Flat 2008 Leisure Batteries revived, sort of

[Lambeth Cali]

Last night I moved our van to our drive to pack for our first trip of the year, and first I think since last August. The leisure batteries were showing flat.
Well they showed 40%, 10% then 0% over less than a minute after the 100 metre drive.


I’ve plugged them in for 24 hours and it will be interesting to see how they recover. Despite being 15 years old I’m oddly confident they’ll bounce back. We’re off for 4 days with no hookup. Then in the summer the full 17 nights alternating hookup with no hookup as usual.

 

[WelshGas]

Last night I moved our van to our drive to pack for our first trip of the year, and first I think since last August. The leisure batteries were showing flat.
Well they showed 40%, 10% then 0% over less than a minute after the 100 metre drive.
View attachment 109175
View attachment 109176
I’ve plugged them in for 24 hours and it will be interesting to see how they recover. Despite being 15 years old I’m oddly confident they’ll bounce back. We’re off for 4 days with no hookup. Then in the summer the full 17 nights alternating hookup with no hookup as usual.

Try switching the unit off using L lower button. Wait 30 secs at least and the switch On using same button.

 

[Elmo3]

I’ll be amazed if they’re not goosed after 15 years!

 

[BerndRos]

Mine on my 2010, are at 13 years of age, still going strong and in good order and lasting well.

 

[jeff]

I’ll be amazed if they’re not goosed after 15 years!

I can still get 3 days out of my 15year old batteries, I plug into the mains once a month.
also engine battery is stil original.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Well after 36 hours plugged in and 4 hrs drive with fridge on, then pitched half an hour ago, a not bad 12.6V.

Will be interesting to see what it is in the morning.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Will a Ctek battery conditioner help revive them…?

 

[Lambeth Cali]

They’re working fine.
Still showing 12.5v and 90%.

 

[westfalia]

Mine are 17yrs old and are still doing it.
Hoping for another 17yrs.
They don't make them like they used to..

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Still showing 12.2v and 90% in the morning. I can easily live off 15% a day! They seem completely unharmed. Perhaps they weren’t completely flat but they were definitely below 20% 2 days ago.

 

[WelshGas]

View attachment 109246
Still showing 12.2v and 90% in the morning. I can easily live off 15% a day! They seem completely unharmed. Perhaps they weren’t completely flat but they were definitely below 20% 2 days ago.

You have in fact used 40% overnight.

 

[Whistler]

You have in fact used 40% overnight.

View attachment 109250

Will the real "State of Charge" chart please stand up. I got this version from this forum as well. @WelshGas version tallies with the battery readings on my control panel for the past 3 days.

Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk

 

[yossarian]

You have in fact used 40% overnight.

View attachment 109250

Yeah I'd suggest your batteries SOH - state of health - is probably in the 50 - 60% range. No biggie as long as they have sufficient energy to do whatever you need to do with a little margin. When that's no longer true replace them.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Will the real "State of Charge" chart please stand up. I got this version from this forum as well. @WelshGas version tallies with the battery readings on my control panel for the past 3 days.

Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk

Either way my 11.5V charge was in the red zone. And the % figures do approximately tally with the chart. I would argue the 12.6 to 12.2 could count as 20% drop but it’s all an approximation. The fridge is currently on so not technically ‘at rest’.
Fridge and lights are virtually all we use. No heater or tvs! I reckon I could go 5 days easy. Just like last year.

 

[Steve1]

Either way my 11.5V charge was in the red zone. And the % figures do approximately tally with the chart. I would argue the 12.6 to 12.2 could count as 20% drop but it’s all an approximation. The fridge is currently on so not technically ‘at rest’.
Fridge and lights are virtually all we use. No heater or tvs! I reckon I could go 5 days easy. Just like last year.

You would need to turn the fridge off and wait a short while to do the reading. The current for the fridge can pull the reading down by 0.1 or 0.2 which on your chart would make a huge difference to your percentage use.

 

[PaulBastowski]

Either way my 11.5V charge was in the red zone. And the % figures do approximately tally with the chart. I would argue the 12.6 to 12.2 could count as 20% drop but it’s all an approximation. The fridge is currently on so not technically ‘at rest’.
Fridge and lights are virtually all we use. No heater or tvs! I reckon I could go 5 days easy. Just like last year.

