Spare/Leisure battery

[laurentfox]

Greetings all, hope you are getting back on the road. I have a 2013 T5 ans I’ve been traveling for 3 weeks and have had a problem with the life of the battery that runs everything behind the driver compartment when the car is turned off. I’m running the refrigerator, charging a couple a couple Apple devices, and running a small fan. The battery cut out after 7 hours. When I did only the refrigerator, it lasted only 2 days when it would last 4. (Currently in Croatia but working my way to Switzerland, Germany, Czech Rep over next 5 weeks and don’t want to keep having to find electric)
So after all that, does anyone know where that battery is located and if it is removable without a special vw tool and where I can find another one. Thanks!

 

[WelshGas]

Greetings all, hope you are getting back on the road. I have a 2013 T5 ans I’ve been traveling for 3 weeks and have had a problem with the life of the battery that runs everything behind the driver compartment when the car is turned off. I’m running the refrigerator, charging a couple a couple Apple devices, and running a small fan. The battery cut out after 7 hours. When I did only the refrigerator, it lasted only 2 days when it would last 4. (Currently in Croatia but working my way to Switzerland, Germany, Czech Rep over next 5 weeks and don’t want to keep having to find electric)
So after all that, does anyone know where that battery is located and if it is removable without a special vw tool and where I can find another one. Thanks!

You should have 2 Leisure Batteries.
one beneath the Drivers seat, LHD, and one below the rear wardrobe accessed via the removable panel in the boot on the wardrobe base.
The factory fit option is the Varta LA80. Other makes are available but the dimensions are the limiting factor.
Both batteries should be replaced as a pair.

The rear wardrobe battery has a 50 amp cube fuse on the red +tve pole. This can fail.
As the 2 batteries are wired in parallel if this fuse fails you have reduced the leisure Battery power supply by 50%, so check this fuse first.

 

[laurentfox]

Thanks very much WelshGas, very helpful information. I’ll check it out tomorrow!

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks very much WelshGas, very helpful information. I’ll check it out tomorrow!

Let us know how you get on, please.

 

[laurentfox]

Will do, I looked at the wardrobe battery today but didn’t see the fuse (although I didn’t pull the battery out, it required a socket wrench that I didn’t have handy and it was bloody hot here in Croatia). I’ll do a check for it tomorrow morning, maybe it’s behind the battery and I will also take a picture of the battery for VW if I need to replace it. (it was a Varta but couldn’t see the number)

 

[WelshGas]

Will do, I looked at the wardrobe battery today but didn’t see the fuse (although I didn’t pull the battery out, it required a socket wrench that I didn’t have handy and it was bloody hot here in Croatia). I’ll do a check for it tomorrow morning, maybe it’s behind the battery and I will also take a picture of the battery for VW if I need to replace it. (it was a Varta but couldn’t see the number)

The fuse should be on the Red +tve pole. The white cube.

Tip : use a paint scraper or thick knife blade to lift up the bottom of the battery to slide it over the bottom lip of the opening. The leads are long enough to lift the battery out into the boot without disconnecting.

 

[laurentfox]

Oh, I didn’t know that was a fuse, haven’t see one like that. I’ll check it in the morning, thanks!

 

[laurentfox]

Hi Welshman,
Sorry I didn’t have a chance to reply yesterday, was traveling all day. I pulled the rear battery this morning and the fuse is fine. I’m going to try and stop at vw and have them test the batteries. Perhaps having the vw sitting still for a year (with a few start ups) during lockdown drained them down. Cheers and thanks.

 

[laurentfox]

Hi Welshman,
Sorry I didn’t have a chance to reply yesterday, was traveling all day. I pulled the rear battery this morning and the fuse is fine. I’m going to try and stop at vw and have them test the batteries. Perhaps having the vw sitting still for a year (with a few start ups) during lockdown drained them down. Cheers and thanks.

You should have 2 Leisure Batteries.
one beneath the Drivers seat, LHD, and one below the rear wardrobe accessed via the removable panel in the boot on the wardrobe base.
The factory fit option is the Varta LA80. Other makes are available but the dimensions are the limiting factor.
Both batteries should be replaced as a pair.

The rear wardrobe battery has a 50 amp cube fuse on the red +tve pole. This can fail.
As the 2 batteries are wired in parallel if this fuse fails you have reduced the leisure Battery power supply by 50%, so check this fuse first.

