Leisure battery charging

[Topsy]

My GC leisure battery was showing 12.1 v this morning so I have run the engine on idle with the dashboard switch on for boast charge and the control panel is showing the battery as charging but after an hour the battery voltage has no changed (still showing 12.1v). I don’t have any solar. My previous GC would charge up the battery in this time. Any suggestions?

 

[GordonH]

1 is the 12.1V the reading from the control panel ?
2. What does the current (A) figure say ?
3. Is the battery state of charge % increasing and what is the number ?

 

[Topsy]

1 is the 12.1V the reading from the control panel ?
2. What does the current (A) figure say ?
3. Is the battery state of charge % increasing and what is the number ?

1. Yes the 12.1 v reading is from the control panel.
2.the current figure is -1 ( but when the fridge kicks in it goes up to -6).
3. The battery state of charge is 40% (although I was told by a dealer technician that is not always an accurate reading).

 

[GordonH]

If the current (A) is reading negative then the battery is discharging. Is the engine still running?

(Note : I have always found the the SOC % to be accurate, I have wired in a Victron shunt on my GC leisure battery as a comparison as when I first had my van I heard similar statements on the forums. I have found the control panel % always in close agreement with the Victron. I think these accuracy queries may be down to a misunderstanding around how state of charge is measured and how battery voltage is related to the state of charge. Voltage is not a particularly good measure of an AGM batteries state of charge unless the battery is and has been at rest for a period of time eg not charging or discharging. What is often a bit non sensical on the control panel is the hours remaining figure as it appears to use a very short time averaging period for the calculation)

 

[Topsy]

Sorry the ampage reading I gave of -1A was after I had turned the engine off. When I am running the engine and have the dashboard boost button on then the control panel is showing +111A

 

[Topsy]

Sorry the ampage reading I gave of -1A was after I had turned the engine off. When I am running the engine and have the dashboard boost button on then the control panel is showing +111A

Also the act Voltage reading is showing 14.1v when the engine is running and the boost button is on (it all appears to show it’s charging but when I switch off the engine the reading is still 12.1v)

 

[GordonH]

Sounds like plenty of charge going into the battery. How old is the battery and when was the last time you charged it?

 

[Topsy]

The GC is 20 months old and the battery is connected to EHC whenever I am not traveling.

 

[Topsy]

@GordonH very strange and intriguing because after the forth attempt it has charged the battery up to 100%. I am sure that the previous three attempts didn’t do anything and I don’t think I have done anything different. Anyway it charged to 100% last night so all good. Thank you for your advice and support.

 

[Jude]

My GC leisure battery was showing 12.1 v this morning so I have run the engine on idle with the dashboard switch on for boast charge and the control panel is showing the battery as charging but after an hour the battery voltage has no changed (still showing 12.1v). I don’t have any solar. My previous GC would charge up the battery in this time. Any suggestions?

Check that the kettle plug under the drivers seat is connected.

 

[Topsy]

Check that the kettle plug under the drivers seat is connected.

@Jude thanks yes I have checked the red plug to the charger (it’s under the passenger seat for anyone with a UK right hand drive GC). Anyway all is working fine now thanks. It will charge up to 100%. Do t now why I had a problem a couple of days ago. I did a big red button reset when I had the problem so perhaps that reset it. I feel a bit of a fool now because it’s all working

 

[Topsy]

Well now it gets more interesting and maybe I am not such a fool after all (see my posts of the 31 Dec & 1 Jan)
The boast charging button on the dashboard has been working fine and charging the leisure battery back up to 100% fine for the last couple of weeks but I again had a problem the other night. We had been parked up off grid for 36 hours and the charge was down to 50% and showing 12.1V and using -2A. I tried recharging the leisure battery by running the engine on tick-over and using the boast button on the dashboard, but it made no difference (strangely the green battery charge indicator on the control panel was pulsing up as if it was charging but the current amperage reading was still showing -2A. I tried the big red switch in the utility cupboard, disconnecting and reconnecting both the red plug by the battery charger and the black plug in the side of the battery charger under the passenger seat (UK spec). I even tried driving the van round the carpark but it was not putting any charge back into the leisure battery. The next morning we were down to 10% and 11.9V so desperately needed charge. We set off on the road and after only 15 minutes driving with the boast button on the leisure battery was back up to 50% and the actual Current Amperage was showing +92A. After another 30 minutes of driving the leisure battery was back up to 100%.
So it appears that the Boast button sometimes doesn't work when the van is stationary and the engine on tick-over and the leisure battery won't recharge but by driving the van under load in road conditions it starts working and recharges the leisure battery just fine.

 

[G-A-R-Y]

Well now it gets more interesting and maybe I am not such a fool after all (see my posts of the 31 Dec & 1 Jan)
The boast charging button on the dashboard has been working fine and charging the leisure battery back up to 100% fine for the last couple of weeks but I again had a problem the other night. We had been parked up off grid for 36 hours and the charge was down to 50% and showing 12.1V and using -2A. I tried recharging the leisure battery by running the engine on tick-over and using the boast button on the dashboard, but it made no difference (strangely the green battery charge indicator on the control panel was pulsing up as if it was charging but the current amperage reading was still showing -2A. I tried the big red switch in the utility cupboard, disconnecting and reconnecting both the red plug by the battery charger and the black plug in the side of the battery charger under the passenger seat (UK spec). I even tried driving the van round the carpark but it was not putting any charge back into the leisure battery. The next morning we were down to 10% and 11.9V so desperately needed charge. We set off on the road and after only 15 minutes driving with the boast button on the leisure battery was back up to 50% and the actual Current Amperage was showing +92A. After another 30 minutes of driving the leisure battery was back up to 100%.
So it appears that the Boast button sometimes doesn't work when the van is stationary and the engine on tick-over and the leisure battery won't recharge but by driving the van under load in road conditions it starts working and recharges the leisure battery just fine.

Completely normal.