system should be capable of keeping both of your motorhome’s batteries adequately charged and - if you’d gone down that route last summer - you would not be having the current difficulties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 BML - 2020-06-13 11:25 AM would welcome suggestions that would at least relieve me from the near impossibility of connecting the positive a jump lead to the positive stud on the vehicle battery due to idiot designers. Have you checked to see if there is a remote dedicated stud to attach a jump lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Dedicated underbonnet connections for jump-starting cables are normally only provided when the starter-battery is not housed in the vehicle’s engine compartment. Brian’s Auto-Sleepers “Pollensa” motorhome is 2002 vintage and its base-vehicle is a Peugeot Boxer with 2.8litre motor. The motorhome’s starter-battery will be located on the right-hand side of the engine compartment as shown in the example on the 1st image attached below. The battery in the photo is a Bosch S5 and the position of its positive (‘live’) terminal - arrowed in red - undoubtedly explains Brian’s complaint about having difficulty connecting a jump-lead. Handbook jump-starting guidance is as shown in the 2nd image below, but the potential problem of actually connecting a jump-lead to the battery’s positive terminal is (unsurprisingly) not mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Never made a comment on battery charging So this is my first one. In principle if you do not used it from some time you have to take it out. That some time is in your manual for starter and leisure. And store them loaded. Mine 12.8 volt full loaded and 11.8 alarm.But their is no dog doing that hassle. The alternative is to use a drip charger famous by motorbike drivers. It can wake up a dead battery. The plus is clamped on the battery but the minus should be on chassis point like a engine bracket. Not on the min of the battery. And it is easy to see if your charger on mains load the starter on your control panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Once your batterys are charged you can run a single fused wire between the 2 positive battery terminals so as when your EHU is charging the Leisure Battery it's also keeping the engine battery charged as well. http://www.motts.org/BRIDGING%20FUSE.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I am fortunate in having my motorhome on the driveway and am able to plug the vehicle in to a mains hook up plug on the side of the house. As for battery charging I have two separate CTEK intelligent battery chargers on-board, one for each battery. I have the flexibility of flicking the mains power on and off as I please. As for problems attaching a charger to the vehicle battery I would suggest taking the vehicle to a local Peugeot Boxer dealer, flip the bonnet up and ask them how you should do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 There’s no doubt how jump-leads should be connected to the starter-battery of Brian’s motorhome - the location of the battery in the engine compartment and th connection points are clear in the images attached to my last posting. The potential problem is the relative inaccessibility of the battery’s positive (‘live’) terminal close to engine compartment’s rear bulkhead. I’ve read about this elsewhere, where it’s been observed how difficult it is to disconnect the positive terminal’s cable when the starter-battery is to be replaced. (The advice was first to undo the clamps that secure the battery in place, then slide the battery forwards so that the positive terminal becomes more easily got at with a spanner - but that won’t really be practical when attempting a jump-start.) The type of jump-leads is another factor - I have a set of long heavy-duty ‘truck’ jump-leads with bulky crocodile-clip connectors and it’s quite possible I could not use these if the starter-battery were positioned as shown in my photo above. I’m reluctant to say this, but I don’t have a lot of sympathy over Brian’s present predicament. This is simply because, 3 years ago, the things he has referred to in his latest enquiry were discussed on this forum at some length (links in my posting of 13 June 2020 12:36 PM above). if the suggestions that were made had been implemented in 2017, both of the Pollensa’s batteries should be chargeable nowadays despite the vehicle standing idle. Brian’s Pollensa’s leisure-battery is located beneath a cab-seat (or it was in 2017) and, consequently difficult to access. Connecting the leisure-battery to the starter-battery would (obviously) involve running a cable from the cab’s interior into the engine compartment and - if this is to be done - a more sophisticated method than Clive Mott’s ‘bridging fuse’ idea would be preferable. This was discussed here https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/ALL-WEATHER-TRICKLE-CHARGER/55128/ Temporarily connecting a supplementary battery-charger to either of the Pollensa’s batteries is likely to present access difficulties if the charger has the usual crocodile-clip connectors. “Connect Eyelets” can be used with CTEK chargers (that Steve employs). The ‘eyelets’ remain permanently attached to the battery and the CTEK charger is easily connected to and disconnected from the eyelet. This capability was mentioned recently here