Costly stressful mistake.

[Mickyb123]

Left the van parked overnight, had an extra mini chiller for my (probably poorly timed trip) for access to chilled bottles while driving, which I forgot to unplug, it was plugged into the front cig lighter.
Yep managed to kill the battery.
So parked in the centre of the city in the South of France, probably the furthest point in France away from Calais, with a revised plan to drive home early because of the travel lockdown having to source either a battery or a charger.
€200 later and a couple of hours panicking.
Eventually emerged into a very quiet Felixstowe shuttle terminal at 5 pm tonight very relived to be back in the country and not trapped.

Lesson learnt, don’t leave stuff plugged in.

 

[T6 CFO]

Left the van parked overnight, had an extra mini chiller for my (probably poorly timed trip) for access to chilled bottles while driving, which I forgot to unplug, it was plugged into the front cig lighter.
Yep managed to kill the battery.
So parked in the centre of the city in the South of France, probably the furthest point in France away from Calais, with a revised plan to drive home early because of the travel lockdown having to source either a battery or a charger.
€200 later and a couple of hours panicking.
Eventually emerged into a very quiet Felixstowe shuttle terminal at 5 pm tonight very relived to be back in the country and not trapped.

Lesson learnt, don’t leave stuff plugged in.

Easily done. Well done for sorting it and getting home.


Mike

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Glad you made it albeit with some extra costs but slightly off topic but would it been possibly to jump/boost the engine battery from one of the leisures?

 

[bvddobb]

starter cables and a friendly Frenchman would have done the trick quickly and cheap. Been there...

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

 

[AndyWT]

Never leave home without your jumper cables... although I have my leisure battery set up so I can jump the van battery directly.

 

[WelshGas]

starter cables and a friendly Frenchman would have done the trick quickly and cheap. Been there...

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

Who's starting Who?

 

[Vagophile]

As well as the trusty (long and thick) jumper cables, I carry a jump starter. Mine cost about £60, but I think they are much cheaper now. I have used this on my car, but not the Cali, though I have been able to assist a number of others over the years.

Dimensions of power pack 14x8.5x2 cms

 

[B J G]

As well as the trusty (long and thick) jumper cables, I carry a jump starter. Mine cost about £60, but I think they are much cheaper now. I have used this on my car, but not the Cali, though I have been able to assist a number of others over the years.View attachment 71072

Dimensions of power pack 14x8.5x2 cms

When I got my emergency pack out the charge level was too low to do a jump start, now do top up charges on a regular basis - like the leisure batteries it drains down over time.
Was only for the ride on mower so hand mower and sweat solved the problem.

 

[Vagophile]

like the leisure batteries it drains down over time.

Yes, you have to remember to recharge it at intervals. The tape indicates the dates I have done this, can't rely on memory!
Edit: Also has a charge level indicator in the form of 5 blinking dots. Newer versions show percent charge.

 

[Wesel]

starter cables and a friendly Frenchman would have done the trick quickly and cheap. Been there...

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

A frienly frenchman with a Dutch plate ?

 

[bvddobb]

Who's starting Who?

We were the ones needing starter help, I'm afraid...

 

[SusiBus]

Never leave home without your jumper cables... although I have my leisure battery set up so I can jump the van battery directly.

This could be a good tip to share.
How do you have your leisure battery set up to jump start without upset the Van's electricary?

 

[Mickyb123]

I was going to ask that question, Is it possible to jump the main battery from the leisure battery? if so how?
Agree a jump start would quite probably have been the easiest, and yes always have jump leads. Problem being in the middle of town, finding someone to help and with a decent size battery, using the 1972 fiat 55 we have down there was not an option.
so yup expensive but quickest option, now have a spare battery though, so one positive

 

[Corradobrit]

1972 fiat 55 we have down there was not an option.

