Battery life when using Fridge - VW are telling me 1 day on my 2yr old T6 Ocean

[Marcuk03]

@Marcuk03 , do remember to update your Vehicle in your profile please.

Ive literally just done that

 

[WelshGas]

My Van has now gone into VW Breeze for them to assess it so i should get an answer one way or another very soon....
Ive also opened a case with VW customer support....so lets see what transpires..

When the Dealership said the fridge would only last 24 hrs, technically they were correct but practically they were wrong.
On the Ocean the leisure battery capacity is 150 ampp hours. 50% of that is usable before fridge battery protection switches off the fridge. If the fridge runs continuously it uses about 3 amp/hr, so would last 24 hrs consuming 72 amps.
But a compressor fridge is temperature controlled and the compressor is switched on/off so is only consuming power for about 20% of the time so about 15 amps/24 hrs giving a run time of 5 days. This all depends on ambient temperature, temperature level selected for the fridge etc; and other power consumption.

 

[Marcuk03]

When the Dealership said the fridge would only last 24 hrs, technically they were correct but practically they were wrong.
On the Ocean the leisure battery capacity is 150 ampp hours. 50% of that is usable before fridge battery protection swit ches off the fridge. If the fridge runs continuously it uses about 3 amp/hr, so would last 24 hrs consuming 72 amps.
But a compressor fridge is temperature controlled and the compressor is switched on/off so is only consuming power for about 20% of the time so about 15 amps/24 hrs giving a run time of 5 days. This all depends on ambient temperature, temperature level selected for the fridge etc; and other power consumption.

@WelshGas thank you, thats a really succinct explaination of how they work and why they should last much longer than 1 day. In fact, fantastic insights from everyone here. Very helpful. I hope i dont have to take this battle back to customer support but theyve told me i can reopen a case if no joy with the dealer.

 

[calibusje]

I think WelshGas has given the right explanation: I can only say about the fridge in our T4 westfalia: it switches off and on many times when necessary; that's how a compressor fridge works; and always cold beer
I hope nothing else is going on.
Greetings

 

[Marcuk03]

\so VW breeze have told me they cannot find any faults with either the batteries or the fridge, which to be honest doesn't surprise me. But now I have no where to go with this which is really annoying

Does anyone know how i can resolve this from here? I dont really want to fork out for new batteries myself especially if the issue is somewhere else in the van.

 

[Calimili]

Are you sure there is no other draw? If you charge it overnight and leave the fridge off, will the batteries hold their charge after a couple of days of being disconnected from the ehu?

 

[Marcuk03]

Are you sure there is no other draw? If you charge it overnight and leave the fridge off, will the batteries hold their charge after a couple of days of being disconnected from the ehu?

Yep the batteries seem to be fine when the fridge is off but they are only being tested with the lights and roof usage only .

that said VW have called me back since and asked to do some more tests on the van so hopefully something will be found

 

[flying banana]

It sounds like a daft question but you do realise that when the compressor stops it doesn't mean the fridge has cut out. ? Does the orange light stay on?

 

[Marcuk03]

It sounds like a daft question but you do realise that when the compressor stops it doesn't mean the fridge has cut out. ? Does the orange light stay on?

no the orange light doesnt stay on.
The fridge just cuts out and the orange light is off and the volts are down to around 11.5v ish-

 

[flying banana]

Ignore vw and do a few checks yourself. Go for the cube fuses first . You need to disconnect these to test them because if you measure each side of them the meter will read a voltage as the batteries are in parallel. Although you may spot a different voltage by doing this which would be a clue. So if you got say 11.5 v one side of the fuse and 12.2 at the other side then the fuse is shot

 

[Lightning]

no the orange light doesnt stay on.
The fridge just cuts out and the orange light is off and the volts are down to around 11.5v ish-

Your batteries sound kaput to me. VW tested mine and said they were ok, when they clearly were not. I ended up replacing mine myself which solved the problems.

 

[Calimili]

Yep the batteries seem to be fine when the fridge is off but they are only being tested with the lights and roof usage only .

that said VW have called me back since and asked to do some more tests on the van so hopefully something will be found

What voltage do you read after 3 days since the last charge, without using fridge or anything else?

