Charging engine battery 2023 680

[majorminor]

my 680 has been sitting around for a few weeks and my assumption was the solar panel would keep the engine battery topped up. Went out this morning and all dead. Battery voltage 4.6v.
So is my assumption incorrect or are there settings which i have overlooked. Asking here as it would take about 3 days to make any sense of the VW manual.

 

[GordonH]

Unfortunately the factory solar setup does not provide charge to the starter battery, only the leisure battery. It is possible to use the starter battery charge facility on the factory fit Votronic solar MPPT to add such a capability with a bit of rewiring, the Grand California UK facebook group has a post on how to achieve it. done by Andrew Cook. The EHU charger charges both batteries.

 

[majorminor]

Thanks for the info Gordon. Set about charging the battery only to discover that it wont hold charge.
Got to 11v then died again so looks like a duff cell.

 

[GS O'brino]

I was thinking myself to get this one, I wonder if anybody is using it.

Battery Maintainer

Is your Grand California not being used for a long time and is not connected to shore power? This can lead to problems after just a few days of downtime. Unfortunately, the starter battery discharges very quickly and after a few weeks it can be so deeply discharged that it can no longer be...

shop.grandcali.com

 

[majorminor]

thanx GS O - looks like a good choice to me.
Doing more work today and not ruled out issues with ext battery charger that i used.
Watch this space for next exciting post!

 

[majorminor]

After disconnecting battery and charging to 12 volts reconnected leads and turning key and all is dead.
Are there sensors that check battery voltage, as it seems strange that i dont even get dash lights.
Could be a stuffed battery as it seemed to take ages to get it to 12 Volts.
Any comments out there?

 

[Mr T]

After disconnecting battery and charging to 12 volts reconnected leads and turning key and all is dead.
Are there sensors that check battery voltage, as it seems strange that i dont even get dash lights.
Could be a stuffed battery as it seemed to take ages to get it to 12 Volts.
Any comments out there?

At the risk of stating the obvious, you are charging the right battery? The battery under the bonnet is not the starter battery, that is the leisure battery. The starter battery is in the floor in the cab area.
Just thought I’d mention it.