Auto Electrician Cork

willthiswork · 02-06-2020 12:17pm #1

Hey guys,

I'm looking for an auto electrician in Cork who would be good with a campervan. I have a Transporter T5. the battery died at Christmas and I got it jump started by a breakdown service and drove it around for a while with no issues. But then at the end of March it had died again so I bought a new battery. I've driven it a few times since then to keep it ticking over but when I went to take it for a little spin on Saturday, it was dead as a dodo! Obviously there is something draining the battery but I have no idea what it could be, how to check it or how to fix it!!

Can anyone recommend a place in Cork that I could bring my van to get this sorted out?

Thanks!

niloc1951 · 02-06-2020 1:46pm

willthiswork wrote: »

Hey guys,

I'm looking for an auto electrician in Cork who would be good with a campervan. I have a Transporter T5. the battery died at Christmas and I got it jump started by a breakdown service and drove it around for a while with no issues. But then at the end of March it had died again so I bought a new battery. I've driven it a few times since then to keep it ticking over but when I went to take it for a little spin on Saturday, it was dead as a dodo! Obviously there is something draining the battery but I have no idea what it could be, how to check it or how to fix it!!

Can anyone recommend a place in Cork that I could bring my van to get this sorted out?

Thanks!

In modern vehicles there is always a little drain to stuff like imobilisers, central locking, even a clock in the dash.
In a fully charged 75ah battery a draw of just a couple of hundred milliamps will flatten the battery in fortnight.
A small solar charger LIKE THIS or an isolator LIKE THIS could be the simplist and least expensive solution

autumnalcore · 02-06-2020 2:36pm

Could be courtesy/door/bootlight stuck on / aftermarket stereo or alarm etc. My old van for example had and pioneer stereo and aftermarket alarm that drew 180mA, would flatten the battery in 2 weeks.

That tiny solar panel won't keep up with that kind of draw.

Isolator is a sure fire way but then you have no alarm.

If you have a multimeter you can narrow down the source easily by turning off ignition, by putting meter on amp range, disconnecting the battery positive and connecting multimeter between battery positive cable. If its flattening that fast you will find a draw of over 100ma. Then pull/replace fuses one at a time until it dramatically drops.

If the battery is flat it will need a proper charge overnight. Its a misnomer that a spin will recharge your battery from flat, you'd have to be driving around for 10 hours or more to get the charge into the high 90%.

willthiswork · 02-06-2020 2:39pm

autumnalcore wrote: »

Could be courtesy/door/bootlight stuck on / aftermarket stereo or alarm etc. My old van for example had and pioneer stereo and aftermarket alarm that drew 180mA, would flatten the battery in 2 weeks.

That tiny solar panel won't keep up with that kind of draw.

Isolator is a sure fire way but then you have no alarm.

If you have a multimeter you can narrow down the source easily by turning off ignition, by putting meter on amp range, disconnecting the battery positive and connecting multimeter between battery positive cable. If its flattening that fast you will find a draw of over 100ma. Then pull/replace fuses one at a time until it dramatically drops.

If the battery is flat it will need a proper charge overnight. Its a misnomer that a spin will recharge your battery from flat, you'd have to be driving around for 10 hours or more to get the charge into the high 90%.

It has an aftermarket stereo alright and I got a camera fitted to the back recently that comes on when you turn on the lights. I wonder could that be drawing from it?

How would I charge it safely/securely overnight?

02-06-2020 2:42pm

£23 for 1.5W!!! :eek:

Spare me.
I'm getting 300w panels at €0.40 per watt.

An auto-sparkie will just throw a battery at it, and maybe an isolator if you're lucky, unlikely it'll be DC load breaking rated (ahem...). €80 p/h + parts.

Get a proper solar panel >100W and an automatic split charge setup.

02-06-2020 2:44pm

Proper Job!

willthiswork · 02-06-2020 2:51pm

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Proper Job!

Sir Liamalot, I think you are a much more accomplished person than me! Haha! I don't even know what I'm looking at in that picture!

02-06-2020 2:58pm

Arah I'm just raising the bar!
It's the best habitation electrical distribution hub in the country. :pac:

500W of Solar MPPT Charge Regulators Complete with DC rated Disconnects
100A battery to battery charger.
Low Voltage Disconnect Automation & priority ChangeOver (in back).
Omni-directional Automatic Split Charge (in back)
with Redundancy Alternator Split Charge System
DC Disconnect rated Inverter Isolator
DC Disconnect rated Load Isolator
SubMaster Fuseblock

corks finest · 02-06-2020 2:58pm

willthiswork wrote: »

Hey guys,

I'm looking for an auto electrician in Cork who would be good with a campervan. I have a Transporter T5. the battery died at Christmas and I got it jump started by a breakdown service and drove it around for a while with no issues. But then at the end of March it had died again so I bought a new battery. I've driven it a few times since then to keep it ticking over but when I went to take it for a little spin on Saturday, it was dead as a dodo! Obviously there is something draining the battery but I have no idea what it could be, how to check it or how to fix it!!

Can anyone recommend a place in Cork that I could bring my van to get this sorted out?

Thanks!

Google Jerry Hurley

autumnalcore · 02-06-2020 3:24pm

https://www.facebook.com/pedrosgaragebandon/

This guy was recommended by several engineers I work with, does work for a lot of the main dealers.

Auto Electrician Cork

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