Dead Leisure Batteries?

[marshian70]

Willbus - would be great to have a 'how to' article with step by step instructions on DIY replacement
Cheers

 

[willbus]

Got a mechanic mate to do it for me in the end. Rear is a very easy job and there seems to be some good advice on this thread with regard to the front one. He removed the seat but I imagine the tilt technique would work well too. I had a rather confused display directly after but this settled with a panel reset. Just wished I'd checked that fuse!!

 

[johnv]

was it these ones that you used in the end? thanks
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Deal-Pair...ep-Cycle-/111602658003?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

 

[Lost Boy]

I ordered mine on Friday from the same place (exactly the same batteries) and they arrived today, I had the old ones out and the new ones in in 40 mins. The van is now on charge on the drive to make sure it has a nice deep charge, hopefully 24 hours should do it...

 

[johnv]

same as the ebay link I posted Lost Boy?

 

[Lost Boy]

Yes, exactly same Ebay link

 

[johnv]

Yes, exactly same Ebay link

40 mins included taking the passenger seat out?! what electrics did you disconnect, and airbag warning light type issues?

 

[Lost Boy]

No need to remove seat, loosened front rail bolts, removed rear bolts and leant the seat forward, all simple and no need to disconnect any pesky wires!!! Honestly very, very simple.

 

[johnv]

No need to remove seat, loosened front rail bolts, removed rear bolts and leant the seat forward, all simple and no need to disconnect any pesky wires!!! Honestly very, very simple.

excellent, thanks for that, worth getting sorted for that price!

 

[Lost Boy]

Couldn't agree more, couldn't get more than 24 hours from mine with only the fridge running!! Previous owner had left them flat for successive winters I believe.
Give me a shout if you need any help, particularly if you are local

 

[Californiaman]

I've finally got around to replacing my batteries (with the Xplorer 100ah from Alpha)

The rear one is quite a squeeze but is easy enough if you don't rush.



The batteries are pretty much identically sized (note that the vent needed to be popped and and put in the other end)



For those that haven't seen it, the inline fuse (known as a 'cube fuse') is part of the positive battery terminal on the rear battery:



I used the "tip the seat forward" method at the front and its fine for swapping the battery!



Plugged in now and taking a decent charge... will let it charge overnight, probably take it for a run and then turn everything on and see how they cope!



(note: posting this a few hours later, and the charge has gone down to 2amps so it seems to be working..)

 

[Californiaman]

Well, I charged it for 24 hours and then unplugged it, ran the heater, ran the fridge etc for a few days. It dropped down to 70% quite quickly, then went back up to 80% and stayed there for a few days. Looks to be all sorted. Hurrah. Now back plugged in and raring to go out to play at the weekend.

 

[Lost Boy]

Finally got around to testing mine after changing them, after 24 hours on mains, I just ran the fridge on batteries alone and whilst my old batteries would only last 24 hours, these got to 4 days and were still going, but then I needed to use the Cali to go away for the weekend, I suspect I could easily have got to 5 or even 6 days

 

[orusten]

If you have a Lion battery fitted, then it has never had a good charge.

The chemistry or Lead Acid, Lithium Ion (LiOn) Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), Nickel Metalhydride (MiMH) , all have very specific charge requirements. LiOn needs a constant current charge and Lead Acid require constant voltage.

As the charger fitted as standard to your Cali is for Lead Acid batteries and so constant voltage, the LiOn battery is being destroyed by being charged in your van.

It is possible that the charger has also been changed, and if so all should be OK. Both batteries are charged off the same charger, so the under seat battery should be the same as the under cupboard one.

Do check that the charger is the right one for both the batteries fitted, and both are the same type and make..

Alan

My Webasto fails starting due to low voltage on my 2007 Cali. The Webasto mecanic questions if the charger actually works on the under seat battery. Both batteries were replaced by VW under warranty 15 months ago.

 

[Hotel California]

@orusten
The charger does charge all the bateries even the one under the bonnet.....
Don't know how many you got( you say both...so thinking you own a beach? as a SE got three batts) becose can't read any info under you avatar .
Best to add the verhicle type so people can respond in function of that info.

