Caddies104 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Hi We have an Auto Sleeper Symphony on a W reg Peugeot Boxer which is kept on EHU. When I tried to start it up yesterday it only turned over once and gave up. I put an external battery charger on for an hour and got it started. Then left the charger on for 24 hours, come to start it and again would not start, turned once and gave up again.. Without stating the obvious, i.e battery defunked, is there anything else that it could be. Inside the Van the dials show the battery is charged I'm not good on electrics so any help appreciated .... Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Hi ps the battery is only 2 years old and made by Bosch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Is it a good idea to keep a battery fully on EHU? Do you keep your car on one? We don't have the advantage of having our van on EHU, but have no problem with the battery for starting PJay I Await the knowledgeable ones opinion on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Have you checked the engine earth strap for corrosion - worth a look as this is a common problem.. Often a new earth strap will be better than messing about trying to clean and cut back and make a new connection. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I would take it off and bench charge it with voltage checks before during and after charging to see how it looks and let it rest for a few days then check the voltage again to see how it has fared. Check all the cable connections and earths are clean and tight and if in any doubt take it to a battery specialist to check. What was the guarantee period - is it worth talking to the supplier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Hi Thanks for replies. Will check earth strap as this seems most likely, as for on EHU had all our vans on this for last 8 years no problem as when battery is fully charged it cuts out I assume... Thanks again Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Derek, A quick check for a poor earth connection is to connect a jump lead from the battery negative directly to a good metal part of the engine (eg a lifting bracket). If the engine then turns over its a fair bet your earth is at fault. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAZID1 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 My experience with Bosch batteries is that they are pretty good. As for the comment about leaving you car on ehu, no because its probably used daily. Most modern chargers are happy when left connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Keithl - 2015-04-23 7:21 PM Derek, A quick check for a poor earth connection is to connect a jump lead from the battery negative directly to a good metal part of the engine (eg a lifting bracket). If the engine then turns over its a fair bet your earth is at fault. Keith. Thanks for that will try that in the morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Caddies104 - 2015-04-23 9:31 PM Keithl - 2015-04-23 7:21 PM Derek, A quick check for a poor earth connection is to connect a jump lead from the battery negative directly to a good metal part of the engine (eg a lifting bracket). If the engine then turns over its a fair bet your earth is at fault. Keith. Thanks for that will try that in the morning Unless you have very long heavy duty jump lead you will struggle to do that on your van, the battery is under the cab floor, but it's easy to clip a jump lead at each end of the earth lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 colin - 2015-04-23 10:05 PM Caddies104 - 2015-04-23 9:31 PM Keithl - 2015-04-23 7:21 PM Derek, A quick check for a poor earth connection is to connect a jump lead from the battery negative directly to a good metal part of the engine (eg a lifting bracket). If the engine then turns over its a fair bet your earth is at fault. Keith. Thanks for that will try that in the morning Unless you have very long heavy duty jump lead you will struggle to do that on your van, the battery is under the cab floor, but it's easy to clip a jump lead at each end of the earth lead. Colin.. It's the engine battery not the habitation battery, thanks anyway.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Caddies104 - 2015-04-23 10:33 AM We have an Auto Sleeper Symphony on a W reg Peugeot Boxer... Derek colin - 2015-04-23 10:05 PM ...the battery is under the cab floor,.... It may be on X250 onwards but I thought a W reg would be under the bonnet, please correct me if I'm wrong. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Keithl - 2015-04-24 7:45 AM Caddies104 - 2015-04-23 10:33 AM We have an Auto Sleeper Symphony on a W reg Peugeot Boxer... Derek colin - 2015-04-23 10:05 PM ...the battery is under the cab floor,.... It may be on X250 onwards but I thought a W reg would be under the bonnet, please correct me if I'm wrong. Keith. Having come back to the thread I had forgotten the details in OP and got fooled by the avatar :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 We repair Motorhome/Caravan charger units from most manufacturers around the World and we can tell the ones left on EHU in long term storage. Most chargers are designed to cope with an average of 2 months a year Motorhome use, if you leave them on for 12 months that can be 6 years life gone in one year. Very few of the chargers installed in Motorhomes shut off when the battery is fully charged. Almost all back down the charge to 13.8v with a small amount of trickle current, not shut off all together. It is still force feeding the battery, albeit a small amount. As a comparison the average quality Car battery (manufacturers original equipment) will last about 8 years. But Classic car owners rarely get more than 3 years out of a battery before it's efficiency drops dramatically. Because, I think, they are left on permanent trickle charge through the Winter. If you can, charge the motorhome battery for a couple of days a month. The frequency and time on charge will depend on the consumers still active. Such as Alarm, Frost Protection Valve, Tracker (some of these can run a battery down in 3 weeks) etc. Try not to let the Habitation Battery drop below 12.6v. Ideally fit Isolation switches and isolate the battery, but even then charge the battery when the voltage gets close to 12.6v or every 3 months if it is a Silver battery that doesn't self discharge. In answer to the original post, even a 12 month old Starter battery will be damaged if it runs flat and is left discharged. I know the battery is a top Bosch and only 2 years old, but if it has ever run flat it will suffer damage that will shorten it's life. Motorhome Starter batteries that are not used much during the Winter typically have a short life as the Alarms run them down very low, or even completely flat. Just checking the battery voltage is not a guarantee the battery is any good. We have a battery in the workshop that shows 12.8v and the Green condition light is as bright as can be, but if you put a 21w bulb across it, the voltage drops to less than 9v in 10 minutes. Remove the Bulb and it creeps back up to 12.8v in about 15 minutes. Passes all conventional battery tests, even giving a good account in a one second 'Drop Test'. It can deliver quite a punch for a few seconds, but ask it to run a load for several minutes and it drops right off. Assuming the connections are all ok, a good test of Starter battery condition is put the Headlights on for about 10 minutes and see if they dim appreciably. Typical headlight bulbs are 55 - 60w each drawing about 10 amps for the two. Big enough to load up the battery but not cause damage. The lights should be as bright after 10 minutes as when you turned them on. If not, the battery should be donated to the Local Church Lead re-roofing appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Hi Thanks for info, very informative, well done..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Hi all Thanks again for all the info, sprayed earth where it connected to body work with WD40 gave it a few taps (technical term for a wallop) waited a few days to see if re charged and.... Yes it did..... Well done Forum!! Guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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