# Battery



## tattyhead (Mar 21, 2006)

Sorry to be a nuisance but have checked everything in the mh and everything appears to be switched off but the leisure battery is still draining. while not being used for a day. The 2 switches for the dvd/tv freeserve are off. The switch on the large fuse box is also switched off. The only clock is the one in the 'computer' above the door Any ideas anybody as this was not happening when we got the new mh a couple of weeks ago Help


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## Fatalhud (Mar 3, 2006)

would have thought the large switch on the fuse box may be the supply
breaker if this is off it will not charge battery when hooked up to electric


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Yes, my drains too with everything switched off but the control panel, which then shows -0.2A. What scale of current drain do you have? Is the battery good but you are draining at several amps or what? 

Basically, how do you know what about the battery?

Dave


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## tattyhead (Mar 21, 2006)

Thanks Dave for replying. Dont know what it is showing will check tomorrow when we collect the MH but there was not enough charge to use anything at all. Hopefully it will charge whilst we are driving as we are booked to go to I.O.Wight for Easter Unfortunately neither of us understand electrics very well.
Regards Pauline


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

You have to establish whether the problem is with the battery, or whether you have a permanent and significant drain which would flatten even a new battery.

Dave


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi 

Charging while driving, here is the simple answer it wont do it. 

Best case scenario it will simply blow the split charge fuse.

Your leisure battery is like the Norwegian Blue, doorknob, Dodo, doornail, lord rest its little battery posts, it is no more.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi Pauline

It's very difficult to diagnose your problem remotely but it really boils down to three options:
1) The battery has been over discharged and will no longer hold a charge.
2) There is a constant substantial drain on the battery from an appliance or wiring fault.
3) The charger is not doing its job properly for some reason.

These should all be very easy to check out and as you are going away in a couple of days my advice would be to employ a local auto-electrician to diagnose the problem. This should be very easy and quick to do and once the problem is diagnosed you can then - and only then, decide what to do about it. Don't spoil your weekend away for the sake of a few quid.


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## 95384 (Jun 9, 2005)

Pauline - Do you have the SE pack with the drop down screen and the DVD player? If so, when you press the off button on the DVD player, it goes to standby. You need to hold it in for a couple of seconds until it says 'Goodbye' on the display - The two switches control the screen and the freeserve box. I managed to kill two leisue batteries working this out. I have an Apache 700, so not sure if the layout is the same, but is your charger and freeview box mounted in a cupboard with the two switches and a nice little light that comes on when you open the door - this light comes on no matter what is turned off, so it could finish the battery off as well. Once the battery has been completely discharged, you might get it to look like it has charged up agin, but it will discharge in no time. After a few goes at this it wont hold any charge at all


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Gaspode

There is only one certain part, the present battery is scrap.

Question is did it die of old age? or was it murder?


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi george

Yes, you're probably right there, but if you're as tight as I am you never give up hope until the worst case scenario has been well and truly proved. In any event, the problem needs to be properly diagnosed or the same thing will just happen again when a new battery is fitted. I think that under the circumstances some on the spot professional advice is required.
By the sound of it, the battery hasn't died of old age so unless it's a deep coma it must be murder - or should that be infanticide?


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## 89084 (May 13, 2005)

Hi I am having the same problem I have a three week old cheyanne and the battery has been flat twice now. Phone brownhills they said "sorry you are having a problem please buy new battery and send us the bill" so that is ok. I have noticed that the tv is on standby and that it in fact runs off, as does the radio, the liesure battery. So it is important to have them both off when not in use i suppose.

I am not sure what else runs off the liesure battery when the control panel is off. All in all there is a design fault here, has anyone told autotrail?

I will happly do this if not.


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## 89088 (May 13, 2005)

tattyhead

the red switch on the electrical box in the overhead locker should be for charging the leisure battery when on hookup. If it's in the off position when hooked up, your leisure battery is not being charged.

I mentioned previously ( in another post ) that I had suffered a completely flat leisure battery in our Autotrail Apache. What I found out was that there is a 20 amps fuse under the bonnet next to the vehicle battery. When I started the engine this fuse blew because the leisure battery was flat. I had to use the hookup to charge the leisure battery first, and then replace the fuse. This fuse is 1 of a row of 3.

Can I suggest that you fully charge the leisure battery and then disconnect the cables from the battery posts, leave overnight and then reconnect and see if the battery has discharged.

regards trig


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Trig

the battery is stoney cold dead, trying to recharge it with the normal onboard charger could actually wreck the charger.

