roserod Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I have a 2008 autocruise starburst a new habitation battery fitted how long should charge in both battery last as after about 10 days almost flat , as i am new to motor home only had since july can anyone help . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairweather camper Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Is that 10 days in one place using usual electrical items, if yes, then there is nothing wrong with your batterys :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 roserod - 2012-10-27 4:26 PM I have a 2008 autocruise starburst a new habitation battery fitted how long should charge in both battery last as after about 10 days almost flat , as i am new to motor home only had since july can anyone help . "Charge in both battery." Have you two leisure batterys but have only replaced one, is the other the starter battery, or is this a typo? How long a battery will last depends on a) its capacity in Ah, b) how fully charged it was at the outset, and c) how much electricity is being used. It also depends on age and condition, but you've said it is a new battery, so let's assume it is a good one. There is also an issue around what you mean by "flat". A fully charged battery should read around 12.8V. As power is consumed the voltage falls. A voltage reading below 12V is, to all intents and purposes, "flat". However, the battery will continue delivering power, with its voltage falling, to below 11V. The problem is that at so low a voltage the battery is being damaged, and its life considerably shortened. As a general rule, it is better not to run a battery below 60% of its stated capacity. In addition, leisure batteries should also be discharged relatively slowly, as the quicker the power is used, the more the battery struggles to keep up. That is to say a 100Ah battery should not have more than 60Ah taken from it before it is re-charged, but also that whereas it will easily deliver 1A for 60 hours, it will definitely not deliver 60A for 1 hour. It is limited by its chemistry. So, I'm afraid more detail will be needed to answer your question. Having said all that, a good battery should last much longer than the 4 years the original seems to have lasted, which suggests that it may have been abused by being repeatedly run very low, and possibly also being allowed to stand for longish periods before being re-charged. Equally, there may be something in the van that is taking power even when all seems to have been turned off. With everything truly off, and the battery fully charged, it should hold its charge for weeks, albeit there will be some slight discharge over time due to its chemistry. If it does not, either something is drawing power, or the battery is a dud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roserod Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hi Brian i should have said the leisure battery which is new and also starter battery which is possible original one?, are going down to 12volts within 10/14 days with every thing as know switched off. I bought the motorhome in july 2012 from Marquis Motorhomes they replaced leisure battery110amp ,i think i will have to get them to check electrical system also, as you can see i have no idea how long charge should last on Motorhome without any . Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Sorry to hijack thread, but I too am interested in this. When the van is switched off (i.e. by the control panel - not a full disconection via something like an isolater) how long would you expect the batteries to last? I know teh computers etc. that nmonitor the various systems and manage charging via solar panel (in winter ??) are running, but I don't know how long you'd expect the system to last before a charge is necersary. I do know it is a bit of a "how long is a bit of string" type thing, but in your experience you must have an expection... ? I come from boats where we either left teh boat on shorepower or had it fully isolated (probably both) so am not sure what to expect. I have a Phantom tracker and alarm so for now i will assume they are both wired to the engine battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Without knowing exactly what is running off each battery it is hard to give a definitive answer. If you have an alarm fitted the engine battery could easily be getting low in a couple of weeks, several people on the forum have complained about engine batteries going flat in about 10 days on new vehicles so it's not uncommon. On the leisure side some manufacture Hymer for one say you should not leave the van without a charge to the leisure batteries for more than 10 days but before I fitted a solar panel it would take about 4 weeks to get down to 12v. Control panels are normally electronic and only go into standby so they are still drawing some current when turned off, the Truma dump valve draws about 35ma & if your radio is wired to the leisure battery the memory circuit will be drawing a small amount of current. Discharging over 10-14 days is a bit short but not unheard of in modern vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Thanks Lenny, just what I was after - nothing concrete, just a rough ballpark expectation. (^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roserod Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 I should say asi am new to Motorhome 2008 autocruise starburst both batterys are going flat 12v in about 10 days this is motorhome on drive with every thing switched off except thatcham alarm is this normal ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Out of interest, do you have an LCD control panel? if so - with everything but the bare minimum switched off does it show the discharge rate from teh batteries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roserod Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 the LCD display is off , if i put on will isee a discharge on screen or does it just show battery getting lower ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 So both batteries are dropping to 12V in 10 days or so? The alarm will drag down the (presumably) starter battery, but as the batteries should not be inter-connected, should have no effect on the habitation battery. If the fridge is switched off (actually off, not just left with the door ajar and 12V selected, on the assumption that with the engine not running it can draw no power - because it does, for the interior light :-)), the Truma dump valve opened, and all internal power off at the panel, I think the habitation battery should not drop to 12V for several weeks. As it is, something is wrong. It may be that the batteries are connected, possibly via the control panel. It may be that the relay that controls charging of the habitation battery when the engine is running has failed, which would leave both batteries connected but, with both acting together, the rate of fall seems to me rather extreme merely for an alarm. If you have an ammeter (or multi meter set to amps) you could try removing all fuses on the habitation side, and then inserting the ammeter probes into the fuse holders one by one, to see where power is being taken. That will indicate the circuit that is drawing power. There may be more than one, so it would be worth working through them all. You'd then need to work your way around that/those circuits looking for what it actually is. If the vehicle is under warranty, and as it seems the original battery may have fallen victim to this same fault, I think taking the van back to Marquis for proper evaluation would be your best course of action. They will have access to an auto electrician with all the necessary test gear, and should know where to look to sniff out the fault. From what you say it would be wise to do this soon, as batteries do not like being repeatedly run that low, and especially do not like being left flat. If you can, get a mains hook up connected in the meantime. If you have to choose what gets charged, make sure the starter battery is the first priority, as it will suffer first and most. When that is happy switch over to the hab battery, and keep switching between them every few days to ensure both get the maximum charge at regular intervals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Sean - lenny's comment should not apply if you have a Solar Panel switched on. If that is the case, depending on number of clear days & siz e of panel, the battery should maintain a high level of charge, as the Solar Panel should produce sufficient to cover any minor output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 flicka - 2012-10-30 10:35 PM Sean - lenny's comment should not apply if you have a Solar Panel switched on. If that is the case, depending on number of clear days & siz e of panel, the battery should maintain a high level of charge, as the Solar Panel should produce sufficient to cover any minor output. Thanks Flika, out of interest at this time of the year (i.e. a bit overcast and dull etc.) how much would you expect the panel to put back into the battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 roserod - 2012-10-30 3:51 PM the LCD display is off , if i put on will see a discharge on screen or does it just show battery getting lower ? Hi roserod our previous Autocruise Sportstar (2009) had a Nordelectronica system, which I think is the same as yours. With everything turned off except the display screen the Leisure Battery generally showed a usage of 0.2 to 0.4A, so 1Amp usage roughly every 2.5 to 5hours. Engine Battery generally showed a usage of 0.4 to 0.6A, so 1Amp usage roughly every 1.6 to 2.5 5hours. BUT the Nordelectronica Control Units had many problems (especially the Battery Chargers) & Swift stopped using them (switching to Sargent's Control Units) Around the same time Nordelectronica (Italy) went into liquidation. They (Nordelectronica) are back in business, but no longer interested in the uK market. There are many threads regarding their Control Units on the "Swift Talk" forum & Apuljack Engineering have lots of experience with these Control Units. Have a look here for contact details:- http://www.swift-talk.co.uk/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=07bb3xdz16adr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 sean.clarke - 2012-10-30 10:46 PM flicka - 2012-10-30 10:35 PM Sean - lenny's comment should not apply if you have a Solar Panel switched on. If that is the case, depending on number of clear days & siz e of panel, the battery should maintain a high level of charge, as the Solar Panel should produce sufficient to cover any minor output. Thanks Flika, out of interest at this time of the year (i.e. a bit overcast and dull etc.) how much would you expect the panel to put back into the battery? Totally dependant on Size & Type of Panel fitted. :-( = Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roserod Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks for all of your help i will do some of the checks stated , but when possible i will return it to Marquis to fully check system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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