Accipiter Nisus Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I bought a new Accordo 105 just a year ago and on the whole I'm pretty pleased with it. I have though been reading that there are a number of owners who have had trouble with batteries getting hot and the problem has mostly been down to a faulty battery rather than the charger. Since batteries can be damaged due to accidental discharge to a low level, I thought the following information might be of interest to other Elddis owners. If you leave the master switch on, there is a constant drain on the battery of about 200mA. That would take a 100 Ah leisure battery down to 50% in 10 days and completely flatten it in three weeks. You would think though, that turning the master switch off would isolate the battery, but unfortunately this is not the case. The Whale space heater is permanently connected to the battery and can only be isolated by disconnecting the battery or removing the fuse (a 20 amp fuse labelled "Van Battery"). When I measured the current drain on the battery with the master switch off, the standby to the space heater takes around 50mA.Thats about an amp a day and would take a 100Ah battery down to 50% in seven weeks and totally flatten it in three months. It's quite likely that you could drive off after being laid up, plug your van into the site EHU and be totally unaware that the leisure battery is wrecked. I like to leave my Accordo permanently connected to the mains in order to power the smart charger that I use to keep the engine battery in good shape as it is not charged by the van's power supply. (Something else Elddis fail to mention in their hand book). I have overcome the space heater switch problem by fitting a battery isolator and leaving the circuit breaker for the power supply switched off. If you are going to leave your van laid up for some weeks, you would do well to at least disconnect the leisure battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Hmm, interesting, mine is the2014 Prestige Accordo 105 and when it was new I connected.my Fluke 112 meter inline with the battery so I could see exactly what everything uses, when just the master switch is on I remember it was about the same as you observed, but when switched off I got a reading of 1ma which I remembered because I thought what on earth uses 1ma!? Anyway perhaps the wiring has changed now, I recently fitted a Optimate 2 charger for the leisure battery that can only supply 800ma (so no over heating worries there) and switch off the power supply breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everhopeful Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Mine's a 120 of the same age so will be the same arrangement. I found that the space heater control was permanently supplied from the "Fire" fuse. I'm guessing this is to avoid overheat of the heater during the cooling phase if the Master switch is turned off too soon. So, removal of the "Fire" fuse overrides this safeguard, but it's not needed during winter shutdown. i remove this fuse in preference to the main battery fuse so that I still have lights from the battery if needed, but it MUST be restored before normal usage of the heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armstrong2 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Thank you for the warning on battery problems.i have just purchased a new accordo 105.very pleased with it apart from very s hard to to open habitation door needs a hefty pull.any advice would be greatful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Armstrong2 - 2017-03-06 7:38 PM Thank you for the warning on battery problems.i have just purchased a new accordo 105.very pleased with it apart from very s hard to to open habitation door needs a hefty pull.any advice would be greatful Yes rather than just pulling , put your thumb on the door and push. You'll be surprised how much easier it opens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accipiter Nisus Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 I can only speak for my own van which is a 2016 model with Whale under floor space heating. I did though ask Elddis why they had wired the space heater like this and they told me it was to prevent the 12 volt power being removed when the heater is switched off and the fans were in their two minute cooling phase. To be sure, I checked both with a meter in series and a DC clamp meter and got a similar reading on each occasion. What lead me to this was the small flash I got across the battery when I disconnected it in the belief the everything was switched off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 everhopeful - 2017-03-06 7:28 PM Mine's a 120 of the same age so will be the same arrangement. I found that the space heater control was permanently supplied from the "Fire" fuse. I'm guessing this is to avoid overheat of the heater during the cooling phase if the Master switch is turned off too soon. So, removal of the "Fire" fuse overrides this safeguard, but it's not needed during winter shutdown. i remove this fuse in preference to the main battery fuse so that I still have lights from the battery if needed, but it MUST be restored before normal usage of the heater. Yes I think you're right there I now always let the heating fan go off before switching the master off as it goes into fault mode otherwise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armstrong2 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I have tried that method .Can open with a good pull.wife unable to open it which ever way she's tried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Armstrong2 - 2017-03-06 7:51 PM I have tried that method .Can open with a good pull.wife unable to open it which ever way she's tried Try putting your left hand on the door near the catch and pushing then. I think the problem is you're pulling against the peg so it can't slide out from its slot on the frame. My other half has exactly the same problem . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armstrong2 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Thank you.will try that method.just one more question where is water pump on the 105.can hear it but can't find it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Don't know where the water pump is, never had any issues with it. Cue water pump blows up on the next trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accipiter Nisus Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 Once you've leant on the door to take the pressure off the lock and entered your Accordo 105, you'll find the water pump behind the box on the left of the wardrobe. But I had intended this post to be about battery drain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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