# Habitation battery will not hold charge



## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

I have a Mercedes based Autosleepers (Marquis) Surrey and since the end of winter the habitation battery will not hold a charge it will drain in 24-36 hours and sometimes quicker, at the habitation service the dealer said the battery is ok, besides charging it via the onboard charger I have also charged it with a top of the range ctek charger but it still drains.The on board computer does not show any discharge. The vehicle is parked on a steep driveway facing downhill could this make any differance? all replies would be appreciated, many thanks in advance


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## aikidomo (Jan 8, 2008)

At the risk of stating the obviouse............change it. :roll: 
If the battery will not hold its charge its most probably been drained completely once or in your case a few times, this does tend to damage it and causes a memory effect within the cells and only allows the charge to reach a certain level, even if you test it it will usually show
a strong output but one that will soon deminish,quick, as yours does.
Some one may have a better explaination, but this happened to me, took the chance to upgrade the battery as well at the time. :wink: 
Clive


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

The only way to know for sure that your battery is duff is to get the Dealer to do a proper "drop" test on the battery after it has been fully charged. All good workshops should have the special equipment to do this.


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks for the replies,I will have to bite the bullet and buy a new battery, thanks once again


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

A drop test on a battery should only take 5 minutes. 
The incline should make no difference. 
You have checked the acid level haven't you? make sure it's correctly topped up with distilled water with the van on a level surface.


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks once again Bill,I must admit I have not checked acid level, in my ignorance I assumed that the battery was fully sealed, I will check that. thanks once again for taking the time to advise.

Don


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## Ourduckpond (Sep 10, 2007)

padraigpost said:


> I have a Mercedes based Autosleepers (Marquis) Surrey and since the end of winter the habitation battery will not hold a charge it will drain in 24-36 hours and sometimes quicker, at the habitation service the dealer said the battery is ok, besides charging it via the onboard charger I have also charged it with a top of the range ctek charger but it still drains.The on board computer does not show any discharge. The vehicle is parked on a steep driveway facing downhill could this make any differance? all replies would be appreciated, many thanks in advance


you may find the information posted in MH Facts under - Forum/Autosleeper/County Class - Weak Battery OR continual drain.
Regards, brian


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Many thanks Brian for the info, I visited the forum and found it very interesting, I removed my habitation battery to check if it was possible to check levels (not easy as passenger seat has to be removed) but to no avail as it appears battery is sealed and only has a small circular window which is supposed to turn white if battery needs replacing.My local Marquis dealer in Devon have tested my battery and say it is ok but the battery still drains in 36 hours even with the computer turned off, Sometimes quickerin a matter of hours and the system goes into shutdown and will not start up, even when it does it shows no drain when put on stat. I will try some if the tips in the forum you suggested, many thanks once again.

Don


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Try charging the battery OFF the vehicle and then see if it still loses its charge!!

If it does then your battery is clearly knackered!! If it retains its charge (whilst still disconnected from the vehicle) then there is a fault on your MH.

Simples

(If I had to guess I would say its most likely your battery is Kaput!)


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## Ken38 (Mar 24, 2009)

AS MrPlodd says check if it holds charge when disconnected. If not then it is really knackered.

In any case connect with an ammeter to see what the drain is.

If it is a drain that's knackered your battery then it may do the same to your new one.

I have just had a 125W solar panel fitted and my batteries are now fully charged all the time. Heaven! I got so used to conserving battery power that I never seem to use any any more.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Silly question,is it still under warranty maybe, can you fully charge it and drive down to say Halfords without the passenger seat and get them to check the battery with a proper tester.also get a quote for a replacement,and if a good price have them drop one in.should of course it prove to be the battery.which most of us think it will be. :wink: :wink: 

cabby


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks to Mrplodd and to Ken38 I am just in the process of charging battery to check with a meter, firstly connected and check discharge rate and then I will recharge and check disconnected. many thanks for your tips I will post results when known

Don[/b]


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks also to cabby many thanks.
Don


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Just an update, I fully charged the battery with a ctek charger and left it connected, when I checked it the following morning the voltage was down to 10.6v,I disconnected the battery and then fully charged the battery again using a ctek charger and within 30 minutes of disconnecting the charger the voltage had dropped to 11.6v and 30 minutes later down to 11.2 so it seems like the battery is completly u/s so first thing tomorrow I will order a new one. thanks once again to all who were kind enough to offer advice.
Don


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

Received new battery today from Tanya (an elecsol 100ah) fully charged it before fitting with ctek charger and fitted it at around 1200, put a test meter on and showing 12.8v, 8 hours later showing 12.71v I suppose the differance is the surface charge burning off, so far so good, I will monitor charge and post results.

Don


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

latest update, with new battery fitted it is much improved but still slight current drain. while fitting the new battery I moved the cabling for the 50 amp fuse to the front of the battery where the fuse can easily be reached and removed when vehicle unused on the drive and since removing this fuse battery drain is almost nil, when van is to be used the fuse can be replaced in seconds.
Don


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