Battery discharging on new T6.1

[BigDean]

Morning all,

The battery in my T6.1 is a EFB+ 420A 75A standard VW battery. As the van hasn't being used a lot, the battery was showing as under 12v.

I used my Victron 7A charger on AGM settings all day yesterday to get it up to full charge. Afterwards it was reading 12.87V.

This morning it is showing as 12.44V which seems like a lot of discharge overnight!

I have no leisure battery/DCDC etc, and all that is connected, on top of the norm, is the Victron SmartBatterySense to get the voltages, and a tracker.

There are a couple of additional light circuits installed, but they are off.

Does that seem an excessive discharge?
Is the AGM setting the correct profile to charge an EFB+ battery? From what I read yesterday, it is and the voltages from the EFB should be compared to the SOC from an AGM battery.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Big Al]

On my Battery monitor, it can show my Starter battery at eg: 96% one night then the next morning it could show 70%.. I do however have extra leads off it for the conversion. I dont worry about it. I`ve checked the actual discharge off the extra leads using an Amp-clamp and its nothing to worry about. Have you checked Amps discharge?

 

[oldiebut goodie]

My T6 battery would flatten after 2 weeks with a tracker fitted. I had to use a charge from the leisure solar panel to keep it stable.

 

[BigDean]

On my Battery monitor, it can show my Starter battery at eg: 96% one night then the next morning it could show 70%.. I do however have extra leads off it for the conversion. I dont worry about it. I`ve checked the actual discharge off the extra leads using an Amp-clamp and its nothing to worry about. Have you checked Amps discharge?

Will check, thanks.

 

[BigDean]

My T6 battery would flatten after 2 weeks with a tracker fitted. I had to use a charge from the leisure solar panel to keep it stable.

Good to know its not just me

 

[Insert Coin]

Bear in mind smart alternators will only charge a battery to 80% charge due to the extra headroom needed for regenerative braking etc.

I top my battery charge up with my Ctek every week or so in winter and often see both my batteries drop .5v overnight and then settle down after that.

If you have two consecutive nights of .5v drop then there could be an issue.

 

[BigDean]

Bear in mind smart alternators will only charge a battery to 80% charge due to the extra headroom needed for regenerative braking etc.

I top my battery charge up with my Ctek every week or so in winter and often see both my batteries drop .5v overnight and then settle down after that.

If you have two consecutive nights of .5v drop then there could be an issue.

Will keep a note by day and monitor.

Thanks

 

[Dellmassive]

have you thought about adding a battery monitor?

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It -- Part #1 Battery monitoring is a very important part of your 12v system . . . . whether its just the vans starter battery or your leisure setup keeping an eye on the power in your battery bank will keep you from breaking down and make sure your weekends...

www.t6forum.com

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[BigDean]

have you thought about adding a battery monitor?

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It -- Part #1 Battery monitoring is a very important part of your 12v system . . . . whether its just the vans starter battery or your leisure setup keeping an eye on the power in your battery bank will keep you from breaking down and make sure your weekends...

www.t6forum.com

**************************************************
Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread
**************************************************
Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --
**************************************************
VIP Membership | VW T6 Forum - The Dedicated VW Transporter T6 Forum
************************************************
For Sale - Summer-weekend-t6f Limited Edition External Stickers
For Sale - T6F Flags
**************************************************

Thanks for that. I have the full Victron setups inc. CerboGX on my motorhome and on the battery box I built, but didn't think I would need anything for a simple cab battery on the T6...... Clearly wrong.

Can you enlighten me as to what the difference is between using a BM2 and using a Victron SmartShunt? I would prefer to keep everything Victron, but if there are reasons the BM2 is more suitable, will go that route.

Thanks again.
BigDean

 

[Dellmassive]

sure .

The BM2 is a cheap and simple voltage logger . . . . it will log and track the battery voltage over time . . . hours, days, weeks, months.

its the best way to help see what's going on with power issues. ( you will be able to see the slope of the graph showing the drop in battery voltage)

The Victron Smart shunt is a current flow logger that we use for Lithium installs. . . . The T6 has a VW version of it on the starter battery already. its great at what it does, but not so great as a voltage history logger over time. (also you cant fit a smart shunt to the vans starter battery anyway)


im not sure you have an issue as yet . . . 12.4v static voltage is high for a T6 . . mine is regular around 12.0 - 12.2v - which is normal. (with tracker etc running)

the T6 battery should last at least 3 weeks from fully charged before it starts to get too low.

