Leisure battery finito i think

[Neil]

Washing my van today and noticed my digital controller numbers went dim and it was flashing batt, maybe it's time for a new one, I have a split relay so I turned on my engine and it worked perfectly. If I drive my van around will it charge up the battery at all? The shop I got my leisure battery from is shut now till new year so need it to hold out lol, I don't want to keep my van running while cleaning windows any idea what I could do lads?

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[Neil]

I have had the battery for 3 years [emoji23] with no probs up until now

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[Tuffers]

Do you ever charge the leisure battery using a charger rather than just the split relay? I tend to charge mine a couple of times a week, even though it charges off the van battery too. Try bench charging it and see if the charge holds. Get a multimeter so you can see what charge is in the battery also.

 

[Neil]

I've never tried that tuffers I need it for tomorrow to work and I haven't got a charger at home I will buy one tomorrow after work . If I drive it tonight tuffs will it charge it up a bit?

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[Neil]

Might pop up and see you to charge it up lol

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[mark]

a car battery would get u by,done this in the past.

 

[Neil]

I've got to go out tonight so thought if it would charge while I'm driving I will take the van

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[Tuffers]

I've got to go out tonight so thought if it would charge while I'm driving I will take the van

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Take the long way /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Neil]

Will it work do you think?

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[Tuffers]

Will it work do you think?

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@spruce is the fella to tell you about batteries mate. Driving round a bit will help, but I've not got a scoooby how much charge you will put in the battery by driving around for a bit. Have you got a neighbour with a charger? Maybe borrow one from a friend etc just for tonight?

 

[Neil]

Yeah true mate will ask about . @spruce where are you me old muka????

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[Smurf]

I would have thought it would need bench charging overnight for it to hopefully work at all as the battery is completly discharged,

Surley you must know someone you can borrow a charger to put it on charge tonight?

 

[Smurf]

@Neil did you manage to borrow a charger?

 

[Neil]

Nope !!! I've just gone down to see if it works and it seems ok lol but how long for **** knows

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[Smurf]

If it dies on you best you don't use your van battery instead or you may not be able to start the van.

Halfords open at 9,00 am tomorow if you have one local to you so you can always call in to get a replacement battery & charger

 

[Neil]

Hmmm didn't think of that will go halfords in the morning mate and see what they have ! Cheers smurf, so if the leisure battery dies my van battery could die too?

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[Smurf]

No but if you connect the wfp system directly to the van battery it might

This should sort you out http://www.halfords.com/car-seats-travel-equipment/camping-caravanning/caravanning/halfords-leisure-battery-115-ah

 

[Neil]

Are they any good smurf long term?

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[spruce]

@spruce is the fella to tell you about batteries mate. Driving round a bit will help, but I've not got a scoooby how much charge you will put in the battery by driving around for a bit. Have you got a neighbour with a charger? Maybe borrow one from a friend etc just for tonight?

Hi sorry I haven't been around this evening.

I agree with Tuffers. Driving around just won't be enough I'm afraid.

As I've mentioned before I have a 110 amp h leisure battery on a split charge relay. Our pumps on the van draw around 4 to 4.5 amp an hour each.

If I manage a 6 hour day on my own and my pump actually works for 3 hours of that day actually on the glass then I can presume I have used 12+ amps from my battery. If my battery was fully charged the previous night, then at the end of the day I would estimate that I have approx 98 amps left in the battery.

On my way home I see that my alternator is charging the battery by about 6 amps. At that rate I would theoretically need to drive for 2 hours to replace the charge I had used that day. However if it only takes 15 minutes to get home, then I have only replenished the charge in the battery by 1.5 amp. If I drove back to the same area the following morning I would put a further 1.5 amps into the battery. So I took 12 amps but only replaced 3 amps.

I know its a lot more complicated than that as a discharged battery will accept a higher charge rate. As the charged battery gets 'fuller' then the rate it will accept a charge reduces. My battery when nearly fully charged on my intelligent battery charger will only accept about 0.5 amps from the alternator.

It was once stated in an Australian Motor Home magazine that it would take a journey of 750km to fully recharge a discharged (flat) leisure battery. I can vouch for that on a trip I did in my van to London. I started off with a 75% charged battery and it was fully charged by the time I got to London - a distance of 250 miles. It took that distance, around 5 hours driving time, to put back about 35 amps.

My van alternator will supply the leisure battery with exactly the same charge rate, whether its traveling down the motorway or idling at traffic lights. So taking it slowly saves fuel and gives your battery a longer charge, but the results aren't big numbers.

Added.

I would also agree with Smurf that if your leisure battery hasn't had a decent charge then its probably unserviceable at 3 years old. You may be able to breath a little life back into it with a bench charge, but I think that it has now let you down and will again in future. You can easily waste so much time with messing on with an old battery - wasted time is lost earnings. You can't leave the van engine running whilst you are working unless you are in a secure area. It's also against the law to let your vehicle idle unattended in the street and they dish out fines for that offense. Its also a target for theft.

I would do as Smurf suggests and replace it first thing tomorrow. At least you will get a couple of days reliable service from it this week before the Xmas break.

I also recommend you get a good leisure battery charger and give it a 'bench' charge every couple of days.

 

[Tuffers]

Top post as ever from @spruce :thumbsup:

 

[Neil]

Wow a lot of info there spruce cheers for that mate, I think I might just buy a new battery then seems the best way to do it i don't think I will be driving 250miles anywhere anytime soon lol cheers spruce

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