How many Leisure Batteries

nholbeche · May 28, 2014

Hi All

Brand new to all of this took delivery of an 15 month old California SE last week and went away to discover pop up roof, fridge & heater did not work whilst off hook up. Noted two battery icons showing 0% on control display panel.
Went onto hook up for half an hour to test and all systems working. I have now fully charged up leisure battery at home. My question is does it damage the leisure batteries to let them run flat and how many leisure batteries does a California SE have.

Martin · May 28, 2014

Hi,

The Cali has two batteries, one under the passenger seat and the other in the rear.

If the leisure batteries went down to zero there is good chance some damage has been done, best thing to do is go along to a caravan or motorhome workshop and they can test them for you.

smgcowfoldparts · May 28, 2014

As has been said, SE has two leisure batteries. What are they like now they have been charged up? I would test them again by turning on fridge etc...and see what happens with the voltage after they have been used for a bit.

cheers

teeboy · May 28, 2014

If you had been driving the van before testing the fridge, roof etc I would have been surprised if the batteries had been totally dead.

- To fully charge the batteries mains is the best (or a really long drive)
- But driving should be enough to get a bit of charge in them (or to keep them topped up)

Might want to make sure that they are charging when the engine is running.

T

nholbeche · May 28, 2014

Hi many thanks everyone for all your help, I picked up the camper from the VW dealer on the Friday then drove down to Cornwall from Lewes round trip of some 600 miles The batteries were still on 0%. Now fully charged from mains at home I will take this up with the dealer tomorrow.

Andy · May 28, 2014

nholbeche said:
Hi many thanks everyone for all your help, I picked up the camper from the VW dealer on the Friday then drove down to Cornwall from Lewes round trip of some 600 miles The batteries were still on 0%. Now fully charged from mains at home I will take this up with the dealer tomorrow.

I believe it is recommended to charge batteries from mains once a month I think. If your van has been sat in a dealers for a while & not been on hookup then they may have not had much of a charge & lots of use ??

Give it a try out before mentioning it to the dealer. Leave the fridge on a lowest setting for a few days & see how the batteries hold out. Should get 4 or 5 days use out of a full charge.

gatvol · May 29, 2014

Car batteries can be permanently damaged if they are fully drained, so it is not a good sign that yours showed 0%.

My dad had a Nissan Micra with an intelligent key. The small current this took when the car was parked up killed a 6m old battery when he left the car standing for about a month as the battery was completely flat.

At least the Cali can be left on its inbuilt chargers which should limit this risk for us.

Andy · May 29, 2014

I thought leisure batteries were designed to ve run down then recharged

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

Trotters · May 29, 2014

Have a look here, it will give a better understanding

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co ... e-battery/

campandfly · Mar 6, 2020

We have just been tent camping for 3 months using a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery they are much lighter and can be run down further without causing damage. We were so impressed with this battery now that our original Cali batteries are nearing their end we are wondering if its possible to install this type of battery instead.

WelshGas · Mar 6, 2020

campandfly said:
We have just been tent camping for 3 months using a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery they are much lighter and can be run down further without causing damage. We were so impressed with this battery now that our original Cali batteries are nearing their end we are wondering if its possible to install this type of battery instead.

Depends on their dimensions and also the mains charging profile required. May have to change the onboard Mains Charger.

campandfly · Mar 6, 2020

WelshGas said:
Depends on their dimensions and also the mains charging profile required. May have to change the onboard Mains Charger.

I would assume their dimensions for the same amperage would be smaller. However the Cali BMS may not like them and like you say a change of Mains Charger.
Then its a case of doing the maths and seeing if its worth it financially and practically.

@WelshGas I followed your instructions today and pulled out the rear under cupboard battery for a look at connecting my tray cables.