Technical leisure battery- how does it get charge?????

[kibris5]

Hi I have a fiat ducato carioca 15 motorhome 2001. the last time we used it everything was fine .that was in november. I went to check onit today in storage and there is no 12v coming from liesure battery in fact on a test the battery only had 2.8 volts in it. van started first time so no problem with main battery.my question is how does the liesure batty get its charge? is it only when plgged into mains hookup? if so and Icantplug in cos there is no mains in storage is there an alternative way to recharge it? or do you think the batty is too low in volts to recover as it is winter now? I Have solar panel on roof but I think this only for main battery trickle charge an advice most welcome .
thanks

 

[blaven]

Leisure batteries are notorious. They can be hidden away in areas difficult to access, so the owners tend to neglect them. Your van will probably have a split charging system. This means that the Alternator will prioritise charging your vehicle starter battery, then when that's topped up it will switch to the leisure battery. But alternators will take some hours to recharge deeply discharged batteries, and judging by yours only having 2.8 volts in it, It'll have gone beyond salvation. Its VERY important to realise that a heavily flattened battery will throw enormous strain on your alternator charging system and may cause early failure of your expensive alternator. Its far better to junk the battery to prevent that from happening and buy a new one.
Take your leisure battery out and find out what type it is, Flooded (wet) lead Acid, Gel, Glass Mat, etc. Is it maintenance free? How old is it? Make a note of all the info and numbers on it and cross reference on Google. If its a normal battery with filler plugs, is it dry? When did you last look? Loads of questions.
Follow posts in Motorhome Matters,-very helpful bunch and far more knowledgable than me.

 

[rayc]

my question is how does the liesure batty get its charge?
thanks

It get its charge from the onboard charger when on EHU - any self respecting system will also charge the cab battery in this way

On the road the alternator should charge both the cab and leisure batteries
On solar it should charge the leisure battery and also the cab one if configured to do so i.e. dual regulator etc.

Two queries I have; Are you sure the solar was actually charging the habitation battery whilst in storage? Most people complain that it is the cab battery goes flat due to alarm system and general ECU drain etc. What do you mean by "I Have solar panel on roof but I think this only for main battery trickle charge"? By main battery do you mean the leisure one?

A decent control system should have a DDU {Drop dead Unit}, which disconnects the battery from the system when the voltage falls below 10.8v . This prevents total failure of the battery.

I think you can safely say your battery is beyond repair. If you cannot get EHU whilst in storage and there is not enough sunlight for the solar panel to keep the charge then your best bet is to disconnect the leisure battery. I presume there is no DC equipment you need powered on whilst it is in storage?

 

[corcai]

The battery capacity would be reduced yes but it takes months for sulfation to bring a battery to 'completely beyond repair'.

Remove it from the vehicle, check if theres enough electrolyte to cover the plates, if so charge it for at least 24 hours in an open space, top up the electrolyte if necessary and run an equalisation cycle. Main problem most people will face is a lot of digital chargers won't see or attempt to charge a battery with that low a voltage so you may need to do the initial charge with an dumb old transformer charger.

 

[CDK]

A 16 years old motorhome, the owner doesn't know how the battery gets charged and now it is winter: safe to assume the totally depleted battery is dead as a doornail and all attempts to restore it are a waste of time and electricity.
The usual procedure to help batteries through the winter is to remove them, store them somewhere protected from frost and use a trickle charger. Another option is to use a small outdoor solar panel.

 

[blaven]

A 16 years old motorhome, the owner doesn't know how the battery gets charged and now it is winter: safe to assume the totally depleted battery is dead as a doornail and all attempts to restore it are a waste of time and electricity.
The usual procedure to help batteries through the winter is to remove them, store them somewhere protected from frost and use a trickle charger. Another option is to use a small outdoor solar panel.

Solar panels ok for you guys in the sun! Hopeless for us up here in UK. Smart charger please NOT trickle charger, and charge once per month,-not connected to mains electricity all the time, whatever the smart charger instructions say about it being ok to leave on all the time!

 

[CDK]

Solar panels ok for you guys in the sun! Hopeless for us up here in UK. Smart charger please NOT trickle charger, and charge once per month,-not connected to mains electricity all the time, whatever the smart charger instructions say about it being ok to leave on all the time!

As long as there is daylight a good solar panel (mono crystalline) will deliver enough to keep a battery charged.
Heavy overcast and rain here today, my solar array still delivers 5%.
Greetings from the guy in the sun

 

[blaven]

As long as there is daylight a good solar panel (mono crystalline) will deliver enough to keep a battery charged.
Heavy overcast and rain here today, my solar array still delivers 5%.
Greetings from the guy in the sun

Sorry, 5% of what please?

 

[CDK]

5% of nominal output in direct sunlight. I use an old fashioned analog ammeter calibrated in %%. This particular array of 4 Siemens panels brings 200 W., this morning it was approx. 10 W. Right now there is a bit more daylight, the output is fluctuating between 5 and 10%.

 

[barneyb7]

First timer here,
I think that your leisure battery would be a deep cycle battery
and you would need a deep cycle charger.
A deep cycle battery is allowed to loose a lot of power /amps/volts.

 

[kibris5]

Hi thank you all so much for your replies and advice. I have now replaced the leisure battery and all seems ok again. I should have expained in my post that this is our first motorhome and only owned it since sept 16. so everything is still very new to us.
Should I leave the leisure battery connected or disconnected whist in storage?
Engine battery starts van first turn of the key so no problem there.
Thanks all again for advice much appreciated.
Ron

 

[CDK]

I would disconnect the battery to make sure no current is drawn. There certainly is some kind of electronic device that controls the way the battery is charged and disconnect it when the voltage drops under a preset level, but the device itself also consumes electricity. There normally also is a panel somewhere with switches and status LEDs, also drawing some current. It isn't much, but even a few milli-amps can empty a battery given enough time.