Leisure battery not holding charge after winter

[Richard Braun]

2015 Cali. After winter not being used, but kept charged we’ve driven over 100 miles. Leisure battery charges but then doesn’t hold it. Batteries tested ok. About to spend 3days off grid. Won’t use fridge or heaters. Do the charging sockets, pop up roof, interior lights and sink pump run off leisure battery or main battery? Any ideas what the problem might be. Will main battery drain flat? Thinking of starting the engine for a short while each day.

 

[WelshGas]

2015 Cali. After winter not being used, but kept charged we’ve driven over 100 miles. Leisure battery charges but then doesn’t hold it. Batteries tested ok. About to spend 3days off grid. Won’t use fridge or heaters. Do the charging sockets, pop up roof, interior lights and sink pump run off leisure battery or main battery? Any ideas what the problem might be. Will main battery drain flat? Thinking of starting the engine for a short while each day.

All the items you mentioned run off the 2 x Leisure Batteries .

What is the voltage shown on the Control Panel 30 minutes after Engine Off or unplugging EHU and a few hours later with nothing switched on or used?

 

[Richard Braun]

Vehicle is a California SE Tdi b

Only two batteries - main under bonnet, 2nd below wardrobe

Engine on
14.6v 1.6amp 100%

After 30 mins reading
12.2v 50% 0.0amp then 60%

Off for a time 12.1v 0.0amp 60%



100%

 

[capt kirk]

have you looked under the front seat. if the second battery aint there make sure nothing is shorting as someone may have removed it and left the wiring in a mess. if its an se it should have three batteries, two leisure and one engine and generally they are all the same so some one could have taken the front leisure battery and used it for the engine in an emergency and just not replaced it. just a thought

 

[Richard Braun]

have you looked under the front seat. if the second battery aint there make sure nothing is shorting as someone may have removed it and left the wiring in a mess. if its an se it should have three batteries, two leisure and one engine and generally they are all the same so some one could have taken the front leisure battery and used it for the engine in an emergency and just not replaced it. just a thought

We bought it from VW dealer in 2017. It had been display model. Only ever had 2 batteries so far as I can recall

 

[Richard Braun]

All the items you mentioned run off the 2 x Leisure Batteries .

What is the voltage shown on the Control Panel 30 minutes after Engine Off or unplugging EHU and a few hours later with nothing switched on or used?

See general reply sent earlier

 

[WelshGas]

See general reply sent earlier

No T5/5.1/6 or 6.1 California with a Hydraulic roof has ever been built with only 1 Leisure Battery.
If yours only has 1 then the underseat battery must have been removed at some point and if you have been running the vehicle with just one leisure battery then I'm not surprised the battery has failed.

 

[yossarian]

May I suggest a photo of the underside of your LHS seat? And what type size and age battery you got in the wardrobe?

 

[Richard Braun]

Ah, there is another which hasn’t been tested.

 

[yossarian]

Any ideas what the problem might be.

There are two main modes of failure of typical lead chemistry batteries:

• Internal shorting of one cell resulting is a lower voltage battery that is subsequently overcharged by the charging system.
• A buildup of lead sulphate on the plates caused by chronic undercharging resulting in reduced active material area and essentially a high internal resistance..

Your symptoms align more or less with the first scenario.

 

[capt kirk]

Ah, there is another which hasn’t been tested.

DOH

 

[Richard Braun]

Battery 3 tested ok. So all three batteries are good. Any ideas?

 

[yossarian]

Let's confirm:

You've removed both leisure batteries and had them load tested?

Both batteries are exactly the same voltage?

The measured voltage is?

The voltage measured ties up with what you see on the control panel?

 

[Richard Braun]

Let's confirm:

You've removed both leisure batteries and had them load tested?

Both batteries are exactly the same voltage?

The measured voltage is?

The voltage measured ties up with what you see on the control panel?

Batteries were tested in situ by Halfords. They said both good and main battery good. Reading on console when engine off was 12.1 - 12.2

 

[yossarian]

Engine on
14.6v 1.6amp 100%

This sounds normal.

After 30 mins reading
12.2v 50% 0.0amp then 60%

One would expect to see a discharge if your batteries have run down to 12.2V

Off for a time 12.1v 0.0amp 60%

Suggestions:

Check that your instrumentation is working properly. Check the voltage of each battery, note the reading on the panel and report back.

If your numbers check out then consider if you have some load connected directly to the battery and the battery negative? A dash cam a tracker or something like that?

 

[Richard Braun]

No dashcam etc. Charge phones using cigarette lighter style charger with double usb ports. Might that have an effect? We’re now on the road so can’t check battery terminals separately.

 

[yossarian]

No dashcam etc. Charge phones using cigarette lighter style charger with double usb ports. Might that have an effect? We’re now on the road so can’t check battery terminals separately.

Unlikely the cigarette lighter charger is the problem as it should show the current draw. Your indicated battery voltage is dropping with zero amps indicated which is odd. This suggests something "invisible" to the van's metering system is using power or a poor connection between the batteries and the leisure battery bus.

 

[capt kirk]

do you leave the usb device in the lighter socket with no phones attached.

 

[Richard Braun]

do you leave the usb device in the lighter socket with no phones attached.

No.

 

[capt kirk]

If its a 2015 and you got it in 2017 as ex domonstrator those batteries are nearly 10 years old and may not have been looked after by the dealer. If the voltage is hovering around 12v with nothing on i am guessing they are end of life and need replacing. The only real test is a drop tester but you should take them out for that and let a proper auto electrican take a look. Probably cheaper to just replace.

 

[Corradobrit]

I guess it is possible the batteries are not original to the Cali. There should be a date somewhere on the casing to give you an idea when they were manufactured. If 10 years old then just replace with higher capacity Li FePO4 drop ins if you feel flush.

 

[PeteS]

If the batteries are 10 years old then I am assuming that they have degraded through age and need replacing. Also if the batteries have been completely discharged for even a short period of time then there ability to retain charge will be affected. There are battery chargers that will attempt to recover batteries but in my experience it does not seem to work. If you do try one of these battery chargers I would remove the battery from the van. The best option as others have said get the batteries tested using a load tester but I would be looking to replace them.

 

[capt kirk]

did you sort this out? what was the outcome please..

 

[Richard Braun]

Sorry. We were overtaken by bigger issue of turbocharger (now hopefully sorted). Haven’t looked in detail at leisure batteries yet. Used it for a day in Dublin without electric and fridge stayed on. As not planning further trip currently will leave until it’s due for service in a couple of months.