# Another Battery Charging Question !



## 122696 (Apr 22, 2009)

Hi everyone. 

New to the forum and will be paying my £10 over the weekend for full access. 

We collected our first M/H to-night - a Elddis Autostratus EB 6 Berth.(96 model)

After the 80 mile drive home, I was surprised because after 10 minutes, the leisure battery went dead.  
We connected the hook up to the house and after charging for around another 10 mins it started to work again.  

We thought that the ZIG x-3 charger charges when the vehicle is running and not just when connected to the mains. Is that right? 

Does it need to be connected to the mains before the battery will recharge?

Also, how long does a 90 amp leisure battery take to recharge off the mailns? 

Thanks everyone- sorry to ask a dumb first question ! 

Dave and Lin


----------



## maxautotrail (Aug 21, 2007)

DAFO1711 said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> New to the forum and will be paying my £10 over the weekend for full access.
> 
> ...


First welcome...

I think you may find that 80 miles is not sufficient to charge the leisure battery particularly if they are very low. Also it will probably take around 2-3 days to fully charge on hook up if they are new (I'm told).

I have just made the mistake of leaving my freeview box on standby and over 3 weeks standing it drained both leisure batteries to the point they would not take a charge - an expensive mistake.

Try leaving the battery on hook up for a couple of days an see how that goes.

Enjoy your new hobby.

Keith


----------



## Tinyk (Mar 18, 2009)

When a battery has been completely drained for some time it can take a fair amount of GOOD charging before it starts to accept a charge again, then you might find it takes a couple cycles again before it comes back to holding a good amount of charge.

If you find it keeps only holding a small charge you will need to speak to your dealer to arrange a replacment.


----------



## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

> We thought that the ZIG x-3 charger charges when the vehicle is running and not just when connected to the mains. Is that right?


Not familiar with the Zig x3 but its more likely your batteries are charged directly from the engine alternator via a "split charge relay" system.

Firstly leave your batteries on charge with mains hook up all day. If the batteries still do not last long then replace them. A life of 4-6 years is normal.

If the batteries are OK after mains charging then you may have a problem with the split charge relay.


----------



## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi Dave and welcome,Not entirely sure which the zig x 3 one is but I am assuming it is a 3 stage (x3) charger.It is probably more a case of flicking a switch from engine battery to leisure battery.Since lots of vans are wired differently it is going to be a case of switch and play/test :lol: Did you get any booklets?instruction manuals? if not try posting pics or model type then I am sure we/all will find the info you want :lol: 
terry


----------



## 122696 (Apr 22, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your quick replies.

We currently have him on charge at moment so will see how things are after that - its been stood for a few months so suspect the leisure battery is pretty flat.

Again, many thanks  

Dave


----------



## 122696 (Apr 22, 2009)

Hi again

Battery has been on charge from the hook up for 36 hours.

Running 6 overhead twin strip lights (around 10cm long) and 2 spots - battery has lasted around an hour?? 

Not knowing anything about battery life on these things is that normal - seems pretty quick to go flat. 

any further advice would be good. 

Thank you very much


----------



## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi


Just for arguments sake ...the lights will be using around about 1 amp each, so approx total of 8 amps. The battery has a nominal capacity of 90 amp/hr. so it should after a charge of 36 hrs last a lot more than one hour with that load .... I would guess that about 8 hours continuous would deplete it to a safe level But of course this would be for a battery in tip top condition, your battery has by the sound of it been neglected and may need replacing. Have you checked the electrolyte level? or is it a sealed battery?

You can try giving it a couple more charge / discharge cycles but don't get your hopes up too high .... it may recover enough to be of some use but I doubt it  . I am pretty sure that the zig power unit is not multi stage... it is basic charger/power unit so if you can get your hands on a multi stage charger that has special circuitry that "restores" batteries ( such as a a Ctek charger ) then use that for the "restoration" charges.

Otherwise start budgeting for a new leisure battery ....... :wink: 


Mike


----------



## 122696 (Apr 22, 2009)

Mike, 

Thanks for your quick reply and advice.
We have found that leisure batteries cost about £100 for a 100amh.  

Do you think thats about the right price to pay?

Regards,
Dave.


----------



## CliveMott (Mar 10, 2008)

Before you rush out and purchase a new leisure battery do some checks.

Borrow a digital multimeter, set it to volts and connect the wires directly across the battery terminals.

Now with the hookup disconnected run the engine of fast tickover and monitor the voltage. After a few minutes it should be at least 13 volts and if the battery is close to charged should sit at about 14 volts.

Then with engine turned OFF and hookup connected repeat the tests. Again it should climb up and settle at 14 volts after a days charge.

