vehicle engine battery advice

[gordonhymer]

Hymer 494 swing. My vehicle battery is going flat every two weeks if vehicle unused.( Leisure battery fine), RAC got it going for me and tested and advised that battery and alternator both working correctly and no significant drain on vehicle battery when parked up. ! but clearly there is a problem I suspect.

Battery flat again - but I dont really need to use motorhome again until march/april. Will it do any further damage if I simply leave it til then? or should I recharge immediately and ensure I take it out for a run every 10 days? Any advice welcome

[hallii]

Do you have an alarm fitted? Is the radio drawing current even when off?

 

Even small amounts of current will drain the battery over time, and a flat battery will quickly become a dead and useless one.

 

You need to keep it charged up.

 

Solar panels are good for this, even in a British winter.

 

A good "intelligent" battery charger can be left on all the time, it will not overcharge and drops back to a safe trickle charge when the battery is full.

 

If you have a solar panel fitted for the leisure battery you can fit a small unit that will trickle charge the engine battery from the leisure battery which will be charged by the solar panel.That is what I have done and it works well.

 

The engine needs to be started and the vehicle driven until fully warmed up about once a month at the least. I do mine every two weeks. If you don't you run the risk of faults developing on th engine, brakes, gearbox, tyres etc.

 

H

[Brambles]

The problem with leaving it until 'then' is the battery wil flatten through extra high self discharge because it is clearly is not OK, and then you risk iti freezing in cold weather and splitting the case. Certainly not desireable. You could give it a good bench charge for a few days and check the electrolyte levels. It might recover enough to see you through the winter if you keep the charge topped up every couple of weeks. However, there comes a time when you need to throw the old winter boots out and get a new pair.

 

 

You do not say how old the battery is, if has given many years of good service you are happy with then just fit a new one and forget. If you feel its life has been cut short, lets say under five years, then maybe you need to think about topping up the charge once a month or more often which will help keep it in good condition and hopefully last 8 to 10 years. If you have an alarm fitted then you do need to consider how you are going to replace the charge the alarm uses. If you do not have or need the alarm then you can charge the battery and disconnect it ready for when you do need the vehicle again a few months later, or to give it a short run to clear rust off brake discs, turn the wheels etc.

[Brian Kirby]

The Hymercamp Swing 494 seems to have been in production 1998ish to 2001ish. It therefore seems unlikely to be much less that 10 years old. If this is the original battery it has done very well. If the first replacement, who knows? However, the weather is now getting colder, and cold weather exposes "tired" batteries. I suspect, unless you know for a fact otherwise, that this is an old battery, and your best course will be to change it sooner rather than later. It sounds very like a high rate of self-discharge in an old, failing, cold, battery.

 

You should whenever possible drive your van far enough to ensure all fluids are a their normal operating temperatures, at least monthly. That will mean 10 - 15 miles. In the process, clutch bearings, gearbox oil, brake discs, hubs, tyres etc, will all get a desirable work out. It will also dispel condensation under the bonnet and dry out the engine bay and associated electrics.

 

Since the built in battery charger may not be of the latest type, and possibly not that sophisticated in how it "reads" and charges the battery, it would be a good idea to connect to mains once per month for 24 hours, somewhere around a fortnight after the monthly driveabout. Unless you drive for an hour or more, it is unlikely driving alone would be sufficient to fully charge both batteries. However, in concert with an intermediate 24 hours on charge via the on-board charger, you should keep both in good condition.

 

I'd suggest replacing with something as close as possible in capacity and quality to the original battery, and monitoring its condition for while thereafter, to check that the discharge rate is not due to something else.

[neillking]

My 2001-reg Swing needed a new battery earlier this year so there is a distinct possibility that the RAC man was wrong and you need a new one?? 

[gordonhymer]

thanks for all the advice - only had the vehicle a few months so not sure if original or not. yes to radio and alrm . i will try charging up again through hook up to my electrics at home and ensure i do so every fortnight, as well as taking it for a drive.

solar panel and charger sounds good but currently beyond my area of expertise and knowledge so i will do a bit of digging. cheers

[gordonhymer]

Neill - hope you dont mind me seeking another piece of advice. Mine too is a 2001 swing. To drain for winter I located a small plug is water tank under seat. Is that all I have to do. Presume that is all linked to boiler/heater. and I dont need to find any other water to drain. Have emptied toilet separately.

[Brambles]

Usually you have two drain points, one on the tank and one in teh plumbing after the pump. The latter also draining the boiler. Check underneath for PVC pipes hanging down as this will identify the locations of valves inside. Open all the taps and let it drain. I always run the pump as well for a bit to empty it and I also blow back through taps to get rid of some of the water lying in pipes which is awkward to drain. Shake out the shower hose and head and remember to empty the toilet cassette.

Jon.

[neillking]

The second drain tap is usually under the kitchen cupboard floor. lifting out the inspection panel will reveal the dump and air bleed arrangement. Remember to do this with taps open to allow all the water to drain away. This end is the more important because the water drained here is from heater & taps, the items prone to expensive damage. I've never been entirely sure how you ensure the boiler is empty but this isn't a problem to us as we use the 'van all year round and never actually drain down. Someone else may be add someting extra here. You can always email me about the Swing, always pleased to help a fellow owner if I can.

[BrianBW]

My motorhome does not have the modern electronics, so I am not bothered about keeping the battery connected. I have placed on the Negative terminal a switch which isolates the battery, when the vehicle is not used. It cost £10.00.

I have been doing this for 10 years of ownership with no problems. Did have to replace the battery last Spring, after the hard winter, it was 14 years old afterall!.

A battery should never be left discharged, a sure way of destroying it.

[Guest Tracker]

In conversation with Sargants last year they told me that their control panels prefer to be positive switched for isolation as using the neagtive can do something or other that I did not understand and throw up phantom faults that do not really exist.

 

May not apply to older vans but if fitting a battery isolation switch their advice was to always fit it in the positive cable.

[Brambles]

I remember this coming up with your van Tracker and Sargent systems. I think a lot of it is also do do with if you have a solar panel controller so does pay to check. However I still suspect you were not switching all the negative feeds to battery off, or is because sytem is also conected to the engine battery. If you think about it why should it make a difference whether it is the positive or negative as how is any connected system to know which end of battery has been isolated.

 

It was a topic I added to my investigate list and explain, but never got round to it.

I

In Brain's case above I think he is referring to the engine battery.