Battery Status

[Kris Emery]

OK I am trying to understand what the status of my batteries are from the control panel. With the motor off the image I get is:


Now I assume the upper central panel reflects the status of the motor battery. That is 90% capacity voyage 12.5V discharge current 0.2 amp. So far so good?

Now the second battery image (bottom right corner) according to the hand book is "Bar display in the battery capacity symbol". Does any one know
(a) which battery is this referring to? Motor or Leisure?
(b) Does the the symbol change if the capacity is lower (just like the water tank symbols?

I ask because I would like to monitor the leisure batteries' condition.

Advice please? Thanks

 

[jts46]

a leisure batteries
b it means you are running everything off leisure batteries, symbol change to plug top when on ehu

 

[Hotel California]

The 90% 12,5v refers to the lesure bats.
The bat. icon on the lower right refers to "running on bats. " and changes in to a two pin plug symbol when plugged in 220v as said per above .

There's no way of checking the engine batery on the controlpanel.

 

[Kris Emery]

The 90% 12,5v refers to the lesure bats.
The bat. icon on the lower right refers to "running on bats. " and changes in to a two pin plug symbol when plugged in 220v as said per above .

There's no way of checking the engine batery on the controlpanel.

Many thanks for the quick response,

OK so clear then no visible status on engine battery on the control panel.

So when the engine is running I get the following image:


So I can interpret this as leisure batteries on generator (alternator) producing 13.1 V and a charge current here of 16.6 amps.

Question: Referring to the excellent Loz diagram below:


Is the 16.6 amps that produced by the alternator for both the motor and leisure batteries? Or is this measured on the leisure battery side of the split charge relay?

Thanks for any input here.

 

[jts46]

Both engine and leisure batteries

 

[Eber123]

Good morning ,

Thank you for the questions and thank you for the answers.

I always have the battery status on the control panel on display - even if I am not so clear what the information mean.

With the few questions / answers I have learned more than reading the manual three times.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Wesel]

Both engine and leisure batteries

Are you sure? I have always read that the control panel only indicates the voltage and current of the leisure batteries

 

[Loz]

You are both right, because whilst the alternator is charging the split charge relay has all the batteries connected together, although you are only reading the current going to the leisure batteries.

 

[Kris Emery]

You are both right, because whilst the alternator is charging the split charge relay has all the batteries connected together, although you are only reading the current going to the leisure batteries.

Not sure I have quite understood this.

I can understand that when on the generator that if the split charge relay has both sets of batteries connected - essentially three batteries in parallel. In which case the voltage appearing across the battery terminals will be the same. However depending on the charged status of each battery the current flowing into it will be different.

So the question is where is the ammeter (measuring the current) placed? Is it on the generator output before the split charge relay or after the split charge relay on the leisure battery side?

From the johntowers46 answer it is before the split charge relay - and from the Loz answer it is after. So I am a bit confused. I would have thought that then ammeter would be after split charge relay to also measure the leisure battery discharge current when the generator is off. Or am I missing something here?

 

[Loz]

The ammeter shunt is only on the leisure batteries as per the diagram above so the camper display is only showing the leisure battery charge/drain.

The Starter battery has its own shunt and is used to control the alternator output and regenerative charge etc. but there is no display for this. (unless you have vcds and pc to hand)

With the batteries all joined in parallel current will also flow between the batteries so with only 16amps being pushed into the leisure batteries (in parallel with the starter battery) you can safely assume that all batteries are at a similar state of charge.

You could have a starter battery lower than the leisure battery, say after a few nights camping on hookup and there could be more current being absorbed by the starter battery until thins have evened out a bit, also current will also flow out of the leisure batteries back across the relay to the starter battery and that is why you occasionally see a larger negative value on the camper display.

 

[Kris Emery]

OK that is clear for me now.I did not spot the ammeter Shunt on your diagram. Thanks very much.

