colleen Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I have an autosleeper Inca. last weekend while on a three day trip with no electric hookup, the onboard computer indicated that the vehicle battery was dangerously low. this intrigues me, as I surely thought that if any battery was to be low, it would be the leisure battery as it was working the tv,lights etc. I was after driving the vehicle for sixty miles so surely it would have been well charged up. the hanbook does not give much info on the 12volt system. could it be that the wiring is wrong? or am I just showing myself up as the NOVICE Motorhomer that I am. can any of you veteran MH's help. thank you Colleen :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Hi Colleen, Don't know about your specific motorhome, but ours has a switch that switches between the vehicle and the leisure battery, if you leave it to long switched to vehicle battery it will run it down. We tend to alternate between the two at different times to preserve both batteries as long as possible. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 [QUOTE]colleen - 2006-11-03 10:38 AM I have an autosleeper Inca. last weekend while on a three day trip with no electric hookup, the onboard computer indicated that the vehicle battery was dangerously low. this intrigues me, as I surely thought that if any battery was to be low, it would be the leisure battery as it was working the tv,lights etc. I was after driving the vehicle for sixty miles so surely it would have been well charged up. the hanbook does not give much info on the 12volt system. could it be that the wiring is wrong? or am I just showing myself up as the NOVICE Motorhomer that I am. can any of you veteran MH's help. thank you Colleen :-S[/QUOTE] Colleen, I can't help with your problem but we have a Van Bitz battery master fitted that links both engine & leisure batteries. The device will not allow the engine battery to discharge below a certain level. Don't know all the tech details but never had battery problem in the 6/7 years we have been using the system. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 You should only use the starter battery to power the van in an emergency. It prolongs the life of a leisure battery if you use it quite a lot and then recharge it. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 To solve the problem of the vehicle battery going flat, particularly in winter when there is less van usage, I have just connected the positive terminal of the vehicle battery to the positive terminal of the leisure battery - 5 amp fuse in-line, as suggested by Clive some time ago. I can then charge via the mains hook-up and the ZIG X-3 charger. However, I do not know if charging will stop when the batteries are at full charge with this particular charger, nor if the two batteries charge at the same time. Can anyone help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hello JohnD, Whilst I accept the solution of coupling the two batteries together as perfectly valid I prefer my own solution that has been the norm for Classic Car enthusiasts and Bikers for years. This entails using a small four stage charger (Optimate) that is permanantly connected to the vehicle battery, can be unplugged inside the cab and put away when not in use, whilst on hook up. Using one of these it continuously tests and checks the battery and also 'exercises' it, using this I have never had a flat battery and never had one let me down and you don't have to worry about overcharging as the Optimate is programmed internally to look after everything by monitoring the battery. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hi JohnD, Yes, with your fused connection to link both the batteries they will both charge. They will charge to 13.8 volts and will not overcharge and can be left indefinetly connected to this voltage. The one problem you can get is if one of the batteries is in a poor state of charge it may tend to bring the other battery down until they are balanced and then they will charge together. If one battery is very flat then the fuse will blow. So best to top up liesure a bit to get the voltage up before connecting together. The fuse is also there to protect the lead for the connection, should you accidently try starting the engine and it will try and draw a very heavy current from both batteries. Another method instead of relying on the fuse is to fit a lamp in series, If you attempt to start or one battery is very low on charge then the lamp just illumuinates and reduces the max charge current. It will reduce the charge curremt to vehicle battery thiough as it adds impedance to the circuit. I agree with previous comments you should not use the vehicle battery for powering the liesure side of affairs. It is also not good for your starter battery to keep discharging it in this way. The liesure battery is design to cope with constant discharging and recharging better before what they call sulphation occurs, In a starter battery it is design to cope with very high curent demands followed by a recharge immediatly from the alternator so is very rarely in a non fully (or almost) condition. Hope this helps to explain things. Jon. edit - just corrected some spelling typos. probably still loads!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuwsmith Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hi ColleenYour van battery shouldn't be dangerously low after a 3 day stop. You don't say if you were using the van radio a lot during this time. If so that may account for it.Does your van battery go low when parked up for 3 days at home? If it does and you haven't left anything switched on in the van it suggests a faulty battery or wiring fault.Did your leisure battery also show a discharge during this 3 days? If it didn't and you have been using a television etc then it seems more than likely that you are somehow using the vehicle battery instead.If they both went dangerously low then perhaps you have a problem with the relay device that links the two batteries when the van alternator is running. I think it is not unheard of for these to "stick" in the connected condition.If you haven't got a diagram of the van conversion wiring, have a word with Autosleepers, I am sure they must have details. Then find a friendly electrically minded person who should be able to find the problem with the help of a diagram.I hope this helps, I am not a veteran MHer but am almost a veteran of the school of life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Stuwsmith, Colleen said in her post she was using TV, lights etc. so sounds like she was just switched to use the Starter battery. I don't think any fault exists, just user understanding of how to use the system. Jon. edit corrected name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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