Engine and leisure battery charging over winter

[Pammy]

I bought a 2010 Cali recently, which is in great condition, but will not be using it over the winter (possibly 2-3 months). Just wanted to know what's best for charging both engine and leisure batteries. The control panel reads the 12v battery is at 50%. Is that just the leisure battery? I was going to use the hook-up plug to plug it into the house electricity. Will this charge all the batteries? If not, what should I do? Do I have to take it for a long run?

 

[MattBW]

It is a good idea to have it plugged in. My 2015 charges the engine and the leisure battery.

The easy way to check if the engine battery is charging too is to put a small 12v volt meter in the cup holder socket.

 

[AlanC]

The control panel is only indicating the charge of the leisure batteries.
At 50% you should plug your van in for as soon as you can and leave on charge for a minimum of 24hours. Longer if possible wouldn't hurt. After that plug the van in once a month for 24 hours to keep the batteries healthy.

Formally the engine battery is not charged when on hook up, but there is a small trickle current that leaks through the system to the engine battery. This will not give your engine battery a full charge but will keep it topped up. A better solution is to buy a battery charger just for the engine battery and use that once a month too.

As your van is a 2010 T5.1 you may find the leisure batteries are on their last legs. I have a van the same age and mine are OK just now, but I am aware they may be on borrowed time. The engine battery had to be replaced last year.

Alan

 

[Pammy]

The control panel is only indicating the charge of the leisure batteries.
At 50% you should plug your van in for as soon as you can and leave on charge for a minimum of 24hours. Longer if possible wouldn't hurt. After that plug the van in once a month for 24 hours to keep the batteries healthy.

Formally the engine battery is not charged when on hook up, but there is a small trickle current that leaks through the system to the engine battery. This will not give your engine battery a full charge but will keep it topped up. A better solution is to buy a battery charger just for the engine battery and use that once a month too.

As your van is a 2010 T5.1 you may find the leisure batteries are on their last legs. I have a van the same age and mine are OK just now, but I am aware they may be on borrowed time. The engine battery had to be replaced last year.

Alan

Thank you. This is exactly the information I was looking for.

 

[Elmo3]

In addition to hook up, pump up the tyres and leave the handbrake off.

 

[Vantastic2]

In addition to hook up, pump up the tyres and leave the handbrake off.

On the flat with handbrake off ! plus I would still chock the wheels !

 

[rod_vw]

You would do your van a good turn by driving it at least once a month preferably on a dry day (I know it's winter so sometimes difficult to achieve) and for far enough to get everything warmed up and the batteries charged. Twenty miles perhaps.

That way the tyres are rotated, the engine is warmed and dried, condensation removed from the exhaust and similarly the rest of the vehicle.

Parked up vehicles deteriorate far quicker than those regularly used.