Leisure Battery woes

[IsThisNameLongEnough]

Hi all,
Having some weird issues with the control panel reporting the leisure battery 'has gone flat', yet 12.5V at battery/reported on control panel on our 2022 GC680

Van has been on EHU overnight, left at 100% on house battery.
Driven a few hours, got to campsite, 12hrs later (with sun and solar), now reporting zero percent remaining on CP, and its disabled the water pump.

How is it working out the percentage? As 12.5V is around 80%, and the fridge (guessing is hardwired, not via controlled relay) is happy and not complaining about low voltage (have seen it flash the low voltage warning before having an EHU at home).


Have just tried the Big red switch off -> blue plug out -> wait 2 min then reverse, with no joy.

What else to try?

TIA

 

[yossarian]

What else to try?

On the GC some people have had success resetting the control panel by disconnecting the leisure battery (it's in the front not under the seat). Just disconnect the negative for a minute or so and reconnect.

Disconnecting the IBS doesn't seem to do anything helpful. You'll need a 10mm spanner or socket.

 

[DLCALI23]

Hi, there’s an isolator switch in the rear near side cupboard (2nd one in from the back)
turn this off for a couple of minutes, the back on, give it a moment to recalibrate and all should be well, it can take a few moments to complete.
Also, near side front footwell just above where your passengers feet would be there is a blue connector, it’s tricky to get to as you sort of need to be upside down to see or, a well positioned mirror is helpful here, there is a small clip on one side of the plug, can be done with your finger but again a small flat blade screwdriver may help, sounds complicated but it’s really not, just a few seconds job, unplug this blue plug for around 2- 3 mins ideally, this allows any power in the capacitors to discharge.
plug it back in, turn back on you switch in the rear cupboard (If you haven’t already)
thats a full reset done. Give it a go and let us know.

 

[yossarian]

How is it working out the percentage?

There's a sensor on the negative pole of the battery. If any charging source is connected directly to the battery the sensor will not see the charge going in to the battery and report that the battery is flat. On the 6.1 this is often the result of miswired DIY solar. Does your GC have factory fit solar or DIY?

 

[m.terlouw04]

Dag Allemaal,
We hebben een aantal rare problemen met het bedieningspaneel, waarbij wordt gemeld dat de vrijetijdsbatterij 'leeg is', maar toch 12,5 V op de batterij / gerapporteerd op het bedieningspaneel van onze GC680 uit 2022

De bestelwagen heeft een nacht op EHU gestaan en bleef op 100% op de huisaccu staan.
Een paar uur gereden, 12 uur later op de camping aangekomen (met zon en zonne-energie), nu melding van nul procent resterend op CP, en de waterpomp is uitgeschakeld.

Hoe wordt het percentage berekend? Omdat 12,5 V ongeveer 80% is, en de koelkast (vermoedelijk bedraad, niet via een gecontroleerd relais) blij is en niet klaagt over lage spanning (heb hem de waarschuwing voor lage spanning zien knipperen voordat hij thuis een EHU had).


Heb zojuist de grote rode schakelaar uitgeschakeld -> blauwe stekker eruit -> wacht 2 minuten en dan achteruit, zonder vreugde.

Wat kun je nog meer proberen?

TIA

Ik heb zelf in zo'n situatie de beide polen op de HH-accu losgemaakt, nadat ik al alle stroomtoevoer had uitgezet. Ne enige momenten alles weer aangesloten en even de motor gestart. Daarna was het display weer gereset.

 

[IsThisNameLongEnough]

Tried resets (red isolator, blue plug, and battery teminal)
Still seems to drop really quickly.

Had on shore power (and checked charger plug under seat), was at 100%.

with just the fridge on (and no solar), dropped to 30% in an hr or two, drawing 5A
Think the lesuire battery is poked, hope its covered under warranty.

 

[Christopher Thomas]

Hi all,
Having some weird issues with the control panel reporting the leisure battery 'has gone flat', yet 12.5V at battery/reported on control panel on our 2022 GC680

Van has been on EHU overnight, left at 100% on house battery.
Driven a few hours, got to campsite, 12hrs later (with sun and solar), now reporting zero percent remaining on CP, and its disabled the water pump.

How is it working out the percentage? As 12.5V is around 80%, and the fridge (guessing is hardwired, not via controlled relay) is happy and not complaining about low voltage (have seen it flash the low voltage warning before having an EHU at home).


Have just tried the Big red switch off -> blue plug out -> wait 2 min then reverse, with no joy.

What else to try?

TIA

I had all the battery and electrical issues when we first got our GC 600. It drove me mad for over a year with multiple updates and visits to the VW dealership, resets etc. Nothing seemed to help. Then I decided to put in 2 brand new batteries, both the vehicle and leisure. Same model and make as the original. Since then I can free camp during the summer no problems at all. We usually wake up and the battery is at 70% and by the time the sun goes down we’re at 100% again. Right now we’re in Austria and with only a 2 hour drive the last 10 days we haven’t needed to plug in.
My theory is either VW bought a defect lot of batteries or they let them run down at the dealers. May or may not be correct. Anyway this solved everything for us and I now love this van.

 

[SteveGC]

Tried resets (red isolator, blue plug, and battery teminal)
Still seems to drop really quickly.

Had on shore power (and checked charger plug under seat), was at 100%.

with just the fridge on (and no solar), dropped to 30% in an hr or two, drawing 5A
Think the lesuire battery is poked, hope its covered under warranty.

I’ve had exactly the same issue on my 22 680, ended up changing both the consumer unit ant the charge controller to fix it, this is after battery swaps, several different dealers trying to lend their ‘expertise’ and weeks and weeks of diagnostics…works great now but it was thee most frustrating time I’ve ever had with any van!

 

[IsThisNameLongEnough]

Man im terrible at closing the loop.

Battery was replaced under warranty, (control panel updated as well) and things are back to normal.
Really don't know why it died so quickly (normally expect several years out of one), but will see how long this one lasts.

once warranty runs out, I'm thinking it will be time to rip out and redo the electrical fitout part of this van.