Leisure Batteries

[Mo!]

Hello there

I jumped in my beloved Cali and drove up to Shrewsbury for the period between Christmas and New Year. I was inevitably stuck in rubbish traffic, so went to play with my control panel whilst in stationary traffic. Nothing. Dead. Nada.

The on/off button was illuminated red, but no life on the screen. I pressed and pressed. All the buttons. short presses, long presses - still nothing.

I realised I had not placed her on mains charge for 2-3 months, but then thought the distance travelled would have put some juice into them from the main battery?

I have just placed her on mains charge and the control panel and interior LED lights have all come back to life again.

Therefore, is it right and normal to not expect the leisure batteries to take on any charge if they are dead flat?

Would they only top up on a journey if they have charge in to begin with???

Thanks

Mo!

 

[MattBW]

Has it been a while since you used the van? If your batteries have gone below 11.8v especially for a pre-longed period of time there is a high chance they are now damaged and will probably struggle to hold a charge. If you've been driving it in the meantime however it shouldnt really have gone that flat

Vaguely speaking the below voltages are a good idea of the state of a battery. Going below 11.8 for a long period isn't recommended really.

AGM battery voltage
100% 12.80+
75% 12.6
50% 12.3
40% 12.2
25% 12
0% 11.8

 

[Mo!]

Has it been a while since you used the van? If your batteries have gone below 11.8v especially for a pre-longed period of time there is a high chance they are now damaged and will probably struggle to hold a charge. If you've been driving it in the meantime however it shouldnt really have gone that flat

Vaguely speaking the below voltages are a good idea of the state of a battery. Going below 11.8 for a long period isn't recommended really.

AGM battery voltage
100% 12.80+
75% 12.6
50% 12.3
40% 12.2
25% 12
0% 11.8

Hi Matt. Thansk very much for your reply.
I last used it in terms of fully charged from the mains in October. However, I have been running around in her at weekends, but not used it for camping. I will have to keep my fingers crossed and monitor the leisure batteries to see if I have inadvertently damaged them. Are they very expensive to replace if i have?

 

[Docmark]

Yes Shrewsbury does have some traffic at times - but rubbish traffic? - the recycling centre is situated on the north side of the town but the holdups are usually not rubbish trucks but shoppers going to Tescos etc!!

 

[WelshGas]

Hi Matt. Thansk very much for your reply.
I last used it in terms of fully charged from the mains in October. However, I have been running around in her at weekends, but not used it for camping. I will have to keep my fingers crossed and monitor the leisure batteries to see if I have inadvertently damaged them. Are they very expensive to replace if i have?

Very unusual for the Leisure Batteries to drop that low in 2 months if not used.
Are you sure you have nothing plugged into the Leisure circuits, chargers etc, or an adapter left in the Inverter Socket?

 

[Mo!]

Very unusual for the Leisure Batteries to drop that low in 2 months if not used.
Are you sure you have nothing plugged into the Leisure circuits, chargers etc, or an adapter left in the Inverter Socket?

I will double check - I don;t think so - i wonder if I did leave one of the interior LED lights on??

 

[WelshGas]

I will double check - I don;t think so - i wonder if I did leave one of the interior LED lights on??

The Fridge and Parking Heater will automatically switch Off if the voltage drops to a certain level to protect the Leisure Batteries BUT there is no such system for the lights, 12v sockets or the Inverter Socket.

 

[Max-Felix]

If the only indication to you to make you think they were 100% dead is the control panel malfunction you should get a multimeter on the battery to see what the actual reading was - batteries might have been fine! A cheap plug in cig lighter voltmeter is a few £'s on eBay - always keep one in the van regardless.

But (warning - I'm going to be a stuck record on this for the coming season ) everyone but everyone who has a Cali should [EDIT] (strongly consider to ) get solar as the very first accessory - biggest no-brainer and especially a drop in the ocean to those spending £50/60k on these things. For £300 or so you can put together a 100w Victron bluetooth wireless system and you can forget any battery worries, virtually no hooking up at home or on site, save a packet in hook up costs and get a brilliant little app controlled system that makes you smile every time you see that 'free' power going into your system. We got back a big chunk of our initial outlay in saved hook up fees in one trip last summer and just took the set up off our van and will install it on the new one this year.

 

[MattBW]

I will double check - I don;t think so - i wonder if I did leave one of the interior LED lights on??

If youve driven it at weekends I wouldnt expect dead batteries.

Sometimes the inverter can get stuck on and that will drain a battery. I dont have one so can't comment if it has a light or similar

As others have said a volt meter in the 12v socket should give a good indication of the battery state.

 

[WelshGas]

If youve driven it at weekends I wouldnt expect dead batteries.

