Funny smell in VW Cali and we are supposed to sleep in it tonight

[Tim Clement]

Morning - made it through the night!
Had the AA out this am and half, no all, of the campsite staring at us - mostly caravanners!!
Bear with me as I am not technical - Mrs Tim here! He thinks the water pump has shorted the battery under the water tank and the leisure battery was due a change. He was really good and tested all and had the front seat off looking at the battery there. Anyway Mr Tim has gone off to replace the battery and try and fit it and I am sitting here surrounded by our boxes from the boot in the sun at last.
Thank you all for your help last night. It was quite scary and a lesson to us to get a bit more familiar with the van we have had for 4 years!!

 

[Tim Clement]

Good morning did you survive the night?

Yep - was also v windy and rainy but I am now sat here in the sun, minding our boxes, whilst Mr Tim has gone off to get a new battery!

 

[GSX1300R]

Make sure the lid is Fully down on the porta potty.......

 

[DavidofHook]

Sounds as if you have solved it so pleased for you.... we were in Italy and had a terrible smell in the van, could not trace it, searched all over, looking for mice etc until we remembered that we had some Gorgonzola in the frig..... it was the source of the smell. Clearly not so I. Your case thoughM

 

[Timø]

Tim, hoping you’ve got this sorted. Reading the history this is more likely an electrical fault. It’s straightforward disconnecting the leisure battery or pump and I’d have it looked at by someone who understands Calis as soon as you can.

 

[westfalia]

Your battery is knackered: remove it immediately as the gas is toxic

So you can get gassed in a Cali

 

[Deano]

Hi Tim, Can I ask what campsite you are on,,? Reason, we have had a similar problem only twice in 11 years on the very same campsite in Cornwall, where we lost fridge power and a strange smell.
First time was August 14 and recently in June, The first time it happened a commercial VW mechanic was on the next pitch to us and done a reset on the control panel, then again this year there was a post on here at the very same time that advisied me what to do. The VW chap said that it could be an over load from the campsites electric, and the fact that we have used our Cali for 11 years and only had the problem on this campsite left me feeling very suspicious

 

[Roger Donoghue]

A venting overcharged battery smells of sulphur (eggs). Very distinct.

 

[Paul S]

The smell is very likely to be your battery that has overheated and basically boiled it’s own electrolyte. It stinks absolutely vile and it lingers too. Our leisure battery in our caravan did this. The compartment was right under my pillow and i woke up in the middle of the night with a warm pilllow, a fizzing noise and a godawful smell. The sides of the battery had bulged massively and it was very very hot. The charger was faulty and hadn’t cut off when it hit peak voltage.

 

[Tandt]

Evening
Quite urgent if any one can help?
We are away in our 2007 Cali and this evening there has been a horrid smell at the back of the van - where I should be sleeping!
We rinsed out the water tank before we left and haven’t used it because the pump has stopped working. The sink doesn’t smell, nor does the fridge. We have taken the gas bottle out as a precaution. It has been smelling since we stopped so don’t think it is air conditioning ( have searched for previous threads on here) or the engine. It isn’t us or the dog.
We have a CO detector too.
Any ideas please...
Us in a cold Cornwall!!

Our friends kept getting drains smell as they walked past their caravan. It was the battery which could explode! Get it checked quickly.

 

[Roger Donoghue]

Our friends kept getting drains smell as they walked past their caravan. It was the battery which could explode! Get it checked quickly.

It's hydrogen sulphide. Smells of rotten eggs (drains as you say)

 

[BikerGran]

Got to say if I'd had an electrical smell and warm where it shouldn't be warm - I'd have called the AA IMMEDIATELY not waited till morning after posting on here and trying to tackle the problem and being unsure whether I had done so!
One of my few hard and fast rules is DON'T MESS WITH ELECTRICITY!

 

[Tim Clement]

Got to say if I'd had an electrical smell and warm where it shouldn't be warm - I'd have called the AA IMMEDIATELY not waited till morning after posting on here and trying to tackle the problem and being unsure whether I had done so!
One of my few hard and fast rules is DON'T MESS WITH ELECTRICITY!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

 

[Tim Clement]

Hi Tim, Can I ask what campsite you are on,,? Reason, we have had a similar problem only twice in 11 years on the very same campsite in Cornwall, where we lost fridge power and a strange smell.
First time was August 14 and recently in June, The first time it happened a commercial VW mechanic was on the next pitch to us and done a reset on the control panel, then again this year there was a post on here at the very same time that advisied me what to do. The VW chap said that it could be an over load from the campsites electric, and the fact that we have used our Cali for 11 years and only had the problem on this campsite left me feeling very suspicious

I thought the same - we had been touring around for a week with no problems and the issues we did have only started when we plugged in. It wasn’t like it was the first time we had been out this year - we have been in and out loads this year.
It was a site just outside Bude. They said couldn’t possibly be them as they get certificated each season ....

 

[TripleBee]

Sometimes a battery can short circuit inside. That can happen when the batteries are quite old. If you then charge them, they start cooking inside, making the fluids boil, causing the smell.
Just weird you didn't have the smell while driving.
Or it might be the charger acting up, causing the battery to cook?
Oh, if you change 1 old leisure battery, make sure you change the other one too, as you will have problems with the lifespan of the newest battery, draining into the older battery!!
Always change in pairs. Yes, the cost is high, but when you need to buy 3 batteries, it costs more!

 

[mbenne]

I hope this is the right place for this response as it demonstrates the disastrous effects of having a defective leisure battery, particularly to newbies like myself.

On the first ever trip in our own Cali, July his year, I woke in the early hours of the morning. No idea why but I lay awake for some time and was alarmed when I heard a loud noise - a cross between a bang, or a dull thud like something hitting the roof of the van. I tried working out what it might have been and my mind went into overdrive. It really did sound like a bolt snapping. I had fitted a locking nut to the spare wheel before we left home and had visions of someone lying under the van trying to remove the spare!. By now my wife was awake and annoyed that I was fidgeting around lifting the blinds to see outside. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. She convinced me that I was imagining things and I drifted off.

Next morning the van opposite had everything out on the grass. Nothing unusual as they were planning on leaving before 8am. They asked if we had been woken by the commotion in the early hours. I explained what I heard and was told that their leisure battery had exploded. They had been having problems with it and it must have overcharged or maybe a dry cell? It was placed beneath their bed they had to get everything out ASAP. The acid had ruined their carpets and melted his jacket! Fortunately, he, his wife and their dog were ok, though he had some minor acid burns on his arms.

Photos attached

 

[TripleBee]

One of the reasons why I will replace my batteries by VW approved ones.
They might cost a little (much?) more, but I think they are less likely to really fail that way.
It can always happen due to abuse, or just bad luck, but I have seen more problems with non VW approved batteries that with.

 

[GSX1300R]

One of the reasons why I will replace my batteries by VW approved ones.
They might cost a little (much?) more, but I think they are less likely to really fail that way.
It can always happen due to abuse, or just bad luck, but I have seen more problems with non VW approved batteries that with.

The real problem is the price difference. VW California (Varta) 75 ah batteries at £250 each... Varta Professional 75 ah batteries £92.95 each. VW markup is horrendous...