warmstr3 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hi All, I'm new to Motorhoming, and have recently bought a new swift Bolero 680 FB, but I have let the battery go flat (3 weeks of none use), do I have to remove the battery to charge it or can I use one of those battery boosters / engine starters to get it going again?. Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panagah Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 warmstr3 - 2008-01-28 7:22 AM Hi All, I'm new to Motorhoming, and have recently bought a new swift Bolero 680 FB, but I have let the battery go flat (3 weeks of none use), do I have to remove the battery to charge it or can I use one of those battery boosters / engine starters to get it going again?. Bill. Hi Bill, Didi you leave something running? Have you an alarm that is draining the battery? 3 weeks is not a long time in this country fo a battery to go flat if it isnt used. You can get optimum chargers that charge whilst the battery is in situ. However I would try and look into why it has gone flat so quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Cole Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hi Do not remove the battery you can upset the alarm system. If you have a sigma alarm fitted as I have on mine there is a constant drain on the battery. I charge mine every 2 -3 weeks or take the van for a run. On these new vehicles when you switch off at the ignition the ECU puts everything in sleep mode so there is a small drain there to. Its a good idea to check the battery voltages on your control panel in the camper on a regular basis, check if your on board charger charges both batteries at the same time, mine does not, but has a switch to change over batteries and I use this to charge my engine battery, them switch back to leasure battery.I read some where else on the forum that swift recommend that you charge the batteries at least every 3 weeks. If its convenient you can leave the camper hooked up when parked this should solve your problem bearing in mind what charging arrangement you have fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warmstr3 Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks for the tip, I'll check the handbook when I get home from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Bill I take it that it is your engine battery that is going flat. This should not happen. Fault somewhere. You can remove the battery to charge but make sure you have the radio code. (Safest way.) Be very careful using boosters can damage electronics. As your motorhome is new bring it back and have it checked out as this can cause a lot of problems later on. regards, Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Even a Land Rover starter battery gets pretty useless if left for 4 or 5 weeks. Its the Alarm system plus the continuous but small amount taken by the distributed "brains" around the vehicle that all add up and discharge the battery in about this time. One way is to fit a substancial solar panel that can help you live away from hookups during the summer and because of its size still provide enough output to keep up with the quiescent demands during vehicle layup. Assuming its connected to charge both leaiure and starter batterys when laid up. (This is what I use) Failing that a regulat top up trickle charge once a fortnight or so. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Clive is correct some alarms do drain a battery a lot. Over the last few years it has been noted that alarm systems have caused a lot of problems with electronic circuits and caused many a break down. You will notice less alarm systems for sale now. Turn off the alarm and see will the battery run down over a period of time Always be very careful of charging with battery in situ, esp, when flat. Regards, Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argyler Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 If it's just the leisure battery I would check all connections including earth. I had similar on purchase of our van. It was a faulty connector in the lead from the leisure battery. This should hold up for weeks but I do recommend a run every week to ten days to keep all your bits working properly. If it's the van battery then the same applies but get the battery checked if it persists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingpete Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 To avoid upsetting the other computer based components by disconnecting the battery, is it possible to place a battery charger crocodile clips onto the respective terminals connecting wires, so maintaining a current into those components, then disconnect the battery for removal to charge or replace.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Cole Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Wingpete, Its not a good idea to connect a battery charger across the leads and disconnect the battery for a number of reasons. Generally car type battery chargers often only use half wave rectifiers and even the ones with full wave rectification do not have a regulated out put or any smoothing, they rely on the battery to do this. Also some chargers need the input voltage from the battery to work, which is why some chargers will not charge a fully drained battery. the best way is to connect another battery across the out put leads. then disconnect the engine battery, taking the neg- lead of first followed by the poss+lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 If your battery is flat, remove it and charge it. with modern electronics it is far to easy to make a mistake and damage your ECU, If it is flat more than likly you are going to need your radio code anyway. No big deal now. This is much cheeper method than trying to replace an ECU if spiked. Regards, Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 You could always (if near an electricity supply) fit a small maintenace charger. I have two seperate units (one for the leisure and other the vehicle battery) (Halfrauds about £20 each in the sale) and the ends on the batteries are permently fixed. The leads have a quick-fit snap connector to disconnect the units when not in use. I charge a few hours a week set by time clock. The charge is about one amp, falling to a maintence charge of about 0.01 (or less) amps when up to voltage Has worked well over the last couple of years. rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingpete Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I have been aware of a deterioration in the battery storage duration, and tried a battery tender, (not a charger) which is supposed to monitor the drop and top up as neccessary. Now believe, after having a Fiat service and check, that the battery has almost died and needs replacing. But heeding the need to reset components dependant on a continuous feed, am doubtful about taking one battery out and putting another in, so breaking the contnuity of thel power supply, hence my thoughts about bridging the terminals with a charger. But if another battery is introduced as a more sensible manner to control input to components, then that is what I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Components do not always need a continuous supply, in fact a power surge can and will do much more damage. If you look at manfacturers data the recommend if a battery is flat change it with a fully charged one. Times have changed. Regards, Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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