pvsdb Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Fairly new to motorhoming and loving it but baffled by electrics. Engine needs to be run every 5 days or so to keep battery level up. Any advice on what is draining it? Both batteries are new. What sequence should I follow to ensure everything is off? What about battery maintainers solar or plug-in? Are they any good? Can they be used away from power supply (I live in a flat, van is parked on road at distance)? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Which batteries, leisure or cab or both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 It would help if you explain a bit more about the electrical setup/components. The most definitive solution would be a battery disconnect switch to completely rule out any loads. But there are probably more options starting with hitting the off switch on the control panel. That is if you are talking about the leisure battery, not the start battery. That one will have many tiny loads going all the time from various computers to possible alarm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvsdb Posted November 7, 2019 Author Share Posted November 7, 2019 Leisure battery stays charged, just engine battery drains. I make sure the power button on the display is off but dont do anything with the Sargent box of tricks which I dont understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Starter battery drain in unavoidable but can be relatively easy to counter with one of the small solar panels that don't even require a regulator. Assuming the battery is under your feet (or passenger) then placing a small panel on some window and connecting to the battery is straightforward enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 spirou - 2019-11-07 3:14 PM Starter battery drain in unavoidable but can be relatively easy to counter with one of the small solar panels that don't even require a regulator. Assuming the battery is under your feet (or passenger) then placing a small panel on some window and connecting to the battery is straightforward enough. As this, cab battery drain is standard, it might vary a bit depending on if/what alarm is fitted. Some form of solar sounds like it might be best for you, a small panel if it will only ever be used for cab, a bigger panel if you might want to use it for leisure as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niktam Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 I have a similar issue with the cab battery not too lasting. Installed by Elddis:- 100w solar Trumar Dual Battery Charger SDC 10/20 YUASA 95 Ah ASM leisure 2017 95 Ah wet cab battery Late 2016 when van chassis was made. Problem is the dual controller is only connected to the leisure battery. Seems sensible to connnect the cab battery up as well to the second output as the controller includes an overcharge facility and is supposed to be an all singing and dancing controller. Can't see any issues but Peugeot say not to do it? Has anyone got this set up for both batteries? Why did Elddis go to the expense of fitting a dual controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potus4388 Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Hi there, I have a 100 watt solar panel om my Majestic 120 (Elddis) with a dual solar regulator fitted, I have set this as follows: 80% of charge to leisure battery 20% of charge to vehicle battery On mine you can see it depending on what type of leisure battery you have, eg AGM/Gel This works quite well for me and helps keep both batteries topped up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 The potential for ‘Euro 5’ Ducatos to flatten their starter-battery was discussed in this 2012 forum thread https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Battery-drain-on-a-new-fiat-2-3-euro5-enginge/28042/ In Paul’s original posting, if "Engine needs to be run every 5 days or so to keep battery level up” means that the motorhome is very reluctant to start after only 5 days of non-use, that really should not be happening. Fitting a battery isolator switch should stop the starter-battery discharging, but would be an irritant. So (as has been advised above) addressing the issue with a reasonably sized solar-panel seems the best approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niktam Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 potus4388 - 2019-11-07 8:08 PM Hi there, I have a 100 watt solar panel om my Majestic 120 (Elddis) with a dual solar regulator fitted, I have set this as follows: 80% of charge to leisure battery 20% of charge to vehicle battery On mine you can see it depending on what type of leisure battery you have, eg AGM/Gel This works quite well for me and helps keep both batteries topped up. Many thanks for the information. l'll wire up the vehicle battery and set the regulator to charge the vehicle battery higher/more than the leisure to make up for the alarm loss. Cable run will be fun though down the duct inside the wardrobe and under the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneroming Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 If your cigarette lighter socket is live when the ignition is off, you can then plug in your solar panel which will keep the engine battery topped up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneroming Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 I have find the best piece of kit to maintain the engine battery, so you should never have a starting problem is, the Battery Master from VANBITZ its the size of a matchbox, fully automatic when connected, its a, just fit and forget. It works by transferring any access charge from the leisure batteries to engine battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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