New leisure batteries, fully charged, drops to 80% (and less) pretty quickly

[piddi]

Like topic says, brand new leisure batteries, let them charge over night, fully charged (100% in the display), but drops to 80%, than after a few hours down to 60% (with heater and fridge on).

Also, left the heater on over night, and it turned it self off. I thought this was to protect the batteries if they are low on power. But the display still says 12v and 60%.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[TwoDogs]

Doesn't the heater shut down if less than 1/3 of a tank of fuel remains?

 

[piddi]

Hm that might be true and makes sense actually, but the tank is half full (not empty! )

 

[piddi]

This is weird. Seems like the batteries now, after been charged by driving for a while, holds the charge better. Could that mean that the plugin charger is less effective or broke?

 

[Hotel California]

If it was showing 100% afther a nights hook-up the charger must have been working.
Are you sure nothing else was plugged in or left on taking power?
Are both batteries working , are they correct connected when changed .
Are the fuses ok ?

 

[WelshGas]

This is weird. Seems like the batteries now, after been charged by driving for a while, holds the charge better. Could that mean that the plugin charger is less effective or broke?

When you changed the rear Leisure Battery did you check the 50 amp fuse that is integral with the +tve connector?
If that blows, which can happen if the Front Battery is past it or when changing the Front Battery, you would only be running on 1 Battery?

See here.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/fuse-on-positive-leisure-battery-terminal.19122/#post-220228

 

[piddi]

If it was showing 100% afther a nights hook-up the charger must have been working.
Are you sure nothing else was plugged in or left on taking power?
Are both batteries working , are they correct connected when changed .
Are the fuses ok ?

Are you sure nothing else was plugged in or left on taking power?
Yes.

Are both batteries working , are they correct connected when changed .
How do I know if both are working? The plug is showing in the display while charging.

Are the fuses ok ?
Which ones, exactly?

 

[piddi]

Here it is again. Woke up this morning, with the heater having turned off again, with this showing in the display. Seems to me no reason for it to turn off, as the diesel tank is half full and battery 80%?

 

[Les]

Here it is again. Woke up this morning, with the heater having turned off again, with this showing in the display. Seems to me no reason for it to turn off, as the diesel tank is half full and battery 80%?

View attachment 25110

On a 2007 could be the earth shunt which can affect the battery status monitoring and the heater failing to start.

 

[piddi]

On a 2007 could be the earth shunt which can affect the battery status monitoring and the heater failing to start.

I was afraid someone would say that

Do you know if both the fridge AND sink needs to removed for my year and make?

 

[Loz]

You are drawing 3.6amps in that photo, is your fridge on max?

 

[yanathem]

I was afraid someone would say that

Do you know if both the fridge AND sink needs to removed for my year and make?

If you cannot see any screws in the kitchen cupboard that looks like they attach to the fridge then you will after take the sink out. If screws are present then a really simple repair/fix. Details and a guide showing you how to do the earth shunt is in the downloads section on the forum

 

[Hotel California]

There's a fuse on top of the rear lesure batery as WG stated above.

Pretty strange the heater shuts itself fully off .
Could indeed be the earth shunt issue .
No experience with that (lucky for me)

 

[MattBW]

Are the voltages are the same on each individual battery (not the overall system) ?

If the batteries were not both full before install then it can cause inconsistency if the voltages/charge state were different. On my old van we always charged both batteries to full before installing in the van.

My amp meter (not a cali one) also took about a week to level out and get a proper measure of my battery capacity.

 

[piddi]

You are drawing 3.6amps in that photo, is your fridge on max?

Almost.

 

[piddi]

Are the voltages are the same on each individual battery (not the overall system) ?

If the batteries were not both full before install then it can cause inconsistency if the voltages/charge state were different. On my old van we always charged both batteries to full before installing in the van.

My amp meter (not a cali one) also took about a week to level out and get a proper measure of my battery capacity.

I'm not really sure if they were full, but I was told (by someone that knows a little about these things) that most batteries come fully charged. I kind of doubt it though.

The info about the amp meter is very useful, thanks. I had a hunch that could be the case.

 

[MattBW]

I've never been sure if they come full to be honest but I do know that a battery will generally hold full charge for a couple of months, so if it has taken a while to ship from the factory and then sat on the shelf in the store for a while chances are it will not be completely full any longer.

That isn't a problem for a single battery setup, but for a twin one a difference in charge can cause inconsistency and stop one battery charging to it's full potential. The full battery will effectively feed power in to the lesser charged one causing issues (Im sure a sparky will correct me if Im barking up the wrong tree).

If you have a volt meter to hand you can get a rough idea if they are both at the same voltage by measuring each battery individually. They are probably fine but its worth eliminating that as a contributing factor.

If you can charge each one outside of the van to full with a charger and that doesnt help, it does sound like shunt or fuse.

 

[piddi]

I will find my voltmeter and report back, thanks!

 

[piddi]

If you cannot see any screws in the kitchen cupboard that looks like they attach to the fridge then you will after take the sink out. If screws are present then a really simple repair/fix. Details and a guide showing you how to do the earth shunt is in the downloads section on the forum

No screws here, eh?

 

[piddi]

If you cannot see any screws in the kitchen cupboard that looks like they attach to the fridge then you will after take the sink out. If screws are present then a really simple repair/fix. Details and a guide showing you how to do the earth shunt is in the downloads section on the forum

No screws here, eh?

 

[yanathem]

No screws here, eh?

Looks like you will need to remove your sink. Again instructions are in the download section.

 

[andrew bazeley]

I posted a similar matter recently. My battery level readout kept dropping very quickly from 100% down as low as 20%, in just a couple of minutes after I turned the ignition on, with only the fridge on fairly low. Then turning the ignition on again very briefly shot it straight back up to 100%, and it stayed that way for many hours. Batteries only a year old, and everything else working fine. I had one response: they just said not to worry about the percentage readout, as it was unreliable - the important thing was the voltage figure, and the fact that everything worked! Still worry about it though.

 

[piddi]

I posted a similar matter recently. My battery level readout kept dropping very quickly from 100% down as low as 20%, in just a couple of minutes after I turned the ignition on, with only the fridge on fairly low. Then turning the ignition on again very briefly shot it straight back up to 100%, and it stayed that way for many hours. Batteries only a year old, and everything else working fine. I had one response: they just said not to worry about the percentage readout, as it was unreliable - the important thing was the voltage figure, and the fact that everything worked! Still worry about it though.

Thanks for the input.

I guess my main worry right now is the heater turning itself off for no apparent reason.