Hi Welshgas,
Further update, I found an Rv repair shop that said they work on all models of Vw campers. I told him the problem of the low retention rate of the battery and that it was 8 years old. He said it sounded like the battery needed to be replaced. I told him just one battery or both and he said only the rear one as the one under the drivers seat only powers the heater and some electronics. He replaced the rear one with a same brand 80 amp battery (old one was 75 amp but he didn’t have one and said more amps better ) and charged me a whopping 259 euro (I thought this was very high as it took him 15 minutes?). Last night camping I didn’t plug into the electrics. The battery started at 90% and 11.5v with just the fridge and charging two devices. Today 24 hrs later it says 10.3v and 80%. Does this sound normal? Also, this afternoon I had the fridge and a table fan running and I turned the usb charging unit on and everything stopped. I thought I blew a fuse but 30 seconds later it started up again so I quickly turned off the fan. Now a little afraid to run all three again. Any thoughts on all this? Thanks! Laurent

 

[laurentfox]

Hi Welshgas,
Further update, I found an Rv repair shop that said they work on all models of Vw campers. I told him the problem of the low retention rate of the battery and that it was 8 years old. He said it sounded like the battery needed to be replaced. I told him just one battery or both and he said only the rear one as the one under the drivers seat only powers the heater and some electronics. He replaced the rear one with a same brand 80 amp battery (old one was 75 amp but he didn’t have one and said more amps better ) and charged me a whopping 259 euro (I thought this was very high as it took him 15 minutes?). Last night camping I didn’t plug into the electrics. The battery started at 90% and 11.5v with just the fridge and charging two devices. Today 24 hrs later it says 10.3v and 80%. Does this sound normal? Also, this afternoon I had the fridge and a table fan running and I turned the usb charging unit on and everything stopped. I thought I blew a fuse but 30 seconds later it started up again so I quickly turned off the fan. Now a little afraid to run all three again. Any thoughts on all this? Thanks! Laurent

Further update, it appears the battery ran out juice. I plugged in to the electric mains and everything is working. Do you get more than 24 hours on your leisure battery? I thought I was getting up to 4 days before. Maybe the front one is still bad and the repair guy was wrong?

 

[Vagophile]

Maybe the front one is still bad and the repair guy was wrong?

Most likely. @WelshGas knows what he is talking about when it comes to batteries!

 

[ArunAlec]

Further update, it appears the battery ran out juice. I plugged in to the electric mains and everything is working. Do you get more than 24 hours on your leisure battery? I thought I was getting up to 4 days before. Maybe the front one is still bad and the repair guy was wrong?

I think your repair man is wrong! The 2 leisure batteries are wired in parallel and together feed all the leisure equipment. So both need to be checked.

 

[WelshGas]

Further update, it appears the battery ran out juice. I plugged in to the electric mains and everything is working. Do you get more than 24 hours on your leisure battery? I thought I was getting up to 4 days before. Maybe the front one is still bad and the repair guy was wrong?

Mine will last for 5 days with fridge & lights etc.

Both batteries need to be replaced as they are wired in parallel.

If both batteries are failing then just replacing one will make minimal difference. The failing battery will just drag the new battery down.

Your RV man is wrong, I’m afraid.

Both batteries should be the same and replaced at the same time.

 

[laurentfox]

Mine will last for 5 days with fridge & lights etc.

Both batteries need to be replaced as they are wired in parallel.

If both batteries are failing then just replacing one will make minimal difference. The failing battery will just drag the new battery down.

Your RV man is wrong, I’m afraid.

Both batteries should be the same and replaced at the same time.

Thanks, i’ll get the other replaced shortly. Do you know how to pull the front battery out? I slid the seat as far forward into the steering wheel (LHD) and I couldn‘t even get the foam cover off. Do I have to remove the seat?

 

[Brownbetty]

Mine will last for 5 days with fridge & lights etc.

Both batteries need to be replaced as they are wired in parallel.

If both batteries are failing then just replacing one will make minimal difference. The failing battery will just drag the new battery down.

Your RV man is wrong, I’m afraid.

Both batteries should be the same and replaced at the same time.

Hi W/G, once again you have came up trump's
I was just abt to ask for help abt refrigerator trouble when I came upon this tread & saw your reply abt the fuse so went there first, so glad.
So now where do I get one, tried my local motor/ discount with no luck, any ideas?

 

[yossarian]

Hi W/G, once again you have came up trump's
I was just abt to ask for help abt refrigerator trouble when I came upon this tread & saw your reply abt the fuse so went there first, so glad.
So now where do I get one, tried my local motor/ discount with no luck, any ideas?

Here's the vw part number: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/2nd-battery-not-charging-t6-1-coast.41152/post-534050

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks, i’ll get the other replaced shortly. Do you know how to pull the front battery out? I slid the seat as far forward into the steering wheel (LHD) and I couldn‘t even get the foam cover off. Do I have to remove the seat?

Ignition OFF. Do Not switch on until everything is finished.

Undo the 4 bolts/nuts holding the seat On to the sliding rails.
Tip the seat forward onto the steering wheel. There might be enough room to remove the battery cover. If not then undo the 2 electrical connectors on the wires going into the seat base. One is for the airbag and one is for the seat heater if you have heated seats.
Lift the seat out.
Remove battery cover and replace the battery . Negative first Positive 2nd. NB the Positive will remain live as it is connected to the rear battery, so take care to isolate it from anything metal.

Replace battery . Then Positive followed by Negative. Lift seat back i9n. Reconnect the electrical connectors. Rebolt seat into place. Only then can you switch the Ignition On.

