Battery care

[Alpen]

Hi guys.

I haven’t used my Cali as much as I would have liked since the summer, and no sign of getting out much in the next couple of months either…

I’m a bit paranoid about battery care.. should I be doing more than plugging it in on the 16A socket once every 4-6 weeks?

Thanks knowledgable people

 

[WelshGas]

Hi guys.

I haven’t used my Cali as much as I would have liked since the summer, and no sign of getting out much in the next couple of months either…

I’m a bit paranoid about battery care.. should I be doing more than plugging it in on the 16A socket once every 4-6 weeks?

Thanks knowledgable people

Handbook says 12-24 hrs main charging monthly. Or you can just leave it plugged in.

 

[dspuk]

Take it for a drive once a week?

 

[The Little Red Cali]

Use a combination of both plugging in and max charge. Used as a daily so it’s a little easier to keep battery topped up.

 

[colintfcolintf]

This scenario is crying out for a pub stopover somewhere - take it for a drive and treat yourselves

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I charge my leisure batteries for 24hours once a month regardless if the van is being used or not. Leisure batteries are very expensive and not worth leaving them to get flat after having them replaced under warranty, but that was over 6 years ago now I always check them regularly making sure they don’t go below 60/70%.

 

[Alpen]

I was wondering whether it was worth investing in a trickle charger.. do you know if the mains socket on the side of the van is only for leisure batteries tho? Presumably the engine battery is completely standalone?

 

[barney108vwcali]

I was wondering whether it was worth investing in a trickle charger.. do you know if the mains socket on the side of the van is only for leisure batteries tho? Presumably the engine battery is completely standalone?

When on hook up it’ll change leisure batteries then trickle engine battery

 

[Jay586]

My tracker is telling me my batteries are low all the time, so this is a helpful thread. I have a small smart Ctek charger too but I've been a bit wary about attaching it, so the van is currently plugged in via the EHU.

 

[Alpen]

I reckon I’ll just keep using the EHU to charge then too… good to know that plugging in the EHU also trickle charges the engine battery.. I hadn’t realised that.. also good to know it’s safe to leave it plugged in unattended.. I’ve always been a little wary of leaving it plugged in for too long.

Thanks all

 

[Ch1pbutty]

It worth fitting a solar panel and these will keep your leisure batteries in good condition especially if van is not used that often.

Not all Calis charge battery engine from EHU, but fairly easy to test/check with a cheap voltage tester; plug into EHU, and put the below on the 12v outlet for the engine battery, if voltage increases to above 13v, then its charging

 

[nigpdreadingfc]

It worth fitting a solar panel and these will keep your leisure batteries in good condition especially if van is not used that often.

Not all Calis charge battery engine from EHU, but fairly easy to test/check with a cheap voltage tester; plug into EHU, and put the below on the 12v outlet for the engine battery, if voltage increases to above 13v, then its charging

View attachment 142617

I thought all the 12v sockets ran from the leisure batteries, not the engine battery? I may be wrong, though??

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I thought all the 12v sockets ran from the leisure batteries, not the engine battery? I may be wrong, though??

Depends on the year. Which might help explain why VW don’t supply a fuse diagram in the handbook.

 

[dspuk]

It worth fitting a solar panel and these will keep your leisure batteries in good condition especially if van is not used that often.

Not all Calis charge battery engine from EHU, but fairly easy to test/check with a cheap voltage tester; plug into EHU, and put the below on the 12v outlet for the engine battery, if voltage increases to above 13v, then its charging

View attachment 142617

I believe WG did a poll a while ago and the consensus from that was most apart from the very oldest trickle from the EHU.

I bought one of these and it was I ended up realising all our (22) 6.1 12V, including “in front of the seat” are powered by the leisures.

The trickle is mentioned in the manual (which from recent posts on a variety of subjects not many bother to read) and we found it worked after mildly flattening our stater in France and popping on EHU for a few hours to charge.

The exact circumstances of when it trickles is a mystery I’ve not bothered to unravel.

We did once flatten our starter to dead as a dead thing and no amount of EHU helped and even the AA chap had to use the big boy jumper on his van.