If it passes these tests then both the HOOKUP and SPLIT CHARGING circuits are working and its time to get a new battery.

If however it fails one of these tests then first check out the fuses associated with both charging methods.

Good luck

Clive

P.S. More on 
http://www.motts.org/SPLIT CHARGING SYSTEM.htm


----------



## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi

I agree with Clive's advice :wink: 

If you stick to a normal lead acid battery and that is what I would do, you should be able to find somewhere to get a good quality 95amp/hr at around £70 or 110 at about £80. 

They are often on offer at shows for less that that... my most recent purchase was a good quality one, 85 amp/hr and it cost £45...so do a bit of searching on the net or ring around locally.... there are battery specialists in all regions and they are all open to offers at the moment. :wink: 

Mike


P.S. also don't forget especially if the cost of a new battery is a worry.... if you are always going to camp where you will have a hook up then the failing battery will get you through the first few outings.... but if it is failing the inevitable replacement will have to be done eventually.


----------



## 101825 (Nov 18, 2006)

My suggestion is to bite the bullet and buy a new battery. For peace of mind the £80 is worth it.

Rog


----------



## 122696 (Apr 22, 2009)

Clive ( and everyone else!)

Ok I've go myself a voltage meter and done some tests and think I've worked out problem - but please could you comment if you think I'm right or wrong. :?

Battery is 110amp - after 24 hours mains charge it reads at around 13.98v
Disconnect the mains supply and within 30 mins if *NOTHING* switched on it has dropped to 13.2V. Switch on a few lights and the pump and you can see the volts going down by around 0,1V every five seconds !!! 

Re-connect to the mains and he volts slowly go back to around 13.8-13.9.

With the engine running, the volts slowly increase (at about a third the speed of the mains) but they are increasing.]

So I reckon its a dud battery, not holding its charge and losing power even quicker when appliances are turned on. What do you guys think


----------



## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi

Don't write off your battery on those results. The normal, fully charged voltage for a 12v lead acid battery is around 12.6 volts. :wink:

When a battery is charging or immediately after being taken off charge it will register somewhere around 13.5 - 14.5 volts on your multimeter. This is because the battery charger or alternator charges at this higher voltage and the battery will retain this voltage for a while...it is often referred to as a "surface charge". This surface charge will die away gradually and the battery will slowly return to its more normal 12.6 volts approx ( fully charged)

To test the battery you should allow it to stand after charging for 6 to 12 hours or remove the "surface charge". If you cannot wait then by running the most of the 12v interior lights for five minutes you will remove the surface charge, then let the battery stand to recover for about 30 minutes and then retest the voltage.

You should find that now the battery voltage is back down to its normal level of 12.6 ish ( this depends on several factors, temperature being just one)

Now you need to put a known load on the battery ( several lights, a 12v TV ) and check the voltage drop over a time.

Here is a table of voltage to state of charge, do note though that the battery voltage can only ever be taken as rough guide to the state of charge :-


----------



## 122696 (Apr 22, 2009)

SpyKal, 

many thanks for the advice - I must admit we're two weeks into the new MH and we have had a few problems  Think I've learnt more about electrics and LPG/GAS and damp and MICE and 12v 3 way frdiges and in line fuses and everything else in 14 days than I have in 37 years !!! :lol: 

Can I ask then for your opinion : 

I return to the MH today (its on a campsite 3 miles from home now) and get out the leisure battery and voltmeter and the battery reads 12.7V ( so I understand the surface charge bit :wink: 

So the battery is clearly holding the charge - why then does it only last say four or so hours with total light watage of say 100W (5x16w bulbs and 4 x 5w bulbs)? If I got it right - 100w divided by 12V = 8amp per hour 
Battery is a 110AMP ? :? 

Have I got the wrong end of this :?: :?: :!: 

One other thing - the battery is a sealed maintanence freee one - the little circle showing black or green is always black even after a charge ????

Thanks everyone.


----------



## Fatalhud (Mar 3, 2006)

I would guess the plates within the battery are knackered and not capable of holding the volume of charge

From what you have said in other posts it does sound like they have died

Alan H


----------



## spykal (May 9, 2005)

DAFO1711 said:


> snip: Have I got the wrong end of this :?: :?: :!:


Hi Daf

No you have worked your way through to the point where, as Fatalhud so clearly puts it : "the battery is knackered " :lol: ... it may be that with the aid of a multi-stage charger such as a ctek or the like, that has the ability to de-sulphate the plates in the battery you may resurrect it for a while and get some use from it but I think we can say now that it is a gonner 

It will manage to cope for a while if you can keep it charged and if the use when away is always on a hook up as in that case it is not really required to do much work...but for any stays off a hook up and some reliability it looks like it is time to get a new battery.

Mike


----------

