Battery probs

[Bucksybaker boy]

Hi All,
We have 2011 Ocean 180se .
We have had it for 18 months now but it keeps getting a flat main battery if left for 2-3 weeks. We had an auto electrician check it out & he couldn’t find a bad enough drain to cause this!
Secondly we are doing the NC 500 around Scotland at the moment & the van wouldn’t start this morning after having the diesel heater on all night! This is the second time this has happened & only seams to be if the heater is used all night.
Any ideas on these problems would be much appreciated thanks

 

[WelshGas]

Hi All,
We have 2011 Ocean 180se .
We have had it for 18 months now but it keeps getting a flat main battery if left for 2-3 weeks. We had an auto electrician check it out & he couldn’t find a bad enough drain to cause this!
Secondly we are doing the NC 500 around Scotland at the moment & the van wouldn’t start this morning after having the diesel heater on all night! This is the second time this has happened & only seams to be if the heater is used all night.
Any ideas on these problems would be much appreciated thanks

Firstly, are the batteries original?
If they are original then at 12 yrs old they are probably charging but not holding a charge.
The engine battery is not used to run any of the camping equipment, but using the front cabin lights by opening the drivers door or front passenger door, using the radio or the sliding door frequently can quickly drain an elderly engine battery.
Likewise, using the Parking Heater with elderly pass their prime Leisure Batteries can be problematic if not on Hookup as if the voltage drops to 11.5v at any time the Parking Heater will shut down. The same will happen to the fridge.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Hi All,
We have 2011 Ocean 180se .
We have had it for 18 months now but it keeps getting a flat main battery if left for 2-3 weeks. We had an auto electrician check it out & he couldn’t find a bad enough drain to cause this!
Secondly we are doing the NC 500 around Scotland at the moment & the van wouldn’t start this morning after having the diesel heater on all night! This is the second time this has happened & only seams to be if the heater is used all night.
Any ideas on these problems would be much appreciated thanks

Is it the battery that’s 18 months old or you have had the van for 18 months.
Could it be the battery has just given up. If it’s the original battery that makes it 12 years old.
Maybe time to bite the bullet and invest in a new one.

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

Is it the battery that’s 18 months old or you have had the van for 18 months.
Could it be the battery has just given up. If it’s the original battery that makes it 12 years old.
Maybe time to bite the bullet and invest in a new one.

We changed the battery just after we got the Cali . So the battery is about 14 months old

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

Firstly, are the batteries original?
If they are original then at 12 yrs old they are probably charging but not holding a charge.
The engine battery is not used to run any of the camping equipment, but using the front cabin lights by opening the drivers door or front passenger door, using the radio or the sliding door frequently can quickly drain an elderly engine battery.
Likewise, using the Parking Heater with elderly pass their prime Leisure Batteries can be problematic if not on Hookup as if the voltage drops to 11.5v at any time the Parking Heater will shut down. The same will happen to the fridge.

Thanks for this.
I am aware of which battery does what but just wondered if there was some others that may have had this.
Our main battery was changed about 14 months ago. The leisure works & holds charge well. Fridge heater etc on all night still have 70-80%

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

Perhaps our main battery although only 14 months old may be faulty? Does any one know if these can be checked even though it is a sealed Bosch battery??

 

[WelshGas]

Perhaps our main battery although only 14 months old may be faulty? Does any one know if these can be checked even though it is a sealed Bosch battery??

Yes they can be faulty or develop a fault, hence the warranty period. It can happen. The Battery can be checked that it functions properly. Just charging to 12.7 volts is not sufficient as it needs to be checked underload.

You say it is a Bosch Battery. Exactly what type and amperage?

Do you have BlueMotion / Stop-Start on the vehicle?

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

I have no blue motion/ stop start & im not sure which Bosch battery or amperage but I will look .
The battery was fitted by the dealer under warranty so I would hope it’s the correct model for the vehicle!

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

This is our battery

 

[Californication69]

Many years ago (32!) us lads would take our fiesta/ metro/ nova to our local motor factor’s and because we had amps and graphic equalisers and lots of speakers / subs we’d kill our batteries.
The local in the motor place would have a large battery testing apparatus like two spikes with a dial in between them and he’d put them on our battery posts to see if the battery was ok.
Our alternator was always ok, but the batttery wouldn’t hold enough charge.
So we updated the battery ah’s ?

Not sure if you can do this test now?

As WG says. Maybe battery faulty.
Or something is draining.
Have you checked alternator voltage into battery ?
(Apologies if you already know)
Whilst engine on, hold voltmeter across both poles and make sure it’s around 14.4 volts

 

[WelshGas]

This is our battery

View attachment 107140

That should do, although it is an economy battery compared to the factory fitted Varta F21,

F21 Varta Silver Dynamic Start-Stop Plus AGM Car Battery 12V 80Ah (580901080) (110 AGM)

F21 VARTA Silver Dynamic AGM Car Battery <i>Innovation with Purpose, Premium Experience, Powerful History</i> VARTA was founded in 1887 Germany, and was established fully in 1904 by delivering the first electric vehicle battery, famously driven by Thomas Edison. Soon after, VARTA delivers the...

www.tayna.co.uk

I would suggest you should get it properly tested .
Also the Alternator should be tested which is easily done. Using a Multimeter across the battery connectors you should get an initial reading of 14.4v or so, with engine running, if the alternator is working correctly. This gradually drops over time as the battery approaches fully charged status but should not be less than 13.4v with engine running.

 

[Steve1]

Many years ago (32!) us lads would take our fiesta/ metro/ nova to our local motor factor’s and because we had amps and graphic equalisers and lots of speakers / subs we’d kill our batteries.
The local in the motor place would have a large battery testing apparatus like two spikes with a dial in between them and he’d put them on our battery posts to see if the battery was ok.
Our alternator was always ok, but the batttery wouldn’t hold enough charge.
So we updated the battery ah’s ?

Not sure if you can do this test now?

As WG says. Maybe battery faulty.
Or something is draining.
Have you checked alternator voltage into battery ?
(Apologies if you already know)
Whilst engine on, hold voltmeter across both poles and make sure it’s around 14.4 volts

They still do battery testing with the probes you mention. It is called a battery drop test and puts a heavy load on the battery, then checks it's voltage while the load is applied.

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

That should do, although it is an economy battery compared to the factory fitted Varta F21,

F21 Varta Silver Dynamic Start-Stop Plus AGM Car Battery 12V 80Ah (580901080) (110 AGM)

F21 VARTA Silver Dynamic AGM Car Battery <i>Innovation with Purpose, Premium Experience, Powerful History</i> VARTA was founded in 1887 Germany, and was established fully in 1904 by delivering the first electric vehicle battery, famously driven by Thomas Edison. Soon after, VARTA delivers the...

www.tayna.co.uk

I would suggest you should get it properly tested .
Also the Alternator should be tested which is easily done. Using a Multimeter across the battery connectors you should get an initial reading of 14.4v or so, with engine running, if the alternator is working correctly. This gradually drops over time as the battery approaches fully charged status but should not be less than 13.4v with engine running.

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

Very helpful thank you Weshgas
I will get this all checked out when we are back from our NC500 trip

 

[Bucksybaker boy]

They still do battery testing with the probes you mention. It is called a battery drop test and puts a heavy load on the battery, then checks it's voltage while the load is applied.

View attachment 107141

Thanks Steve1 another good tip to check when we get back

 

[CaliforniaPhil]

I got one of these a few years ago. It gives you the cca of the battery