From my understanding, determining the battery charge % level by reading the voltage has to be done with no load.

That is, turn off all current draining devices, including the fridge, and then check the battery voltage level.

Under load the battery voltage will show lower and sometimes significantly lower than without load.

 

[Jean-Marie]

Check your 80A fusee under the drivers cheat (European type). It's a big white one.

 

[caliharry]

Mine are 17yrs old and are still doing it.
Hoping for another 17yrs.
They don't make them like they used to..

Lucky guy my 2006 is on third pair of batteries Ripped off twice by VW SAYS nothing wrong!

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Well after 5 days and 4 nights it shows 12.3V and 70% ten minutes after turning the fridge off. Exactly like the above charts.


We did go for a 30 minute drive to change campsite 2 nights ago. Not sure what that proves but they seem to be functioning normally after going into the red zone and showing 0%, even after 15 years. Never gone below 12v since I plugged them in and charged them up 5 days ago.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Once again, 2 weeks after coming back from our 16 night 1000 miles France summer holiday I’ve gone to put the van on the drive to pack for a long weekend camping to see the 2008 batteries at 0%.



I’ve plugged them in and will see what happens. We are going away for 3 nights unplugged so they need to work.

My suspicion is that once again they will magically be re-born, go back to 12v and lose 15% a day.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Once again, 2 weeks after coming back from our 16 night 1000 miles France summer holiday I’ve gone to put the van on the drive to pack for a long weekend camping to see the 2008 batteries at 0%.

View attachment 128153

I’ve plugged them in and will see what happens. We are going away for 3 nights unplugged so they need to work.

My suspicion is that once again they will magically be re-born, go back to 12v and lose 15% a day.

I will be quite surprised if they recover from that voltage! At least, to anything useful anyway.

Good argument for getting a solar panel, even a small one, just to act as a trickle charger when the van isn't being used

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I will be quite surprised if they recover from that voltage! At least, to anything useful anyway.

Good argument for getting a solar panel, even a small one, just to act as a trickle charger when the van isn't being used

Yes that had occured to me but they still seem to be able to get me through 4 days. This weekend will be a good test. Cost of solar seems similar to 2 new batteries (£355 for 2 on Tayna) when these finally die.

When ULEZ came in we probably started using our Cali a little less (£12 for a day out?), so it was sat unused for longer. Now we have switched our Golf for an electric i3 we have probably reverted back to using the Cali a bit more, plus driving to the Alps at Easter.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Yes that had occured to me but they still seem to be able to get me through 4 days. This weekend will be a good test. Cost of solar seems similar to 2 new batteries (£355 for 2 on Tayna) when these finally die.

When ULEZ came in we probably started using our Cali a little less (£12 for a day out?), so it was sat unused for longer. Now we have switched our Golf for an electric i3 we have probably reverted back to using the Cali a bit more, plus driving to the Alps at Easter.

A kit from Roger is about £500 ish, but I'm sure it could be done cheaper (albeit with certain caveats somewhere!). Even so, not a bad service life out of your batteries even if they have now bitten the dust!

 

[Lambeth Cali]

A kit from Roger is about £500 ish, but I'm sure it could be done cheaper (albeit with certain caveats somewhere!). Even so, not a bad service life out of your batteries even if they have now bitten the dust!

Yes I have treated our batteries terribly for 15 years. The van sits months doing nothing. I only plug it in the night before we go somewhere, when packing and filling fridge. Perhaps they like our 2 week holidays driving (generator) and camping around France. Maybe that conditions them a bit. I see on Tayna website they say Varta LA80s are designed for periods of no use - "These batteries are ideal for seasonal use, so when you take your boat or caravan out of winter storage, it’s ready to go." Maybe we're just lucky. I honestly reckon they will survive.

The thing is I see the van as 2 parts - a van and engine that my garage can fix, and the camping stuff that I need to try and maintain. I am loathe to add another complex bit - solar electrics - that can go wrong. I don't really understand it at all.

 

[Nicholas Boff]

I will be quite surprised if they recover from that voltage! At least, to anything useful anyway.

Good argument for getting a solar panel, even a small one, just to act as a trickle charger when the van isn't being used

We have 2 50W panels they we place in the windscreen are on the dash. Just to keep all of the batteries trickle charging