leisure battery problem

karmaan

i have a new leisure battery recently fitted by my dealer to our b584,if we use it for 1 night the battery is down to about 3volts next day,
i would expect it to recharge on a 3hour drive home but still at 3 volts after the drive.
I plugged the van into the mains overnight and it is back up to 12.8v and holding.
this is the 2nd time its happened
its a platinum brand leisure battery i cant find any spec written on it
i put my meter on it and revved the van and it drops from 12.6 to 12.2v, i expected it to increase?
also how do i know if my solar panel is performing ok?
any advice?

The drop with the engine running sounds typical of linking two batteries and getting the mean voltage of two batteries. EG. engine battery = 12.4v, leisure battery = 12.8v linked voltage = 12.6v.
Sounds like there's a drain on the leisure battery and a collossal one at that...is your fridge set to 12v overnight perhaps.
In any case best to disconnect the battery until you suss the drain because if you keep dropping her to 3v then it'll only last a matter of weeks. As a rule of thumb keep them above 12.4v where possible to prevent cell damage.

You can check the solar panel by disconnecting the battery and turning off all draws on the 12v system and taking a votage reading off the battery clamps while the sun is shining on the panels, a working panel should give you a reading >12v.
If you're not certain what's drawing power off the system disconnect the solar feed cores to isolate them and then meter them.

niloc1951

The problem you describe can arise if:
There is a break in the wire from the vehicle battery and the voltage sensing for the split-charge/fridge relay is from another source, eg direct from the alternator.
the problem works like this:

1. The relay senses the presence of charging by the alternator when the engine starts.

2. The relay closes to connect the fridge and leisure battery to the engine battery.

3 Because the source from the engine battery is broken the fridge and the leisure battery will not receive power from the alternator/engine battery.
BUT they will be connected via the relay.

4. The fridge will draw its power from the leisure battery.

5. Leisure battery flattened when the engine is running.

If as you say the leisure batter is going flat when the engine is stopped, suspect that the relay is being held closed (as in when the engine is running) when the engine is stopped and the fridge is staying on 12 volt, this scenario should however also flatten the engine battery, assuming there is no break in the wire from the engine battery to the relay.

karmaan

thanks for the advice lads,shoudnt the leisure battery be able to sustain 1 overnight? we had fridge on gas , 4or5 lights on, and the fan blowing the hot air,and occasional use of the water pump,i was getting a red battery alarm ligt on the control panel early in the evening.
i had plugged into the mains the previous night and then a 3 hour drive that day.

niloc1951

I have 2 X 95ah Varta semi-traction (leisure batteries) they are now 7 years old are are still capable of supplying at least 48 hours of mid winter power requirements (heating, lights, tv, sat box, water pumping, etc.). A single unit in new condition should definitely supply all your needs for 24 hours without difficulty.

Can you put a multi-meter in line at the battery terminal to check the amperage being drawn from the battery, particularly check with all stuff turned off to see if you have something 'unknown' taking power.

niloc1951

karmaan wrote: »

................i had plugged into the mains the previous night and then a 3 hour drive that day.

My earlier suggestion about a problem with the supply from the engine battery, like a blown fuse, could very well be your problem, particularly if you leave home with a full battery after hook up and arrive with a flat battery after a drive.
Check if you have a voltage present at the input point/tab on the control-box/relay where the wire from the engine battery is connected, this should always be live.

karmaan

niloc1951 wrote: »

My earlier suggestion about a problem with the supply from the engine battery, like a blown fuse, could very well be your problem, particularly if you leave home with a full battery after hook up and arrive with a flat battery after a drive.
Check if you have a voltage present at the input point/tab on the control-box/relay where the wire from the engine battery is connected, this should always be live.

Niloc
its not depleting after a drive, only after 1 nights use parked up
thanks

what wattage is the heater? is it 12v or 230v?

niloc1951

karmaan wrote: »

..................i was getting a red battery alarm ligt on the control panel early in the evening. i had plugged into the mains the previous night and then a 3 hour drive that day.

If the battery was at over 12.8 volts (fully charged) on arrival and is gone critical early in the evening of the same day and totally flat the next morning it looks like you have a high power draw combined with a battery which is too small, or the battery is knackered.

If it's been down to 3 volts a couple of times already, it's definitely knackered

niloc1951

niloc1951 wrote: »

I have 2 X 95ah Varta semi-traction (leisure batteries) they are now 7 years old are are still capable of supplying at least 48 hours of mid winter power requirements (heating, lights, tv, sat box, water pumping, etc.). A single unit in new condition should definitely supply all your needs for 24 hours without difficulty.

I can run 250ah down in a single day with just a laptop on (with car charger not invertor) actually I could do it in 10 hours if I didn't use the laptop batteries as a buffer.

niloc1951

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I can run 250ah down in a single day with just a laptop on (with car charger not invertor) actually I could do it in 10 hours if I didn't use the laptop batteries as a buffer.

Phew, some laptop, thats over 25 amps per hour, what type of processors does it have. Is it one of those with a 51" plasma screen :eek:.
My laptop makes do with less than .5 of an amp per hour :D

She was a beast two years ago, you can toast a mars bar off the vent with the graphics card running. It's actually 4.5amps @ 19v off a 120watt 12v-19v step up transformer, but i cut her off when i hit 12.2v so there's your margin for error I guess. Sure I can check emails all week no bother but consumption depends on processes running. Do the maths all you want I'm just saying if I wanted to I could flatten my bank in a day no bother and have done several times and it's not just the laptop...I guess I have a subconscious power consumption menu/calculator in the back of my mind all the time. ahh the joys...
...anyways back to the original thread...

niloc1951

niloc1951 wrote: »

If it's been down to 3 volts a couple of times already, it's definitely knackered

PS. I completely agree, I can't believe it came back for 3v, that's pretty impressive I've seen batteries never return from 6.5v.

Aidan_M_M

try find the fuse supplying the charge back from the engine , and the D+ wire from the alternatot , and check for bad connections .