kelly58 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Last week when in the motorhome I noticed the leisure battery was showing 11volts so I hooked up to mains and after 5 days the battery had only just reached 12volts , but today after a trip of around 80 miles the leisure battery is now showing 13.5volts should the battery get a better charge on hook up than 1volt after 5 days , also the vehicle battery had run down after being stood for only three weeks since the last run out and had to be jump started.The motorhome will not be a year old until next month I have not had any trouble with the vehicle battery all year the only thing switched on was the built in immobiliser I do not have an alarm fitted so I cannot see where else there can be any power drain just the digital clock and the flashing led from the immobiliser. Any ideas please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Hi kelly sorry you are having trouble it was the same for us half term. The lesiure battery showing 13.5 when on the road but then decided to give us trouble. we went for a long drive and recharged but after 15 minutes of parking up again it dropped straight back even after the drive to 11 and at one point 10.5 we ended up going to bed at 9 one night . Have you checked your fridge is on the correct settings? Also have you checked your vehicle battery and leisure for fluid?. Oh and I dont know how true it is but if you dont turn it over regular or they say if you dont use it you loose it ?. worth thinking about . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carioca Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 hi kelly58 it seems something is draining power from battery you hav'nt left fridge on 12v setting when van is parked up have you? my leisure battery was going flat after a few weeks parked up even with control panel turned off, i read on here that fridge left on 12v setting can drain a small amount of power something to do with a live feed to fridge, hope this helps sorry i carnt be more specific electrics aren't my bag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 Funny you should say that yes the fridge was left on 12v I will turn it off and wait and see Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 It sounds like your battery charger is not switched on, fuse gone or charger not working. In most cases the charger should fully charge the battery in 24 hours. If it is not working you should get it back to the dealer while it is still under guarantee. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carioca Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 kelly58 - 2007-11-06 5:10 PM Funny you should say that yes the fridge was left on 12v I will turn it off and wait and see Thanks it might be that the relay is caput as it shouldn't flatten you vehicle battery the relay only opens when ignition is in i think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Hey I said it first :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 KelvinHow long had the van been standing when you originally noticed the low voltage?On mains, the battery should reach full charge in a matter of hours, not days, even with other 12V equipment working. From what you say, it seems the vehicle alternator is doing this, but the mains charger is not. As suggested, with the mains off, locate the leisure battery and check the electrolyte level. If low, top up and try the charger again. However, as the alternator seems to be charging the battery OK, I doubt this is really a problem.Have you switched off some/all of the circuit breakers on your consumer unit, or even accidentlly tripped the main switch via its RCD test button? The charger needs a mains supply to work. The charger is usually fed via one of the mains power circuits, so its circuit breaker must be left on.Check if the 12V appliances are working OK. If they are, and the mains power is definately on to the charger, but the charger is not charging the battery whereas the alterator is, you'll need to take the vehicle back to your dealer for him to check the mains charger unit.The starter battery will lose charge due to radio memory, immobiliser, and quite a bit of other "invisibly" connected bits of electronics. It sounds as though it is not getting any charge other than via the alternator, but this is not conclusive evidence the mains charger isn't working, as not all mains chargers are wired to trickle charge the starter battery. Your manual should make this clear.It is not a good idea to leave the fridge on the 12V position because, with the fridge door in its "storage" psoition, i.e. slightly ajar, the fridge light will be on. That will run your battery flat quite quickly. If, however, the relay had failed, and the battery was trying to run the fridge on 12V, that would have totally flattened the leisure battery in about 4-6 hours. You wouldn't have seen any Volts, leave alone 11! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 Thanks BrianThe vehicle had been stood 3 weeks since last trip , the fridge does not have a light so its not that , I will check manuals regarding what charges what when on hook up.If as you say the leisure battery should charge on hook up in reasonable time I will check connections tomorrow and also put a tester on the leisure battery when on hookup to see if there is any extra current flow failing that its back to good old Brownhills.Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 I think i've made a boob regarding the leisure battery etc, I have checked the manual again today and now realise I have been misled by my ignorance.On the switch panel which incorporates the volt meter there are 2 settings AUX & VEH I thought that VEH meant I was taking power from the leisure battery and AUX was for when I was on hook up , but I am now better informed VEH means the power is taken from the Vehicle battery and AUX means that power is taken from the leisure battery or hook up , so up until now whenever I have been parked up without Hook up I have been draining my vehicle battery and have not used the leisure battery at all thats why when I thought I was charging my leisure battery from the mains hook up it did not apppear to be charging consiquently thats also why the vehicle battery was flat , just shows we are learning all the time does the fact that I am eligable for my bus pass tomorrow excuse my stupidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Well . unless I'm wrong Aux in my camper means the auxillary lighting . I do exactly as you and have never had a problem before and if it was taking from the vehicle battery it certainly never went down ? its only my leisure playing up . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigal55 Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 also check if your aerial booster is is on, sometimes they are wired directly, also do you have an electronic control panel, make sure this is turned off, mine uses 0.4amps on standby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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