Whilst you are there there is, on your diagram, a dotted red line from the battery charger to the Starter battery. Is that a "trickle charge" or can it be used to charge a flat(wish) Starter battery? I.e how many amps is it rated at?

 

[Wesel]

On this diagram we can better understand the connections between batteries, alternator and uses.
The shunt is marked "N162". This is a 0.2 ohm resistor in series in the circuit. By measuring the voltage drop at its terminals, we have a measure of the intensity that passes through it.
This diagram is relative to the VW T5, but it is certainly very close to what is installed on the T6.

 

[Loz]

OK that is clear for me now.I did not spot the ammeter Shunt on your diagram. Thanks very much.

Whilst you are there there is, on your diagram, a dotted red line from the battery charger to the Starter battery. Is that a "trickle charge" or can it be used to charge a flat(wish) Starter battery? I.e how many amps is it rated at?

yes it is a trickle charge and only has a 5a fuse. (was subject to a discussion recently as VW technical were not aware it existed until it was proved)

 

[Kris Emery]

On this diagram we can better understand the connections between batteries, alternator and uses.
The shunt is marked "N162". This is a 0.2 ohm resistor in series in the circuit. By measuring the voltage drop at its terminals, we have a measure of the intensity that passes through it.
This diagram is relative to the VW T5, but it is certainly very close to what is installed on the T6.
View attachment 41708

The positioning of N162 would only reflect the current consumed by the devices i.e. fridge etc running on the leisure batteries. It would not show the charging current when the motor is on and the generator running. For it to do this it would need to be connected to the -ve battery terminal and the earth stud. This is the case on the Loz T6 diagram so your diagram probably reflects the T5 case. Thanks though as it continues to provide insight.

 

[homerorchid]

Not sure if this is totally on thread but does anyone know if the leisure battery on my 3 yr old touring caravan is being charged by my T6 Ocean when towing

 

[homerorchid]

Does anyone have a battery status chart eg 13.6 = 100% etc etc. Thought I saw one on forum in the past but I couldn't find it sorry

 

[Ch1pbutty]

 

[homerorchid]

Thank you Ch1pbutty, much appreciated

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I think one of the most important things to note is that you must put your batteries on hookup at least once a month. Lots forget to do this and can be a very expensive mistake. In the summer months when you are on a campsite they get a good topping up. But if it’s left standing for long periods over the winter they will need their 24 hour charge once a month. I found out the hard way...

 

[andyinluton]

Not sure if this is totally on thread but does anyone know if the leisure battery on my 3 yr old touring caravan is being charged by my T6 Ocean when towing

It depends on how your towing socket has been wired.
I have seen a number of posts on other forum about VW and Westfalia kits not having pin 9 ( the +12v ignition controlled) live as standard.

 

[homerorchid]

Any idea how I might know for sure or would it just be a case of seeing if the caravan leisure battery charge had increased following the journey (2019 Coachman 545, 2019 Ocean)

 

[yossarian]

Any idea how I might know for sure or would it just be a case of seeing if the caravan leisure battery charge had increased following the journey (2019 Coachman 545, 2019 Ocean)

Low tech cheap and reliable.

Alternatively, if you want a techy, gadgety solution: the Quicklynks BM2 is highly rated on the t6 forum. I'd expect to pay about £30. It draws graphs.

No idea if the numerous other "BM2" devices are the same.

 

[andyinluton]

Check the fridge? If gas is off & 240v off a 3 way fridge should work on 12v only when the tow vehicle engine is running - this would at least show you are getting 12v to the van vie the towing electrics.

 

[homerorchid]

Thank you very much for your time and the advice you have all given

 

[michelevismara]

I think one of the most important things to note is that you must put your batteries on hookup at least once a month. Lots forget to do this and can be a very expensive mistake. In the summer months when you are on a campsite they get a good topping up. But if it’s left standing for long periods over the winter they will need their 24 hour charge once a month. I found out the hard way...

Also if you drive the van as a car, every day? Or in that case it's not needed?