 

[Marcuk03]

Your batteries sound kaput to me. VW tested mine and said they were ok, when they clearly were not. I ended up replacing mine myself which solved the problems.

yep exactly what im thinking.
im hoping they find something and i can persuade them to change them under warranty. Apparently when they sold it to us it was fully checked etc and working so i believe i have case. But at least if i know its the batteries i can change them myself if i have to and not worry about the more expensive fridge being at fault.

 

[Marcuk03]

What voltage do you read after 3 days since the last charge, without using fridge or anything else?

once i get it back from VW i'll do some of my own testing. theyve asked to keep it in a bit longer now for further tests

 

[2into1]

Apparently when they sold it to us it was fully checked

Funniest thing I've read all week I'm afraid. They clean them up and sell 'em on.

 

[TripleBee]

Batteries fully charged should give at least +13V, mine doe 13,4V. In my opinion your batteries must have had a bad treat...

Don't know what batteries you have, but a fully charged battery in my van gives me about 12,8 - 12,9V. You always have to wait a few hours after charging to let the battery come at ease, and that will be less than 13V.

 

[TripleBee]

What voltage do you read after 3 days since the last charge, without using fridge or anything else?

I will still have at least 12,6V. And that is on 11 year old batteries that have never been treated well.
Only since this year I am plugging in at the weekends.

 

[steve_b]

5-6 days , 1 day something is clearly wrong.
This is on my 2008 SE, the batteries have been replaced as they were 12 years old, but I can't believe that any newer vehicle would perform worse.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Don't know what batteries you have, but a fully charged battery in my van gives me about 12,8 - 12,9V. You always have to wait a few hours after charging to let the battery come at ease, and that will be less than 13V.

The engine must have been running, recently stopped or still plugged into EHU to get readings above 13v

 

[Marcuk03]

Vw have still not found anything wrong but after my constant badgering and persistence they have swapped the batteries for new ones under warranty which I’m pleased about

they’ve asked me to test and feedback results.

 

[WelshGas]

Vw have still not found anything wrong but after my constant badgering and persistence they have swapped the batteries for new ones under warranty which I’m pleased about

they’ve asked me to test and feedback results.

If they had been so sure that there was nothing amiss they wouldn't have agreed to swap the batteries. Just trying to save face.

 

[Marcuk03]

If they had been so sure that there was nothing amiss they wouldn't have agreed to swap the batteries. Just trying to save face.

Indeed. I think it also helped my case having a good grasp of the battery capabilities and how the maths just didn’t stack up.
So thanks to everyone here who helped out with their knowledge & experiences

Mind you I’m still not sure if it’s resolved yet but next few days I’ll test it at home.

 

[WelshGas]

Indeed. I think it also helped my case having a good grasp of the battery capabilities and how the maths just didn’t stack up.
So thanks to everyone here who helped out with their knowledge & experiences

Mind you I’m still not sure if it’s resolved yet but next few days I’ll test it at home.

Let us know the outcome.

 

[dave6779]

Hi all,

Myelf and partner have just decided to take the plunge and buy a 2018 T6 Ocean which we love but we are finding that the fridge will only run for 24hrs before it turns itself off.
(this is after ive charged it up overnight on hookup)

Ive got it booked into VW breeze for a checkup tomorrow (as its under warranty) but after chatting to the service dept they are telling me it will only run the fridge for 24hrs when NOT on hookup which i think is nonsense.

From what ive read and been told on here the fridge should last for 4-5 days without hookup unless the batteries have perished.

Can anyone tell me where best to get to official confirmation of the statistics for these batteries to support my argument?

Ours is 2017, it’s at least 4 days, it’s never cut out - I never even noticed honestly. I left it on this summer after a day at the beach and we’re wfh and it was still on 4 days later when I went out to the shops and realised lol (I always get the milk and other chilled stuff in there in the way back from the shops, that’s when I noticed). Hope they do something about it. Honestly, I’ve found VW are terrible at customer service post sale, even if you’re paying it’s like you’re a hassle to them lol.

 

[andrew bazeley]

Until last year I was running my fridge (without hookup) on the original 2008 batteries, and it lasted 3-4 days before running out.