# Autocruise Charger



## Justmayb (Sep 30, 2010)

*battery on a Starfire*

Please help... We have a Starfire. It is kept on the drive and from time to time we charge the battery. We find that although the control panel tells us that both the car and leisure battery is 3/4 charged, within 4 days it will not start and it still registers 3/4 charged. It will not even turn over. This can even happen after s run with neither windscreen wipers or lights on. We do not even put the alarm on incase this is the cause. Any suggestions? Thanks Belle


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

Hi Belle,

I think you may need the services of an auto electrician to sort this one out. There could be a number of reasons for what you are experiencing.

1. The engine battery may be on it's way out and need replacing.

2. There may be a fault in the charging systems preventing the battery from being properly charged.

3. There may be an electrical fault which is draining the battery within a very short period.

As you seem to be having problems when the battery has been charged by the hookup and also when driving then I would guess 1 or 3 would be the most likely.

The only way to be able to identify the exact problem will be to get an electrical meter and measure charging voltages/discharge currents etc.

One thing that you could try is charging the battery fully then taking the van to a local battery dealer and asking them to load test it for you. Hopefully that shouldn't cost anything. If the battery proves good then you can then get the electrics looked at.


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

I agree, a multimeter will give you the voltage of the batt and we can work out the discharge state from there. Charge the batteries from the mains and take a reading after an hour and then 24 hrs later and post the results, we may be able to remotely diagnose the issue (maybe not the problem) then.

Sounds like a) (most likely) a short, or b) a charger malfunction.


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## Justmayb (Sep 30, 2010)

*Autocruise Starfire battery problems*

Thanks for your advice guys. Think I (oops my partner) will try the static discharge method first to see if any current is being taken when everything is switched off. If it is not then I will charge the battery and take it for a load test. I will also do the two voltage level tests in the meanwhile to see if there is any reduction in charge level and post you the details. Belle :?


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