 

[Brownbetty]

Here's the vw part number: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/2nd-battery-not-charging-t6-1-coast.41152/post-534050

Thanks, I've ordered one on from eBay for £5.48 with free postage.

 

[Kjetil]

Here's the vw part number: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/2nd-battery-not-charging-t6-1-coast.41152/post-534050

How much does that fuse and fuse socket cost? Is the fuse (S339) 50 or 75A? I can’t read the pic.

 

[WelshGas]

How much does that fuse and fuse socket cost? Is the fuse (S339) 50 or 75A? I can’t read the pic.

It was 50 amps on the T5/5.1 then upgraded to 75amps subsequently.

 

[laurentfox]

Ignition OFF. Do Not switch on until everything is finished.

Undo the 4 bolts/nuts holding the seat On to the sliding rails.
Tip the seat forward onto the steering wheel. There might be enough room to remove the battery cover. If not then undo the 2 electrical connectors on the wires going into the seat base. One is for the airbag and one is for the seat heater if you have heated seats.
Lift the seat out.
Remove battery cover and replace the battery . Negative first Positive 2nd. NB the Positive will remain live as it is connected to the rear battery, so take care to isolate it from anything metal.

Replace battery . Then Positive followed by Negative. Lift seat back i9n. Reconnect the electrical connectors. Rebolt seat into place. Only then can you switch the Ignition On.

Thanks WelshGas,
Today I found a VW dealership that sales and has experience with T5 Cali’s. We tested all 3 batteries and all came up as good batteries. Unfortunately since I didn’t have an appointment, we had to stop the search. Tomorrow I have an appointment at 0830 and they are going to look for a blown fuse or a short by doing some diagnostics. Getting closer…..I hope.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks WelshGas,
Today I found a VW dealership that sales and has experience with T5 Cali’s. We tested all 3 batteries and all came up as good batteries. Unfortunately since I didn’t have an appointment, we had to stop the search. Tomorrow I have an appointment at 0830 and they are going to look for a blown fuse or a short by doing some diagnostics. Getting closer…..I hope.

Unfortunately batteries can test as good, in that they will charge up to 100% capacity and a voltage of 12.7+ volts, But, and this requires further testing, a battery can crash under load or drop its voltage over a short time.
This is what happened with mine. 1 battery held its voltage over a week and the other dropped its voltage over hours.
I couldn’t run the fridge for 24 hrs together with the Parking Heater. Both cut off after 8 hrs. With replaced batteries no problems, fridge 4 days minimum and fridge + heater 12 hrs a day lasted a minimum 2.5 days.

 

[laurentfox]

Unfortunately batteries can test as good, in that they will charge up to 100% capacity and a voltage of 12.7+ volts, But, and this requires further testing, a battery can crash under load or drop its voltage over a short time.
This is what happened with mine. 1 battery held its voltage over a week and the other dropped its voltage over hours.
I couldn’t run the fridge for 24 hrs together with the Parking Heater. Both cut off after 8 hrs. With replaced batteries no problems, fridge 4 days minimum and fridge + heater 12 hrs a day lasted a minimum 2.5 days.

WelshGas,
Thanks very much, You are a champion! I had the appointment at VW yesterday. I told them what you said about the battery testing good but still not holding a charge. They said they still wanted to run the electronics diagnostic to rule out a faulty fuse or charger so I said go ahead. Bottom line they did that, found nothing wrong and went ahead and replaced the battery under the driver’s seat (I had replaced the motor battery before this trip since it was dead and the wardrobe battery was replaced by another RV shop last week). Interestingly, they also told me with the wardrobe battery, the guy didn’t tighten the connectors on the poles, VW said they we totally loose so glad they found that. Anyway just made 20 hours charging the fridge and devices and still going strong. So thanks again and if we ever meet, beers on me. Cheers Laurent

 

[WelshGas]

WelshGas,
Thanks very much, You are a champion! I had the appointment at VW yesterday. I told them what you said about the battery testing good but still not holding a charge. They said they still wanted to run the electronics diagnostic to rule out a faulty fuse or charger so I said go ahead. Bottom line they did that, found nothing wrong and went ahead and replaced the battery under the driver’s seat (I had replaced the motor battery before this trip since it was dead and the wardrobe battery was replaced by another RV shop last week). Interestingly, they also told me with the wardrobe battery, the guy didn’t tighten the connectors on the poles, VW said they we totally loose so glad they found that. Anyway just made 20 hours charging the fridge and devices and still going strong. So thanks again and if we ever meet, beers on me. Cheers Laurent

Now that you are all sorted - enjoy.
Remember to plug into the mains for 12-24 hrs monthly to charge up the Leisure Batteries as stated in the Handbook and you should get many years use from them.

 

[laurentfox]

Now that you are all sorted - enjoy.
Remember to plug into the mains for 12-24 hrs monthly to charge up the Leisure Batteries as stated in the Handbook and you should get many years use from them.

Thanks for the tip! Appreciate all the help!