Sometimes the inverter can get stuck on and that will drain a battery. I dont have one so can't comment if it has a light or similar

As others have said a volt meter in the 12v socket should give a good indication of the battery state.

The Inverter does have a little LED indicator, have to lift the flap to see it, and inserting a plug will activate a micro-switch to Power the Inverter. This micro-switch can stick On when the plug is removed.

 

[Amarillo]

A cheap plug in cig lighter voltmeter is a few £'s on eBay - always keep one in the van regardless.

Mine broke after a couple of uses.

For £300 or so you can put together a 100w Victron bluetooth wireless system and you can forget any battery worries, virtually no hooking up at home or on site, save a packet in hook up costs and get a brilliant little app controlled system that makes you smile every time you see that 'free' power going into your system. We got back a big chunk of our initial outlay in saved hook up fees in one trip last summer and just took the set up off our van and will install it on the new one this year.

We spent nearly six months as a family of four, camping nearly everyday, without hookup. Then I bought a 12 volt kettle to soak up all that free excess battery power and have half destroyed our leisure battery.

The panels are no where near as effective in the winter months. They face a quadruple whammy:
Lower sun
Shorter days
More cloudy days
Greater energy use

All that said, they are a truly excellent resource. I reckon we saved €250 in hookup fees over the peak season. Off season we use ACSI camping card sites which include hookup.

I think VW should develop a full solar roof to resolve the roof rot issues.



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[Hotel California]

Imo . the California SE/Coast/Ocean has no need for solar panel.
It has two lesure bats.(more than most other campervans) and little use of power . There are no big current drawers in a California anyway (unless you putted them in yourself like tv's , extra lights , a extra fridge/coolbox , 12v kettle ,....)
The real big current drawers are always in need for hook-up (microwaves, oilradiators,....)
Hook-up is included at most sites anyway these days and in fact only needed when staying at site longer then three days without driving .
As for keeping the (three) batteries topped-up , it's not doable with solar panels as 220v is required to fully charge them.
And the fact i store my Cali in a garage when not in use the solar panel would be even less usefull.
For me a solar panel is not even on my wishlist.
Use your Cali for what it's made for and keep your batteries in chape by putting them on 220v hook-up each month for 24h and you will not have problems , unless there's an issue somewhere .
Beach owners ....diffrent story .

The OP will probally have an issue with electrics or has left something plugged in or light on . Opening doors with all the interiour lights activated sevral times/days can drain the batteries when the Cali is not in use and not on hook-up.

 

[RichardH]

I’ve had an issue a couple of times when I’ve done a long drive expecting to recharge the batteries, only to find on arrival that no charging had taken place. No obvious reason. Resetting the control panel (by pressing the return button for 5+ Sec) restored normal recharging for the next drive. Now I check for the G symbol as I’m driving to a place where I’m going to be reliant on the batteries for a few days (if I remember).

 

[Hotel California]

I’ve had an issue a couple of times when I’ve done a long drive expecting to recharge the batteries, only to find on arrival that no charging had taken place. No obvious reason. Resetting the control panel (by pressing the return button for 5+ Sec) restored normal recharging for the next drive. Now I check for the G symbol as I’m driving to a place where I’m going to be reliant on the batteries for a few days (if I remember).

Driving does not nesecary means putting fully charge in all the three bats. While driving the altornator need to give power all the electrics that are switched on ...
Now a days thats can be a lot in a modern car , so less power will go in to the bats.

220v hook-up is the way to fully charge .

There could be problem with yours offcoarse.

 

[Max-Felix]

@HC. Won't get into a big argument but most I'm sure who have solar would disagree!

The reason I tried it first was the older Cali we had typically tired batteries and fitting solar was ideal compared to renewing them for our short ownership and alleviated all battery worries. No need to worry about drain from lights/fridge/heater etc especially when the van was not moved for a few days.

Elec not included with most sites we visit(ed).

Don't want the hassle of trailing wires or cost of hook up.

We use it mostly July/Aug but solar more than capable of fully charging the leisure batteries in my experience and the output is superb even on cloudy days. With the solar and the vehicle outside it's being topped up all the time in daylight so never really drops below 100% when sat idle. Don't need/want microwave or oil filled rads or a 12v kettle in a camper van!

For me it's so cheap and sensible as a fit and forget battery top up system and just allows simple worry free camping with a few less hassles/connections/worries - whether an older vehicle to compensate for tired batts or a brand new one to always make sure they're in tip-top conditions - it's a no-brainer still for me for £300 odd and as noted you will get lots of this back in saved hook up fees before too long.

 

[MattBW]

The vw itself won’t ever charge them above around 80% via alternator only way is hookup or another charge method like solar.

I’ve found with my beach if I’m going to drive an hour every 2 or 3 days mine never really runs out and I’ve only got one leisure battery. That’s with fridge and heater. I think the nasa capacity monitor has given me the confidence.