The battery would not power anything and when lights dont come on battery is beyond any hope of salvage.


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## 89088 (May 13, 2005)

Hello George

Yes, when it happened to me I put a voltmeter across the battery posts, reading was a few hundred mV. Can't believe the battery recharged and stayed good; lucky that time.

trig


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

It is possible to recover a completely flat battery with a rather specialised charging regime but tests normally show that:

1. The capacity has suffered.
2. The number of charge/discharge cycles left in the battery has been substantially reduced.

so You've just rubbed a lot of the newness off.


Regards Frank


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## 89088 (May 13, 2005)

tattyhead

if all else fails why not take it back to the supplying dealer, it must be under warranty and it's their responsibility to put it right.

trig


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Trig

Unlikely for a battery, more or less a consumeable, its to easy for the average owner to murder the battery.


Hi Frank

Yes its sometimes possible to recover, but most people baulk at paying for the charger so they usually buy another battery and murder the next one too.


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## tattyhead (Mar 21, 2006)

*Battery/RAC tracker*

Hi Trig and all that answered my plea thanks for the advice so far.

Well we have been to the IOW for easter thankfully when we hooked up to the electrics the 2 leisure batteries charged so we had no problems. One evening when we switched the lights off I noticed in the dash board a bleeping red light which we imagine comes from the RAC tracker that we had fitted in case of theft. Do you think that this could be the problem of the 'draining battery' does anybody else have one fitted
Pauline& Maurice


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi

it as gone from

_*"but there was not enough charge to use anything at all."*_

to

_*"the 2 leisure batteries charged so we had no problems."*_

One of these statements must be wrong


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Battery/RAC tracker*



tattyhead said:


> Snipped:-
> Well we have been to the IOW for easter thankfully when we hooked up to the electrics the 2 leisure batteries charged so we had no problems.


Hi George and tattyhead

I think this bit of tattyheads post may be a clue....did the batteries instantly charge or was it that since they were on a hook up everything worked :?: :roll:

tattyhead did you check the "state of charge" of the batteries with a hygrometer or digital voltmeter......and are they fully charged now that you are back home?

Mike

Mod Note:

I am moving this thread to Tech/Mech Chat


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Mike

That probably explains it, otherwise we have had a miracle resurrection for Easter.........................


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## tattyhead (Mar 21, 2006)

Hi
The batteries charged when we hooked up to the electrics however as soon as we disconnected them and came back they have discharged again. Do you think it could be the RAC tracker
Pauline


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi

We are back to the begining, the batteries are scrap and need replacing.

Then you need to :

1. find the power loss (es?) Could be the tracker amongst other things, but isnt this supposed to let you know?
2. how long between uses
3. charging methods currently in use
4. decide on a plan to stop your new Battary(s?) ending up the same.


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## 89088 (May 13, 2005)

tattyhead

when the CD /radio is in the open position our Apache has the blinking red LED. The amount of current drawn is negligible, as is the current drawn by other security devices ( they are designed that way ). 

I know its easy to leave equipment switched on when the van is laid up, I've mentioned this previously as I've done it myself inadvertently. If you are sure that you havn't flattened the batteries in this way, ( and even if you have ) then a trip to the supplying dealer must be justified. 

If the batteries are ' knackered ' then they need replacing. By going to the dealer the most it will cost you is the price of two batteries If there is an electrical fault causing the batteries to drain, then this is covered by your warranty

trig


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

tattyhead said:


> Hi
> The batteries charged when we hooked up to the electrics however as soon as we disconnected them and came back they have discharged again. Do you think it could be the RAC tracker
> Pauline


Possibly the tracker but now I think the batteries have had it but one thing occurs to me (may have been mentioned by others) are you sure that your batteries are even on line?

When you are on 230V hookup the charger will be feeding your 12V equipment as well as charging the battery so when 230V is on you would expect the 12V systems to work even if the battery was not connected which could be a switch position or a blown fuse. To be certain you need to use a voltmeter on your battery and report back battery voltage on and off charge and 5 minutes and 30 mins after switching off the hookup supply.

I'm afraid to say though that this is clutching at straws to paraphrase

_ Look Matey this Battery wouldn't voom if I put 4000 volts through it. Its bleeding demised.

It's not it's pining

It's not pining its passed on. This battery is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late battery. It's a stiff. Berefit of life, it rests in peace .......This is an ex-battery _( with apologies to Monty Python)


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