Leisure battery Sizes - 3 Battery System

[Chris]

Hi.
** I searched last night and got conflicting info so looking to the forum to help.

Noticed my battery level dropping very quickly from 100% to 70% after about 5mins of stopping the engine after a very long run so i guess they are not holding the charge anymore.
Think its time to replace the leisure batteries. My Cali is an 09 so over 6 years sat in the van.
Due to being away from home (not able to check myself) ideally I would like to order and sort out this weekend

Question....
What is the size of battery I need (LxWxH + ampage etc)?
Is the cupboard battery the same configuration as the seat battery?

thanks guys

 

[Hotel California]

Many post on problems with les. bats. and people saying they need a change or changed them , but guess non ever botherd to actualy make a full post on how they did the job and the battery details.
Shame becose the question keeps poppin up.

Maybe you could be the one taking the effort on doing this , so others can benfit from your info, it would be great .

If you scoll thru the electrical section there are some posts but guess none have the straight answer....
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/forums/electrical.21/

 

[MattBW]

Assuming you have an SE?

 

[MattBW]

This may be useful, suggests some alternative batteries.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/replacing-leisure-batteries.10115/

 

[Hotel California]

@MattBW
He talks about 3battery system in the title so ....

There is some usefull info here....
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/dead-leisure-batteries.11419/

 

[Chris]

Hotel California. Thanks for the link.
I can confirm the cupboard and passenger seat battery are the same.
Approx measurement oaf each battery 305mm x 175mm x 190mm (LxWxH)
I have ordered the batteries using the Ebay link in the previous post.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111602658003?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Will advise how I get on this weekend.

 

[Chris]

To finish this thread and help others....
Changed the two leisure batteries using the ebay item above.
Simple job. Only difficult bit is removing the passenger seat to gaining access to the battery.

The results.....
This BH weekend camping allowed us to not be on mains for 4days. Arrived Saturday with 100% showing. Fridge on constantly. Used the internal lights at night time Left the site on Wednesday morning with battery showing 30%. Pleased with that.

Hope this helps

 

[Cavilln]

I just want to say thanks a lot Forum Folk. I also had problems with poor charging leisure batteries. After being quoted up to 4 hours' labour at £65 an hour to change them from my local caravan shop (!) I did the job myself. I am not very handy with such things but it was easy when following the instructions from other posts. in short:
- batteries from ebay link above
- rear one is super easy just undo the retaining bolt remove and replace
- front one under passenger seat is fiddly but OK. The main issue is to make sure you have the VW-soecific bolt to undo (completely) the rear bolts holding the passenger seat to the sliding rail. Then loosen only the front ones. Then move the seat to its furthest point forward. It can then be tilted to allow you to get to the battery remove and replace
- plug it in, test the fridge remove cold beer and enjoy

 

[DominicR]

Thanks everyone from me too. My original batteries were starting to struggle with firing up the auxiliary heating, although they were OK for the fridge etc. (but not too bad, after nearly eight years...). I ordered the batteries in the ebay link posted above, and they arrived earlier today (a day earlier than promised!), very well packed. I've just fitted them following the instructions above, and it was a pretty straightforward job.

If you have an oldish (2008) Cali like mine, then you will probably find that the bolts and nuts (all hex, not torx) are as follows:

- 13mm front seat rails, both front and rear (limited clearance at the front - you'll need a fairly shallow socket wrench)
- 16mm battery bracket under front seat
- 10mm battery bracket rear compartment
- 10mm battery posts

I used jiffy bags to insulate the battery clamps, and avoid a possible short, when disconnecting the old battery. It's a good idea to check the cube fuse on the positive terminal of the rear battery while it's out. Note also that the vent plug needs to be swapped from one end to the other on both batteries, so that the van's vent tubes reach the vents - getting this plug out was the only unexpectedly fiddly part of the whole job.