Autotrail tracker

[Rod Sutcliffe]

please can someone help bought 09 tracker end of aug this year last week engine battery flat had it tested and cell has gone and therfore need a new battery. Feel upset that this has happened on a relativly new van. Was told should charge up battery every 2 weeks. Had ahymer 04 previouse non of this charging up every 2 weeks and had no problems in the 6 years we had it. Informed not covered by warranty and these things happen, Any one had the same problem? and should i be charging up the leisure and engine battery every 2 weeks someone please share your expertise, thanks :-(

[flicka]

Hi Rod

You have a PM

 

[Porky]

Just a thought. We have a 2009 Trackers EKS and after 6 months and being is Spain I noticed the smart charger wasn't working. Contacted the dealer and Sargents sent a replacement by return. I think they have had some problems with a batch. Might be worth checking.

[Rod Sutcliffe]

thanks for that have sent u a pm

[Derek Uzzell]

Rod Sutcliffe - 2010-10-26 9:20 PM

 

please can someone help bought 09 tracker end of aug this year last week engine battery flat had it tested and cell has gone and therfore need a new battery. Feel upset that this has happened on a relativly new van. Was told should charge up battery every 2 weeks. Had ahymer 04 previouse non of this charging up every 2 weeks and had no problems in the 6 years we had it. Informed not covered by warranty and these things happen, Any one had the same problem? and should i be charging up the leisure and engine battery every 2 weeks someone please share your expertise, thanks :-(

 

Although it's unusual for a battery to develop a fault this quickly, it's certainly not unknown and, if your motorhome's warranty doesn't cover the failure and the vendor won't help on a goodwill basis, it's hard to see what you can do about it realistically except grit your teeth and fork out for a replacement.

 

When a battery needs to be recharged will depend on its capacity, design, quality, condition, existing state of charge and the current drain.

 

If your Tracker's original battery was happily able to start your motorhome's engine before the cell failed, then there's really no reason to change whatever you were doing charging-wise prior to the failure. If your Tracker has a comprehensive alarm system powered by the engine-battery, then charging will be needed more often than if there were no alarm system - but every 2 weeks seems overly pessimistic to me. Similarly, if the leisure-battery is well charged to begin with and nothing electrical is running off it, recharging every 2 weeks should be unnecessary.

 

It's difficult to advise specifically about this - some people have their motorhomes' batteries permanently on charge at home; others charge their batteries much more sporadically. Nevertheless, it is important (particularly with winter approaching) that batteries are kept well charged when the vehicle is standing idle.

 

Probably the best way forward for you would be to charge your engine and leisure battery to 100% (or as high as your charger will take them) and then take regular voltage-readings to establish how rapidly they are losing charge. That way you won't be relying on guesswork.

[Brian Kirby]

Rod Sutcliffe - 2010-10-26 9:20 PM please can someone help bought 09 tracker end of aug this year last week engine battery flat had it tested and cell has gone and therfore need a new battery. Feel upset that this has happened on a relativly new van. Was told should charge up battery every 2 weeks. Had ahymer 04 previouse non of this charging up every 2 weeks and had no problems in the 6 years we had it. Informed not covered by warranty and these things happen, Any one had the same problem? and should i be charging up the leisure and engine battery every 2 weeks someone please share your expertise, thanks :-(

To be clear, Rod, I assume your Tracker was first registered some time in 2009, and you bought it in August 2010?  If so, it will presumably have been somewhere between 12 and 18 months old when you bought it?

The first owner may have caused the damage before selling, and additionally it will have stood on a (presumably) dealer's forecourt for some time before you bought it.  In either case, the battery damage could have arisen from neglect, from merely being allowed to become totally discharged, and then being left in that state.

It also sounds a bit as though you may have left it off-charge for while, not appreciating how much more permanent drain a 2009 vehicle places on its battery compared to a 2004 vehicle.

There is also the matter, as Derek says, of possible fitted extras such as alarms or inverters, that add to the rate of battery drain.  Given all these unknowns, it would seem impossible to demonstrate to Fiat that the battery was faulty when fitted.

You may have a better argument with the dealer - that he should have checked the condition of the battery before selling it - but if he refuses to give, you'd again have some difficulty proving it was dud when you got it.

Have you tried pressing him for a contribution towards the cost of replacement, or even a "trade" price replacement?  It does seem to have failed very quickly after you got it, so it's condition at the point of sale must at least be questionable. 

Final thought, have you access to the original owner?  He may be prepared to say if he experienced battery problems during his ownership.

[Rod Sutcliffe]

Thank you for all your replies :-D

[Mel B]

Check with the battery manufacturer - we had a 2nd leisure battery installed and it failed within 2 years - when we went back to the dealer we bought it from he had been informed of faults with some of them and it was replaced FOC.