# Batteries during storage



## mfrancer (Sep 27, 2012)

I previously had a caravan and while it was in storage over the winter I took out the leisure battery and put it on a trickle charger in the house. I am now purchasing a Swift Sundance Motorhome and I am wondering is it possible to also remove the vehicle battery while the van is in storage and trickle-charge it at home? I am aware from reading posts here that many people us a solar panel to keep the vehicle and leisure batteries charged while in storage but I would probably be using a covered storage facility so a solar panel might not be a solution. I am worried that taking out the vehicle battery may cause problems with the electrical system in the van. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

I cannot see a problem with that. What year is the Sundance? There have been many people on here who have suffered flat batteries with the later X250 Fiats but no subsequent problems with the electrics as far as I know.

Unless you have an intelligent battery charger my advice would be to charge them for a couple of days every two weeks.

JohnW


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

If the battery is removed you would lose the code for the radio, possibly the alarm coding and certainly any alarm that you have fitted as far as I am aware....

Your insurers may have questions about the safety of the vehicle with no alarm (admittedly with no battery it is unlikely to be stolen but you wouold need to ensure that they are aware..... "just in case".

They are also not as easy to remove as on a caravan and you may well discover a few new choice Anglo-Saxon words while you do it....

If solar panel cannot be used and no EHU is possible then the only other solution that I am aware of would be to start the vehilce every week or so and run it for half an hour or so as a minimum.

It might be possible to use a "spare" battery as a piggyback and charge that up away from the MH and then link it directly - but the current flow would be great when it was first connected.....

Just a few random thoughts - but others may have more useful ideas....

Dave


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

There should be no problem with removing the habitation battery (-ies), but as others have said, removing the engine battery could cause problems with radio code and alarm. And there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the engine battery will drain, as it powers not only an alarm, but also the CANbus system on later vans (which does central locking, as well as other things).

We keep the van outside and have a large 120W solar panel on the roof which is sufficient to keep all 3 batteries trickle charged over the winter.

Hope you manage to find a solution.

Earlier chassis (pre-2007) don't have the battery drain problem (or at least, to anywhere near the same extent).

Gerald


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Penquin said:


> If the battery is removed you would lose the code for the radio, possibly the alarm coding and certainly any alarm that you have fitted as far as I am aware....Dave


Dave,

Who mentioned an alarm? Alarms are usually unaffected by being disconnected (if indeed it has one at all. Factory fitted immobilisers are certainly unaffected. Radio Code? How many radios these days have a code?

JohnW


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Wizzo said:


> Alarms are usually unaffected by being disconnected (if indeed it has one at all.


Are they? Do they still work without the engine battery? (Just asking out of interest, no sarcasm :wink: )

Gerald


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## mfrancer (Sep 27, 2012)

Thanks for all the very useful advice. The van is a new Sundance 532LP which will be delivered in a couple of weeks. I do not think it has an alarm. It does have a tracker but I am not sure if that will work in Ireland where the van will be stored when not in use.


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

geraldandannie said:


> Wizzo said:
> 
> 
> > Alarms are usually unaffected by being disconnected (if indeed it has one at all.
> ...


No Gerald, but just for the sake of clarity for those who may have been confused by my message (including myself it seems), the alarm or anything else will not work without the battery to power it, but re-connecting it will not require it, or anything else normally, to be reset.  

However, now that mfrancer has said that it does have a tracker, which will of course be disabled by removing the battery, it may be very important to ask the insurance company about leaving the van without power.

JohnW


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

This may be a bit tongue in cheek - but why lay your MH up over the winter?

It is a huge investment so why not enjoy it all year round?


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## mfrancer (Sep 27, 2012)

pippin said:


> This may be a bit tongue in cheek - but why lay your MH up over the winter?
> 
> It is a huge investment so why not enjoy it all year round?


Yes, I think you are right. Sticking something that costs so much in a shed for several months seems daft!


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Even if you don't overnight - the odd day out in winter somewhere interesting, or a nice picnic, or just to get away from it all, or visit friends/family and take them out in it - the choices are as varied as you make them.

You live in .ie - what more can I say!


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Another choice is that you buy one of those starter boster units that the breakdown people use to jump start you.when you go to pick the van up take it with you in case you need it.

cabby


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

As a point of interest to Wizzo, my comment about the alarm needing to be reset is based on our vehicle....

it has a TOAD alarm fitted (it was fitted before we got the vehicle) - nothing to do with a vehicle being towed behind it but a trade name;

http://www.toadalarm.com/motorhome_caravan.asp

it comes with all sorts of gizmos - most of which we do not understand 'cos the instructions that came with are best filed away under "R" (for Rubbish :lol: )

if the VEHICLE battery is disconnected without power being maintained to the systems then the alarm needs to be reset - a tedious practice involving mutliple presses of the key fob to a set series of numbers (which we have got) to over-ride the immobiliser which is an integral part of it.....

Our cab radio also has a code number that requires entering if the vehicle battery is removed and the power circuit de-energised.

Hence my comments, I do not know what he has fitted and what the requirements of his system are, ours is described as Thatcham Cat1.

Dave


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

One point to remember is that lead acid batteries (wet or gel) simply do not like being left in any state of discharge.

It shortens their life considerably.


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Penquin said:


> As a point of interest to Wizzo, my comment about the alarm needing to be reset is based on our vehicle....


Fair comment Dave. Any point I made was not meant to offend, but in my experience (and I have sold both In Car Entertainment and Cat1 Alarms for a large Car Accessory company) the amount of alarms and radios that would be affected by disconnection and reconnection is well in the minority.

JohnW


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Penquin said:


> As a point of interest to Wizzo, my comment about the alarm needing to be reset is based on our vehicle....
> 
> it has a TOAD alarm fitted (it was fitted before we got the vehicle) - nothing to do with a vehicle being towed behind it but a trade name;
> 
> ...


In my experience Cat1 alarms normally have their own battery and siren inbuilt .If you disconnect the vehicle battery the alarm will sound as security measure and has to be disabled by the "owner" first.
Both my cars and my MH alarm has this feature.


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