Transit batteries.

[tedford]

I have been trying to charge the forward of the twin batteries under the front seat of my 57plate Trendscout. Batteries have been there from new. I am clamping the clips on the battery itself, but it will only "charge" at about 6 volts. When I run the engine the forward battery charges so I am puzzled. I know this because the remote key will work after running but after half an hour the remote will not work. A new battery has been fitted in the remote key and it is well charged up.

I realise a new battery may be required but would be interested to find out why the 6v "charging".

[Derek Uzzell]

If you don't get a definite explanation here - it is a very specific technical enquiry - try asking on the Ford Transit Forum.

[aandncaravan]

If the batteries are 10 years old they are unlikely to be in the peak of condition!!

If you using a decent mains/230v Car charger to try and charge them, the charger will probably detect the batteries are past it and shut down. You are therefore likely to see only the battery voltage, not it being charged, hence the 6v?

 

The Alternator is not so intelligent, it will just try it's best to charge them untill it overloads and breaks.

 

Suggest you look to replacing both batteries with Bosch or Varta Silver batteries?

Regardless of what the issue actually is and my guess is wrong, 10 year old batteries are going to be rubbish and will distort any test results.

 

 

Don't know if the Ford 'Intelligent Alternator charging' will have been disabled on your Transit when it was converted to a Motorhome (as it should have been) but if it is active you must fit Silver based batteries, conventional batteries will be overcharged and have a very short life.

The Bosch/Varta Silver Powerframe batteries should be a lot cheaper (yet better) than the Ford item.

 

I think the correct battery is a Varta LFD75? Details here so you can check them against your existing batteries :

Capacity (C20) 75 Ah

Length 278 mm

Width 175 mm

Height inc. terms 190 mm

These are Dual purpose batteries, Starter and Deep Cycle. They will tolerate a Motorhome standing idle for longer than a pure Starter battery.

 

Tayna have them at £79, but be warned Tayna 'Sales team' have a habit of trying to convince the customer to buy an inferior battery, maybe one that gives them a higher profit margin?

Last week we bought two lots of Varta LFD 90's and the first lot they tried to insist we must buy Exide Gels, at double the cost, even though the 1994 Hymer only had an old fashioned charger suitable for Wet batteries. The second time they said their Enduroline were better but cheaper!!

 

Tayna are cheap and efficient, so long as you don't listen to their sales team who don't have a clue.

Avoid their 'own brand' Enduroline at all costs.

 

The Bosch and Varta Silver Powerframe batteries are cheaper than the very expensive Ford option, yet being better in every way : cranking amps, capacity, life time, efficiency, voltage, even a longer guarantee.

 

 

 

 

[aandncaravan]

I received an email over the weekend re the above post asking why a Motorhome Starter battery also needs to be a Dual purpose Deep Cycle battery, because I wrote,

"These are Dual purpose batteries, Starter and Deep Cycle. They will tolerate a Motorhome standing idle for longer than a pure Starter battery".

 

 

The answer is they don't need to be any thing other than a conventional Starter battery, however, many Motorhomes use their Starter battery very differently to a Car.

 

A Car tends to get used every few days so the Starter battery is always up to full voltage.

 

A Motorhome may stand idle for weeks with the Starter battery running down much lower than a Car Starter battery would. In these circumstances a Motorhome Starter battery that will also tolerate discharges down to lower voltages will last much longer. Provided it isn't allowed to discharge too far.

 

Because it is also faster charging than most batteries it is likely to get back up to a fuller charge on the short journeys Motorhomes are used for in 'Winter' months than a standard Starter battery that has run down while standing.

 

Hence why we say on the Fiat/Merc based Motorhomes to fit Varta LFD90's 'under the bonnet' as well as the habitation area. The 'cranking amps' of the LFD 90 exceeds most quality standard fit Starter Batteries, particularly so when measured at lower temperatures, making it a better Starter battery than most Starter batteries when it counts in mid Winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bulletguy]

aandncaravan - 2017-07-03 10:37 AM

 

I received an email over the weekend re the above post asking why a Motorhome Starter battery also needs to be a Dual purpose Deep Cycle battery, because I wrote,

"These are Dual purpose batteries, Starter and Deep Cycle. They will tolerate a Motorhome standing idle for longer than a pure Starter battery".

 

 

The answer is they don't need to be any thing other than a conventional Starter battery, however, many Motorhomes use their Starter battery very differently to a Car

Andy,

 

The leisure batt i have is supposedly "dual purpose" but in the spec it stated "can be used as starter" eg if your starter batt won't crank the engine over. I thought that's what it meant?

 

It wasn't expensive (though since i bought mine his prices have increased) and my first failed after just under 4 years. It was replaced with a brand new one without any fuss or quibble.This is the make/type and place i bought from (mail delivery).

http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/leisure-batteries/130ah-xplorer-leisure-battery/

[aandncaravan]

Not come across that actual 130Ah size battery before, but we have cut open the 110Ah version a few times.

 

Our assessment is that the 110Ah version is a budget Starter battery based unit.

So suggest your battery is actually more of a Starter battery than you think, not just capable of helping out the front Starter battery.

 

Most of the budgets tend to be 'Starter' based construction, rather than old style Leisure deep cycling battery construction. As you would expect of a Starter based battery, they tend to have Starter battery cranking amp figures around the 650- 700amp mark.

 

So while it will be adequate for Starting a Motorhome engine, it definitely isn't what I would describe as a Deep Cycle, Dual Purpose battery that we were was suggesting should be used above.

Probably not even the equal of the standard Fiat/Ford starter battery which tend to be high quality units.

 

 

The Xplorer lists it's technology as Calcium based, more often used on low maintenance Starter batteries where Calcium helps to reduce Water loss to negligible levels in a Starter battery. However, the same level of water loss is unlikely to be the case when used as a cycling Leisure battery, where fluid loss is likely to be more significant.

 

Therefore strange the manufacturer has sealed the battery so it can't be topped up?

Most people might expect a leisure battery with this technology to lose a fair bit of fluid. probably enough to dry it out inside three years of Motorhome use?

 

I would suggest that type of battery would be more at home under the bonnet of a Car, that is always charged up and rarely discharged, than in the habitation area of a Motorhome?

I would also expect it's capacity to drop quite significantly, just in the first year if it gets any real Motorhome use?

 

 

It is a shame that the above applies to most budget batteries advertised as Dual Purpose batteries, they are generally not the best Starter battery or the best Leisure battery.

It is only because the Varta LFD/Bosch L range are so technologically advanced that they can be exceptional at both and £10 cheaper than the Xplorer listed above!!

£91 for the Varta LFD90's we bought last week versus the £103 on the link to Alpha.