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Battery losing charge, Bessacarr E460, 11 plate Ducato


pvsdb

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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.

 

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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