Ive also had solar boil a battery on my last van even with a quality charge controller, which is why I have a suitcase one for now. With that hookup is only really needed for charging my slrs.

Solar is brilliant but also remember even a partial shadow will massively reduce its output which is why I like my unattached one.




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[andyinluton]

"But (warning - I'm going to be a stuck record on this for the coming season ) everyone but everyone who has a Cali should get solar as the very first accessory - biggest no-brainer and especially a drop in the ocean to those spending £50/60k on these things. For £300 or so you can put together a 100w Victron bluetooth wireless system and you can forget any battery worries,"

Totally disagree, complete waste of money, we are 4 years in & never had a single battery worry. For longer stays we tend to use sites with showers/ toilet facilities & they tend to have hookups. For short stay trips, the amount of driving we do means the batteries are sufficiently charged by the engine.

 

[Hotel California]

@Max-Felix , we don't do big arguments on the forum...
It's again a perfect example of how diffrent we all think and most important how good a Cali is in all those diffrent views so each can be be happy with thiere way of using thiere Cali.

You made a good choice and it fits your needs , i just don't need a solar panel on mine .
It's always so that with all the things you got yourself are mostly better than the things others have ....personal choice

 

[Max-Felix]

Fair point - I will edit!

But will you edit this bit?

"...it gives a wrong impression to newbies and people looking to buy as the good electric system a Cali has got standard is more then capeble enough [EDIT] (for perhaps most people if the batteries are in top health).

 

[Amarillo]

@HC. Won't get into a big argument but most I'm sure who have solar would disagree!

The reason I tried it first was the older Cali we had typically tired batteries and fitting solar was ideal compared to renewing them for our short ownership and alleviated all battery worries. No need to worry about drain from lights/fridge/heater etc especially when the van was not moved for a few days.

Elec not included with most sites we visit(ed).

Don't want the hassle of trailing wires or cost of hook up.

We use it mostly July/Aug but solar more than capable of fully charging the leisure batteries in my experience and the output is superb even on cloudy days. With the solar and the vehicle outside it's being topped up all the time in daylight so never really drops below 100% when sat idle. Don't need/want microwave or oil filled rads or a 12v kettle in a camper van!

For me it's so cheap and sensible as a fit and forget battery top up system and just allows simple worry free camping with a few less hassles/worries - it's a no-brainer still.

Agree 100%. Despite the winter difficulties we have had, we are delighted with the freedom our 200 watts of solar panels allows.

So far we've had 53 KWh from them, of negligible marginal value, but a significant hookup value and huge convenience value. The panels are currently delivering 14.4V/0.8a float charge, and 13.2V/5.6a when current is taken from the battery. So even in winter morning sunshine I'm getting up to 75 watts of power and the float charge will keep the battery in excellent condition.

Solar panels
Seat covers
Driveaway awning
All Cali 'no brainer' accessories for the way we use our van.


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[Roger Boeken]

After 2 years use of T6 ocean, I 'm also very confident I don't need solar panels( IMO much too expensive) . Even after a short ride of 1/2h leisure batteries are getting charged 10 to 20% again. I even don't use hookup at campings . Even last december during 1 week camping at temperatures between -6°C and +2°C . If you stand still for 3 weeks in hot summer in Spain maybe .. but that is not my use of a cali. You can check the charging current of leisure batteries on the control panel during ride: normally it will say >20A, actual charging current is probably even much higher.

 

[RichardH]

Driving does not nesecary means putting fully charge in all the three bats. While driving the altornator need to give power all the electrics that are switched on ...
Now a days thats can be a lot in a modern car , so less power will go in to the bats.

220v hook-up is the way to fully charge .

There could be problem with yours offcoarse.

Thanks but I didn’t mean simply incomplete charging - the first time I noticed it was after an eight hour daylight drive down the French autoroute, and it was clear that the leisure batteries had not been charging at all. A shorter run the following day, after resetting the control and restoring the G symbol, had the batteries well charged again. I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been expecting to rely on the batteries.

 

[Mo!]

Hi all - having charged the van over the weekend and checked this morning, I am hoping that all is well. 12.9V 100% -0.2 A after the initial charge on Saturday - checked this morning - 12.5V 90% -0.2A.
Is the -0.2A ok and normal please?

 

[Andy]

Hi all - having charged the van over the weekend and checked this morning, I am hoping that all is well. 12.9V 100% -0.2 A after the initial charge on Saturday - checked this morning - 12.5V 90% -0.2A.
Is the -0.2A ok and normal please?

0.2 amps is normal it's the control panel.

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[Max-Felix]

That's OK but check it each day for a week if not charged to see where you stand.