battery problem

[Duncs]

hi guys hope your all enjoying this nice spell of gd weather

the crack is i,ve just got another van going all kitted out been using it four weeks now.

i,ve got the leasure battey with relay fitted but i canny get enough charge on the leasure battery, i,m only using it in the town not doing any great miles.

I,VE got a trickle charger on at moment had it on all weekend hoping it will charge the leasure battery up.

also not sure how gd the main battery is on van.Should i just get good charger on leasure battery and charge every night,possibly one of them inteligent chargers that charge up then switch themselves of when fully charged

thanks Duncs

 

[spruce]

hi guys hope your all enjoying this nice spell of gd weatherthe crack is i,ve just got another van going all kitted out been using it four weeks now.

i,ve got the leasure battey with relay fitted but i canny get enough charge on the leasure battery, i,m only using it in the town not doing any great miles.

I,VE got a trickle charger on at moment had it on all weekend hoping it will charge the leasure battery up.

also not sure how gd the main battery is on van.Should i just get good charger on leasure battery and charge every night,possibly one of them inteligent chargers that charge up then switch themselves of when fully charged

thanks Duncs

This is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' question @Duncs .

Firstly you need to check if the SCR is working. This is done by putting a voltmeter (multimeter on voltage) across the leisure battery terminals when the engine of the van is running. If its reading above 13.8 volts then the SCR is working. If your pump dies because the battery is flat idling the engine will provide enough power to run the pump normally if the SCR is working.

If not then there could be a fuse issue. There should be a fuse near the starter battery and one after the SCR close to the leisure battery.

Mileage (or better described, running time) is important for leisure battery charging. If you don't do much then you will need to supplement your battery charging. We do that as I've often said. IMHO you need a good intelligent leisure battery charger anyway. I often plug the charger into the van and left it on all weekend. Ordinary car starter battery chargers don't do the job of charging a leisure battery correctly. Been there, done that and have the teeshirt.

Leisure batteries need a boost charge to remove sulphation from the plates. A battery needs a boost charge to get it going. You could find that you could have a flat battery on trickle charge that never gets charged. If the battery has been left in a discharged state for any length of time, mostly it can't be recovered.

If the van is used window cleaning van then there is every possibility that the leisure battery needs replacing if you can't work with it for more than a day.

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[Duncs]

Thanks spruce always helpful

If the main battery is poor will it

Take power from the leasure battery also

 

[spruce]

Thanks spruce always helpfulIf the main battery is poor will it

Take power from the leasure battery also

No it won't. The idea of the scr is that it separates the 2 batteries. The only time the batteries are 'joined' or linked is when the engine is running charging both batteries. So you can flatten your leisure battery but will still have charge in your starter battery to start the van.

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[Eviestevie]

You could run a solar trickle charger from the roof of the van that keeps it topped up nicely

 

[Duncs]

nice one guys thats great info