Brinnes Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Hi folks I am a brand new member to the forum having bought an Elddis Majestic 120 (2017) 6 weeks ago. We used it 4 weeks ago with no problems and has has been untouched for the past month. Yesterday I unlocked it and a quiet alarm went off and when I started the engine and after 10 seconds the full alarm kicked in. I also noticed that my leisure batteries seem to be dead as I have no reading from the control panel and no lights etc. I am 100% sure that nothing was left on and the master switch was off. The van also has a solar panel. This is all very new to me as I,m an old VW man and I must admit to knowing nothing about electrics. We plan to use the van at the end of next week for our holidays. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 We have an Elddis prestige 105 bought in 2014. The Later models have the heating system wired directly into the leisure battery so that it doesn't trip the over temp sensor if you suddenly switch off the master switch while the heating is on. Therefore there is a 200ma ish continuous power drain even with the master power switch off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 I have a 2012 Elddis Aspire 255, if I open the habitation door too quick after unlocking it with the remote sometimes the alarm will go off after a few seconds. If the leisure or engine batteries are low the alarm may sence a voltage drop think it's a battery disconnect and trip the alarm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Based on Charles figure of 200mA (0.2A) the drain on the battery would be 0.2A x (24 x 7 x 4)Hrs = 134.4 Ah, which means a seriously discharged habitation battery. In the abscence of further information, I would hazard a guess, and suggest that the alarm was a low battery alarm for the habitation battery. The increase in volume after starting the engine could be due to the charge from the vehicle alternator, raising the voltage delivered to the alarm sounder. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Did you buy the van from a dealers? If so get back in touch with them and get them to sort it out. A 2017 van must still have a valid warranty so dont mess with anything otherwise you might invalidate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 Thanks folks for the replies they have all given me something to go on. I have arranged to borrow a voltage meter tomorrow and check the charge left on the battery.Looks like 2 new leisure batteries, yikes. Obviously things are not as straight forward as I'd imagined. Private sale so no dealer involved. Any other do,s and don't,s would be appreciated. Thanks again, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 Thanks Alan,this makes sense. Does this mean the engine battery will be draining also ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Charles - 2019-06-10 10:15 PM We have an Elddis prestige 105 bought in 2014. The Later models have the heating system wired directly into the leisure battery so that it doesn't trip the over temp sensor if you suddenly switch off the master switch while the heating is on. Therefore there is a 200ma ish continuous power drain even with the master power switch off. The Whale heating system-related issue was discussed in some depth in 2017 here https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Elddis-Accordo-105-switches-and-battery-matters/46506/ with it being said that, with the master-switch ON there was a constant leisure-battery drain of about 200mA, and with the master-switch OFF there was still a constant drain of around 50mA. Either way (as there seem to be no caveats in the Elddis handbooks about this) there’s very real potential for the leisure-battery to be ‘flattened’ if it’s not regularly charged. Advice on charging leisure-batteries is here https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/AdvicePdfs/Datasheet-36.pdf (As the engine of Brian’s motorhome could be started after the vehicle had been unused for a month, it’s reasonable to assume that the drain on the starter-battery is quite small and just what’s normal to maintain radio and ‘dashboard’ settings. It’s still something to keep an eye on though, particularly if, when the motohome is connected to a 240V mains power supply, only the leisure-battery is charged and the starter-battery is not.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Doesn't the manufacturers warranty go with the van so as it's only 2 years old there might be some left. Can you speak to the dealer who originally sold it to the person you bought it from, can't hurt. I would have expected the batteries to have lasted longer than 2 years, maybe there is another problem that needs sorting before fitting new batteries otherwise you might right them off too. Hope you get it sorted soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 Thanks Derek and Steve. Great info on the battery drain Derek thanks for sharing, seems like a pretty poor set up but good to know. Will try the seller Steve but not holding out much hope on that one. Cheers guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Brian, In your initial post, you stated that your MH has a solar panel. This could be open to many interpetations, ranging from a small battery maintainer, to a 100W or larger panel, connected to charge either the habitation, or both batteries. If the latter, while sunshine is in short supply at the moment, I would have expected it to go someway towards maintaining your leisure battery. You mention borrowing a multimeter. These DC clamp on ammeters/multimeters are very useful and have been recommended by other members of this forum. The DC clamp on feature will allow you to check the current in a conductor without disconnecting, provided that you can fit the clamp round a single conductor. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 Thanks Alan I would also have thought the solar panel would have stopped a total drain on the battery. When I was using the van a month ago the reading on the control panel was well over 12v now when I switch it on it is zero with NO movement at all. Maybe Im wrong but I thought they should be some sort of reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 Also Alan I forgot to add that I have 2 leisure batteries. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1951Pete Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 We have a 2013 Autoquest 115 and had a similar problem. I purchased a plug in fuse type meter to check the current drain. I discovered that the main problem was the tank heaters which were running when cold as they have a thermostatic switch which cut in. I resolved this by fitting a switch. Also there was a current drain even when the master control switch was switched off. I discovered that if the battery selector switch is set in the middle position so neither the leisure or vehicle battery is selected there is no current drain. The meter I used was a Gunson type purchased off the internet like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gunson-77069-Automotive-Current-Tester/dp/B002WMQO9A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 Thanks Pete the tank heaters are a possible culprit for the battery drain as this has been mentioned before. If you are talking about the control panel for the battery switch the panel must have been updated as there is no battery switch on mine just a button which gives a reading when pressed then released. Will need to buy 2 new leisure batteries as they are reading 6 and 7 volts (gubbed) but don't want to install them when I don't know what caused the drain in the first place . Thanks again Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Is the design of control-panel as shown in the attached image? You could try seeing if either of the leisure-batteries can be recovered by removing them from the motorhome and using a suitably powerful charger to charge them individually. Given the low voltage readings you’ve obtained the chances are that the batteries are kaput, but you never know... It’s perhaps stating the obvious, but with a holiday deadline fast approaching you may need to obtain and install new batteries without having been able to pin down at this stage what caused the present batteries to go flat. The trouble is that, with the present batteries essentially having zero charge, investigating any constant battery discharge when the control-panel’s master-switch is turned off won’t be possible until charged-up leisure-batteries are in situ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 This is the panel Derek. I will install the batteries and get someone who knows what he's doing to pinpoint the battery drain. Cheers Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Which batteries (make, model and capacity) are the present ‘dead’ ones? Have you decided which replacement batteries to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinnes Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 Hi Derek Yuasa L-36 AGM 12V 95Ah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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