TBH we have a Roger panel, and over winter and when idle it’s always kept everything topped just fine with the solar trickle to starter wired in.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

@Alpen
Sounds like you will be ok if you stick to 4 weeks.
Mine used to last 6months without plugging in and survived 16years. My new expensive replacements went nearly flat after 6 weeks and seem pretty knackered already. I don’t really see how they qualify as leisure batteries if they don’t last 6 weeks. People put these in boats and caravans. Do they plug them in every 4 weeks? I spent £600 and didn’t particularly want to spend another £800 on solar so now I have some dead 6 month old batteries that will barely last a weekend.
I genuinely should have kept my 16yr old originals. They would get us through 5 days camping.

 

[Hawthorn37]

I thought all the 12v sockets ran from the leisure batteries, not the engine battery? I may be wrong, though??

The front 12v socket on the dash is fed by the engine battery.

 

[jonnystrong2000]

i have a 2016 T6 and the front 12v socket is fed from the engine battery. The 240v leisure plug in lead does trickle this battery. I also have solar (110W single panel - thanks Roger) that powers the leisure batteries, so use a small CREK plugged into the AC inverter to connect to the front 12V cigarette socket and this works really well and discreetly..

 

[deecee]

@Alpen
Sounds like you will be ok if you stick to 4 weeks.
Mine used to last 6months without plugging in and survived 16years. My new expensive replacements went nearly flat after 6 weeks and seem pretty knackered already. I don’t really see how they qualify as leisure batteries if they don’t last 6 weeks. People put these in boats and caravans. Do they plug them in every 4 weeks? I spent £600 and didn’t particularly want to spend another £800 on solar so now I have some dead 6 month old batteries that will barely last a weekend.
I genuinely should have kept my 16yr old originals. They would get us through 5 days camping.

I Agree, I cant understand why the need to plug in so often. I live in a flat so cant do so and have to rely on driving. Problem is if I fly off for 2 weeks abroad, Ill probably have problems with the battery??? Cant be right. Surely its not beyond the wit of man to design something that will last more than a couple of weeks? I ve just got my cali and when away have to rely on my neighbour to drive it around for a bit. Unfortunately its in an underground car park so solar panels are a no no too, help !!!

 

[Danish_David_T5]

If you go use Google to take you to the battery care section of the Varta website there is some good advice about charging. Varta are a past OEM for VW but most battery manufacturers have similar advice. You will usually find a data sheet for your exact battery and advice how best to care for it. On mine, Trickle charging (leaving battery on a low continuous amp rate is not preferred) and best to charge either when standing volts reach a fixed point or a quicker 5amp charge once every 3-4 weeks. I once saw an electric diagram for the cali but I think it only covered T6. This helps you see how your starter batteries in. Someone on here may have the diagram. On my T5.1 the starter battery is independent and does not charge from hook up but your model may be different. Roger (Solar) sells two types of system. One links in to charge the starter. The other, like mine, just tops up the leisure. Hope this helps. Someone may be able to post the electric wiring diagrams.

 

[WelshGas]

If you go use Google to take you to the battery care section of the Varta website there is some good advice about charging. Varta are a past OEM for VW but most battery manufacturers have similar advice. You will usually find a data sheet for your exact battery and advice how best to care for it. On mine, Trickle charging (leaving battery on a low continuous amp rate is not preferred) and best to charge either when standing volts reach a fixed point or a quicker 5amp charge once every 3-4 weeks. I once saw an electric diagram for the cali but I think it only covered T6. This helps you see how your starter batteries in. Someone on here may have the diagram. On my T5.1 the starter battery is independent and does not charge from hook up but your model may be different. Roger (Solar) sells two types of system. One links in to charge the starter. The other, like mine, just tops up the leisure. Hope this helps. Someone may be able to post the electric wiring diagrams.

On my T5.1 180 the Starter Battery was definitely trickle charged, once the Leisure Batteries were fully charged and on Float. Proven with multiple Voltage measurements of both Leisure and Engine Batteries.

 

[nigpdreadingfc]

The front 12v socket on the dash is fed by the engine battery.

It isn't on my Sept 2020 6.1, as tested by my meter.
Seems like VW hadn't kept to a standard wiring protocol during this time

 

[Calibrator]

I recently replaced my old leisure batteries in my 2014 SE with 2 Varta LA80's. I noticed that my starter battery (original) was getting sluggish and when I tested it with my battery tester it said half charge. I connected up the mains charging lead for 24 hrs and the tester showed starter battery to be full, which proves it must receive a trickle charge