fud3 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Our Swift Suntor is having problems when stored for more than a couple of weeks with a discharge of the van battery. It has been tested by Fiat who inform us that it is the after fit accessories which are causing the problems, namely the Sigma Alarm, Sat Nav / Reversing Camera, though the Sigma Alarm appears to be the main culprit. Some advice we have been given include disconnecting the alarm, (not sure what the insurers would say about that if the van gets stolen) or disconnecting the battery if the vehicle is not being used for more than a couple of weeks. (ditto re insurance) We are now at a loss as to which way to go with this issue. Firstly is this a problem that many owners suffer from (those who do not use their vehicles every week. (if I wanted to use my vehicle as my main car then I would have purchased a differnet type of vehicle. Secondly any advice as to how to maintain charge on the battery without having to result to going to the van every week to turn over the vehicles engine. I am not having any luck with either Swift or the dreaded Brownhills in getting the issue resolved, hence going to Fiat, however as the issues are not Fiat related then they can not do any more with the van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 It could be the alarm, constantly monitoring your MH. You could fit a small solar panel, even those that fit on the dash and plug into your cigarette lighter. Of course most lighters only work when the ignition is on, but a small rewire could sort this out. Or even running wires direct to your battery. The larger ones req' a voltage regulator and some of the small ones are built in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 A solar panel should sort you out, but as you would want it working over winter then dependant on how much your alarm is using an absolute minimum of 10w output angled to catch sun, or 30w+ mounted flat on roof as a fit and forget item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 The Sat nav and reversing camera should be wired via the key switch interlocked circuits. i.e. they SHOULD NOT be taking any battery current at all until the key switch is turned on. Alarm systems and even the engine ECU will be taking current continuously and this symptom is far from unique. I too would recommend a solar panel, but my suggestion would be one of substance together with a suitable regulator. Say 80 watts or so. You should wire this to charge your Leisure battery then fit a bridging fuse linking the starter and leisure batteries when the vehicle is laid up. http://www.motts.dsl.pipex.com/BRIDGING%20FUSE.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 I understand the bridging fuse, but I thought that the when the vehicle is running the base vehicle battery charges first and then trickle charges the leisure battery and that it does it the other way as well, if this is the case then both batteries should discharge if the alarm is discharging the battery as the leisure battery should start to maintaine the charge level of the engine battery when it it get below a certain voltage, or am I mistaken. The soalr panel seams to me the obvious way to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 The solar panel route is the obvious answer but go for a fixed one of a decent size, the small dashtop jobs are just not up to it. The sat nav could have a quiescent current draw if it is a built in unit such as a VDO Dayton or one of the in dash units that combine CD/DVD/Radio and sat nav functions. The reversing camera, as Clive says should be connected only to an ignition live source so shouldn't be drawing anything when the vehicle is parked. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Sorry for the repeated posts, server error came up so I didn't think it had accepted my post. d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 And again D. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Fud3: My Hobby motorhome's electrical system acts somewhat similarly to what you suggest. When the motorhome is being driven the vehicle's alternator prioritises its charging to the 'van-battery', paralleling the leisure battery above a certain voltage. However, the process does not operate the other way round and the batteries have no electrical 'link' below the predefined voltage level and/or when the vehicle's ignition is switched off. When the Hobby's onboard battery-charger is operating (ie. when the motorhome is on 230V hook-up), the charger gives priority to the leisure-battery, providing a trickle-charge (maximum 2A) to the van-battery. When the onboard charger is not operating then neither battery will be charged: there is then no electrical link between the batteries and, consequently, no current can pass between them. This tends to be the norm for 'Continental-built' motorhomes, but it's more than likely that your Suntor's system differs. Whatever the case, when a motorhome is standing idle (ie. with the motor stopped and the onboard battery-charger not operating) it would be very unusual to have, as standard, a system where an electrical load (eg. one caused by running an alarm) on one battery would be shared by the other. So, the answer to your "am I mistaken?" question is essentially "Yes." ;-) Clive's bridging-fuse places van- and leisure-batteries in parallel, so that any load on either battery will be shared by both. There are more sophisticated alternatives (for instance the Battery Master), but Clive's ploy is simple and cheap. As has already been advised a suitably sized solar panel should overcome the problem - in fact it's difficult to see any alternative if your Suntor can't be connected regularly to a 230V power supply. (The electronics systems of modern refrigerators can drag a battery's charge down if the fridge is not fully switched off and, in the case of Dometic fridge-freezers, there's also the possibility of a heater built into the freezer-surround being accidentally left switched on when it will draw significant current continuously. In principle (if motorhome manufacturers acted sensibly and followed Dometic's installation advice) this would result in the leisure-battery being discharged. However, there is plenty of evidence that these fridges are being connected to the motorhome's van-battery instead. I don't know how relevant this is to your Suntor - it's just another caveat.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Cole Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Fud 3s Motorhome is the sams as mine The dometic fridge is wired to the engine battery controlled by the split charge relay. The fridge must be switched off when not in use as the interior light will remain on when the door is left in the open position for venting or it will drain the battery The electronic controls are supplied by Nordel Ettronica italy as is the charger, both batteris are connected to the master unit with a relay connected to a switch on the control panel that changes the batteries over so the vehicle battery can be charged from the on board charger, by using this facility. The panel also gives read out for the battery state and charge of both batteries when hooked up. In order to maintain the charge on both batteries I am fitting a regulated charger for the engine battery for the winter or when the camper is not being used for a week or more with the hook up cable plugged into a time clock for a couple of hours a day, to save overcharging. I have the same problem with the vehicle battery losing its charge due to the alarm system and ECU. In my case this was made worse by the incorrect wiring of the alarm causing all sorts of problems with the fFat immobiliser. This has now been corrected, but the there is still a constant drain on the battery whether alarm is activated or not. If hook up is not available then as has been suggested a solar panel of at least 50w or more would seem to be the answer. I have recieved an email and have replied with suggestions. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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