There will be a fault code logged for excessive drain (quiescent current drain to high)

.

here is an example from the other day . .



.

 

[BigDean]

sure .

The BM2 is a cheap and simple voltage logger . . . . it will log and track the battery voltage over time . . . hours, days, weeks, months.

its the best way to help see what's going on with power issues. ( you will be able to see the slope of the graph showing the drop in battery voltage)

The Victron Smart shunt is a current flow logger that we use for Lithium installs. . . . The T6 has a VW version of it on the starter battery already. its great at what it does, but not so great as a voltage history logger over time. (also you cant fit a smart shunt to the vans starter battery anyway)


im not sure you have an issue as yet . . . 12.4v static voltage is high for a T6 . . mine is regular around 12.0 - 12.2v - which is normal. (with tracker etc running)

the T6 battery should last at least 3 weeks from fully charged before it starts to get too low.

There will be a fault code logged for excessive drain (quiescent current drain to high)

.

here is an example from the other day . .

View attachment 109508

.

Your help is invaluable as usual @Dellmassive

BM2 on order.

Thanks a mill.

 

[BigDean]

Okay.... The results are in!

I have been monitoring since the 23rd March. The pattern is very similar. After a run in the van, once the voltage has stabilised it is about 12.20v. If the van is not used for 2 days, I am down at 12v, the 3rd day sends it below 12v, which isn't recommended (?).

I have no leisure battery. The items connected but were not used at all are the diesel heater and 2 lighting circuits. The items connected and in use are the tracker and the BM2.

Are we really saying that VW sell a van that cant last 3 days without needing the battery recharging? The Seat Leon this replaced lasted 2 months!

If this is the case, as disappointing as it is, I need to find a solution for 2 scenarios. Firstly day to day recharging and secondly when it is laid up for a month or more when I am away.

The longer term one, I guess is more straight forward. I am happy (ish) to get an outside extension to the van and put a trickle charger under the bonnet. More problematic is the short term one. I would prefer not to have to get the extension out and open the bonnet after every time I use the van! This would be a ballache.

Would having a 160w semi-flexible solar panel solve this problem, or is there not enough sun to work in this scenario?

If the solar worked for this, would it work for the long term lay up?

The biggest problem with adding solar is the fitting. I have a halo roof installed and getting the cables down the relevant area could be a pain. Not a job that I would attempt myself....

Any help appreciated as always.

BigDean.


Screenshots:

 

[Big Al]

have you checked your voltage at the battery with a digital multimeter? I have a battery monitor but I wouldn`t go off it`s readings to test a battery. 12.2 volts is very low for a battery that has just had a charge cycle from the Alternator a short while earlier. Can you get a battery test done?

 

[BigDean]

have you checked your voltage at the battery with a digital multimeter? I have a battery monitor but I wouldn`t go off it`s readings to test a battery. 12.2 volts is very low for a battery that has just had a charge cycle from the Alternator a short while earlier. Can you get a battery test done?

Thanks for that. Will go check, but I had a Victron battery monitor on before the BM2 and it was the same type of readings.

It is only a couple of months old, so presume VW would carry out a test?

Thanks

 

[BigDean]

Multimeter showing same readings.

 

[Big Al]

Your battery monitor graphs show the charge after charging tail off rapidly to 12v or so which is no good. I`ve looked at mine and yes they do slowly drop, its still at 12.6 v or so minimum. Maybe a battery test from the dealer is required along with alternator/ quiescent current check.

 

[BigDean]

Your battery monitor graphs show the charge after charging tail off rapidly to 12v or so which is no good. I`ve looked at mine and yes they do slowly drop, its still at 12.6 v or so minimum. Maybe a battery test from the dealer is required along with alternator/ quiescent current check.

Thanks for that. Will get booked in.

 

[BigDean]

Agh. Battery dead this morning. Grandkids sat waiting to go to beach whilst I try and get some charge in. Deff looks like a knackered battery. V disappointed.

 

[Big Al]

Agh. Battery dead this morning. Grandkids sat waiting to go to beach whilst I try and get some charge in. Deff looks like a knackered battery. V disappointed.

What a shame. Yes, you need a battery test especially if its under a warranty. Hope you get to the beach!

 

[BigDean]

What a shame. Yes, you need a battery test especially if its under a warranty. Hope you get to the beach!

Thanks for that. Got here after jump starting from car. Grr.