 

[orusten]

@orusten
The charger does charge all the bateries even the one under the bonnet.....
Don't know how many you got( you say both...so thinking you own a beach? as a SE got three batts) becose can't read any info under you avatar .
Best to add the verhicle type so people can respond in function of that info.

My Cali is a 2007/8 NoLimit (Special Edition) with 3 batteries,- one in engine compartment, one under the seat and one at the rear. The Webasto mechanic asks if there is a wiring diagram to understand how the 220V charger works.

 

[Hotel California]

There is one in the download section , don't know if it will help him...
If your webasto mecanic is asking this to you as client , i would pack up and go alsewhere....

 

[orusten]

Got the car back from the Webasto workshop since heater failed to start. They found a voltage drop of >1.5V between under-seat battery and heater, (which has a treshhold of about 10.2V ). They fitted bigger wires and new contactors and problem now solved. They also fitted a wire for the Webasto diagnostic under the seat, making it easier to run future diagnostics without dismantling the heater unit. Tested a heater run of 48hrs without problem, display then showed 40%.

 

[orusten]

@orusten
The charger does charge all the bateries even the one under the bonnet.....
Don't know how many you got( you say both...so thinking you own a beach? as a SE got three batts) becose can't read any info under you avatar .
Best to add the verhicle type so people can respond in function of that info.

According to the Webasto guys who just fixed my heater/battery problem, the 220V charger (located under fridge) does NOT charge the under-bonnet battery. This is also logical since this engine starter battery is different from the 2 leisure batteries.

Anyone knows the manufactorer and amps for the under-fridge 220V charger?

 

[Hotel California]

If your engine battery is not charged when on hook-up there is something wrong .
All three batteries should charge while on hook up , first the two lesure bats and if they are 100% it starts charging the engine battery

 

[sidepod]

That does

Got the car back from the Webasto workshop since heater failed to start. They found a voltage drop of >1.5V between under-seat battery and heater, (which has a treshhold of about 10.2V ). They fitted bigger wires and new contactors and problem now solved. They also fitted a wire for the Webasto diagnostic under the seat, making it easier to run future diagnostics without dismantling the heater unit. Tested a heater run of 48hrs without problem, display then showed 40%.

That seems odd. Your man is quite right in curing a volt drop by fitting a larger cable but if the vehicle is original then the problem must lie elsewhere. VW are quite good at this kind of thing.

Im no T5 expert but I think early models didn't have dual output chargers so only charge leisure batteries.

If it does have this facility then both categories of battery will charge simultaneously.
The reason for a dual output is the engine battery is isolated by the split charge relay during an engine-off condition so it's impossible to charge from the same output as the leisure batteries.

 

[WelshGas]

I think, could be wrong, that the 3 battery charging system on the T5 came in about 2006/7. Up until that point only the Leisure Batteries were charged by the Mains charger.

 

[willbus]

Well a few months on and the battery life was still rubbish. Finally got round to checking the leisure battery fuse and it had gone! Ordered a new one - just a reminder to check for anyone having issues re battery life.

One quick question however - would people disconnect both leisure battery negatives before replacing the fuse and reconnecting the positive (as per advice on the dealer electrics guide) or am I overthinking things? Just is a real faff getting at the battery under the chair!

 

[Lost Boy]

Well a few months on and the battery life was still rubbish. Finally got round to checking the leisure battery fuse and it had gone! Ordered a new one - just a reminder to check for anyone having issues re battery life.

One quick question however - would people disconnect both leisure battery negatives before replacing the fuse and reconnecting the positive (as per advice on the dealer electrics guide) or am I overthinking things? Just is a real faff getting at the battery under the chair!

Dead easy just slide forward and loosen tear bolts and lean forward.... I managed to swap the battery this way so should be dead easy to just remove a connection

 

[willbus]

Thanks for the reply! However looking at the wiring diagram on the downloads section it appears both negatives connect via the rear battery. Should just disconnecting the rear battery neg first then refitting the fuse / positive then reconnecting the negative do the trick??