Yeah, vintage Italian auto electrics are dodgy at best

 

[Geesvw]

Left the van parked overnight, had an extra mini chiller for my (probably poorly timed trip) for access to chilled bottles while driving, which I forgot to unplug, it was plugged into the front cig lighter.
Yep managed to kill the battery.
So parked in the centre of the city in the South of France, probably the furthest point in France away from Calais, with a revised plan to drive home early because of the travel lockdown having to source either a battery or a charger.
€200 later and a couple of hours panicking.
Eventually emerged into a very quiet Felixstowe shuttle terminal at 5 pm tonight very relived to be back in the country and not trapped.

Lesson learnt, don’t leave stuff plugged in.

Very frustrating I do understand
But mine was a bit more expensive
Messing around with the leisure batteries because one was dud, put the rear one in first but didn’t check where the front battery terminals where, yep you guessed it, the live earthed on the chassis. 6 months later having had a new leisure wiring loom and £10K lighter in pocket, fortunately an insurance claim
DON’T MESS WITH LEISURE BATTERIES!!

 

[AndyWT]

This could be a good tip to share.
How do you have your leisure battery set up to jump start without upset the Van's electricary?

Its very easy on a T4 Westi, just a Victron battery combiner relay in place of the old split change relay give 120amp for 30 seconds. If I could be bothered to run a heavy cable between batteries with cut off switch I could have all the rear 180 amps available to jump start.

I know its not so simple with todays smart alternators but should be doable as this is only relevant when engine is running after all the batteries are all 12volt. With a dedicated heavy cable between leisure battery and starter battery with cut off switch when not needed, but also the rear battery would have to disconnected (pull the fuse) as the cable between is too small to sustain the amps draw.

On T 5&6 Cali's using jumper leads off the leisure battery under seat will normally blow the fuse to the rear battery.

It all depends on how self sufficient you want to be.

I'll wait for the naysayers..

 

[DP55]

As well as the trusty (long and thick) jumper cables, I carry a jump starter. Mine cost about £60, but I think they are much cheaper now. I have used this on my car, but not the Cali, though I have been able to assist a number of others over the years.View attachment 71072

Dimensions of power pack 14x8.5x2 cms

I use this one:

NOCO - 2000A Lithium Jump Starter - GB70

The GB70 is a portable lithium-ion battery jump starter booster pack that delivers 2,000-amps for jump starting a car, boat, trucks and more.

no.co

I used it a few times on the camping site and it was always with succes.

 

[Mickyb123]

Cheers for the replies, I didn’t think the leisure batt link would be so straight forward.
I think I will invest in in a booster pack, if I buy one will never have to use it

 

[DP55]

....I helped other people wuth my booster pack

 

[Deskman]

I once tried to use the radio to listen to some music for some hours for which you have to turn the key to keep the system running. Draining the battery more than I ever thought it would. In the middle of a Scottish nowhere - nice and quiet. With only one single van passing by in many, many hours. Luckily he stopped and was willing to remove half the floor of his Mercedes to access the battery to help me out. Lessons learned: 1: Never use the radio when parked for more than half an hour. 2: Have a jump starter at hand.

I still wonder why there is no simple option to use the leisure batteries (2!) for this kind of emergencies.

 

[DP55]

With a switch ( "C" in the wiring diagram) you can assist the starter battery with the leisure batteries.

 

[Mickyb123]

Last post does highlight something. Sure we all do but, always help people out in distress, hopefully one day, as shown above, that will be paid back in the future.

 

[campandfly]

How about a balance cable between Leisure battery cig socket and Starter battery cig socket.
I would probably only connect for a couple of minutes as a full Leisure and completely drained starter may generate some heat.

 

[Wongo]

Cheers for the replies, I didn’t think the leisure batt link would be so straight forward.
I think I will invest in in a booster pack, if I buy one will never have to use it

As above NoCo are great, get the biggest your budget allows.

 

[calibusje]

There is a difference between a flat battery and a broken battery; (cell broken due to completely drained): you will be able to start a broken battery with your jumper cables or jump starter. However, will not recharge while driving and so it will not start again next time. Experienced last week.
Greetings