https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Vehicle-Battery/55275/ A DIY equivalent approach should not be hard to achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 The description of how to jump start the vehicle mentioned in this thread has raised in my mind a supplementary question that perhaps one of our auto electrical aficionados might answer. The diagram shows connecting to the battery +ve terminal and to a point on the chassis. So why not connect to the battery –ve terminal rather than the chassis point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 BruceM - 2020-06-14 11:34 AM The description of how to jump start the vehicle mentioned in this thread has raised in my mind a supplementary question that perhaps one of our auto electrical aficionados might answer. The diagram shows connecting to the battery +ve terminal and to a point on the chassis. So why not connect to the battery –ve terminal rather than the chassis point? The final connection should always be to the -ve and not be directly to the battery in case there is a spark and the Hydrogen gas gets ignited! The results can be quite spectacular!!! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BML Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Many thanks for all of the suggestions. It is some time since I raised this question and ill health prevented me implementing any suggestions made. I did ask a local mobile camper engineer to fit a solar panel but like the mobile body work person I also contacted to do some work to the camper both disappeared so now I start looking again in the Oxfordshire area for a 100 w because its primary task will be for lighting as we don't use a TV. Obviously I see the secondary task of the solar panel to be topping up both batteries. Hopefully whoever installs the panel will fit gauges to let me know what is happening to the batteries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Keithl - 2020-06-14 11:45 AM BruceM - 2020-06-14 11:34 AM The description of how to jump start the vehicle mentioned in this thread has raised in my mind a supplementary question that perhaps one of our auto electrical aficionados might answer. The diagram shows connecting to the battery +ve terminal and to a point on the chassis. So why not connect to the battery –ve terminal rather than the chassis point? The final connection should always be to the -ve and not be directly to the battery in case there is a spark and the Hydrogen gas gets ignited! The results can be quite spectacular!!! Keith. The RAC’s advice about jump-starting is here https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/car-maintenance/how-to-jump-start-a-car/ and this link is to a 2011 long discussion about connecting the earth jump-lead to the ‘dead’ car’s chassis. https://ask.metafilter.com/204422/Grounding-the-negative-clamp-when-jumpstarting-your-car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 BML - 2020-06-14 1:21 PM Hopefully whoever installs the panel will fit gauges to let me know what is happening to the batteries! Not unless you specify what you want. It's not a crucial function and I doubt it's done as standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 My control panel was showing the solar panel is keeping the leisure battery nicely topped up, after not going on the road for 2-3 months, but the starter battery was slipping. Bought this charger from Halfords and pleased with it, can wire in a connector so easy to plug it in when off the road for a while and it just turns itself on and off as necessary. https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-chargers/halfords-6v%2F12v-maintenance-charger-329091.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Derek Uzzell - 2020-06-14 8:16 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The potential problem is the relative inaccessibility of the battery’s positive (‘live’) terminal close to engine compartment’s rear bulkhead. I’ve read about this elsewhere, where it’s been observed how difficult it is to disconnect the positive terminal’s cable when the starter-battery is to be replaced. (The advice was first to undo the clamps that secure the battery in place, then slide the battery forwards so that the positive terminal becomes more easily got at with a spanner - but that won’t really be practical when attempting a jump-start.) The type of jump-leads is another factor - I have a set of long heavy-duty ‘truck’ jump-leads with bulky crocodile-clip connectors and it’s quite possible I could not use these if the starter-battery were positioned as shown in my photo above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If by some mischance, I needed to jump start my x244 Ducato, I would probably gain access to the battery fusebox by unclipping the cover. This gives access to two M8 terminations for the starter motor and the mega alternator fuse. Both are on the same circuit node as the battery positive. WARNING - When jump starting a motorhome, it is a sensible precaution to remove the habitation/service battery negatives first. If when starting the split charge relay becomes operated, damaging currents could flow from the habitation battery via the MH wiring. I think that this warning originally emanated from practical experience of the late Allan Evans. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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