Hi Guys,
My daughter has a T5 Van conversion that she bought 'new' arond 5 or 6 years ago straight from the van converters (Oddessy Vans of Swindon).
The donor T5 (2010) was some sort of commercial vehicle (possibly an AA van? - but that maybe be just a false memory).
Oddessy Vans went out of business around covid-time. We have no wiring diagrams and little idea on how the wiring in the accommodation is arranged.
The vanis fitted with a mains/DC fridge and has a leisure battery (charged by engine via a split relay). It also has electric hook-up but currently no charging of the
LB from the hook-up. There is no 12v to 240v inverter fitted. The LB powers fridge, water pump, accommodation lights, a twin USB charger socket and a 12v cigarette lighter type socket.
The van had been off the road (apart from occasional starting of engine) for around 12 months due to my daughter working abroad.
Not surprisingly (its a 2010 vehicle), when she came to use it on her return to the UK (in July), the main battery had failed and we had it replaced..
I suspect the LB (90Ah lead-acid) may also be knackered but if that is the case, I would like to be sure of why before buying another one.
Is it just be the passage of time / lack of use? or is there some other issue - specifically a small parasitic current drain that has taken the battery below the 50% charge level thus knackering it?
Tracking the wriing shows (as far as I can see) there are two cables leading from the LB (under drivers seat) into the 'accommodation' area of the van. Each has an inline fuse (see further point below). I suspect one goes directly to the fridge and the other goes to the combined display and control panel that shows battery voltage and has switches to enable the water pump/lights/USB sockets etc. but havent attempted to remove the fridge or otherwise confirm the wriing arrangement.
Symptoms of LB issues:
1. If I remove the LB, I can charge it on the bench to around 11.5v via a mains charger in around 3 hrs. When reinstalled in the van, the voltage immediately drops to around 10.7v. and goes down to 7-8v in a couple of hours. I am guessing this shows the LB is knackered. Am I right?
2. I have noticed that with everything switched off (fridge and all of the control panel), there still appears to be around a 20 - 30 mA current drain from the recharged battey. Would that (over months) be sufficient to knacker the LB?
Any ideas on the cause(s) of this current drain? Is this normal behavior (something that regular driving of the van renders unimportant) or is it something I should be worried about and which might knacker a new LB over time?
3. . I removed the two inline fuses mentioned above and monitored the voltage at the LB terminals with the LB removed. 0V until I start the engine then 13.5v which I think indicates the split charge relay is operating correctly.
4. However, with the LB still removed, reinstalling one of the in-line fuses had no effect, but on reinstalling the 2nd in-line fuse, the voltage dropped to around 4.5v??? Does this indicate some sort of fault or is it a side effect of how I am measuring the voltage (cheap multimeter)?
Finally, she would like to be able to charge the LB when at home or on hook-up but she is on a tight budget! The van is a 2010 T5 and from what I can read the split charge relay for charging from the engine is a perfectly acceptable solution. I am thinking I could permanently fix a cheap (£15 ish) mains powered battery charger, powered via the mains distribution panel in the van thru a fused switch. I could also use a mains-powered 2-channel relay to fully disconnect the charger circuit from the battery when not on 240v power thus preventing any LB battery drain. Can anyone see an issue with doing that?
Many thanks for reading and any help you can give me.
My daughter has a T5 Van conversion that she bought 'new' arond 5 or 6 years ago straight from the van converters (Oddessy Vans of Swindon).
The donor T5 (2010) was some sort of commercial vehicle (possibly an AA van? - but that maybe be just a false memory).
Oddessy Vans went out of business around covid-time. We have no wiring diagrams and little idea on how the wiring in the accommodation is arranged.
The vanis fitted with a mains/DC fridge and has a leisure battery (charged by engine via a split relay). It also has electric hook-up but currently no charging of the
LB from the hook-up. There is no 12v to 240v inverter fitted. The LB powers fridge, water pump, accommodation lights, a twin USB charger socket and a 12v cigarette lighter type socket.
The van had been off the road (apart from occasional starting of engine) for around 12 months due to my daughter working abroad.
Not surprisingly (its a 2010 vehicle), when she came to use it on her return to the UK (in July), the main battery had failed and we had it replaced..
I suspect the LB (90Ah lead-acid) may also be knackered but if that is the case, I would like to be sure of why before buying another one.
Is it just be the passage of time / lack of use? or is there some other issue - specifically a small parasitic current drain that has taken the battery below the 50% charge level thus knackering it?
Tracking the wriing shows (as far as I can see) there are two cables leading from the LB (under drivers seat) into the 'accommodation' area of the van. Each has an inline fuse (see further point below). I suspect one goes directly to the fridge and the other goes to the combined display and control panel that shows battery voltage and has switches to enable the water pump/lights/USB sockets etc. but havent attempted to remove the fridge or otherwise confirm the wriing arrangement.
Symptoms of LB issues:
1. If I remove the LB, I can charge it on the bench to around 11.5v via a mains charger in around 3 hrs. When reinstalled in the van, the voltage immediately drops to around 10.7v. and goes down to 7-8v in a couple of hours. I am guessing this shows the LB is knackered. Am I right?
2. I have noticed that with everything switched off (fridge and all of the control panel), there still appears to be around a 20 - 30 mA current drain from the recharged battey. Would that (over months) be sufficient to knacker the LB?
Any ideas on the cause(s) of this current drain? Is this normal behavior (something that regular driving of the van renders unimportant) or is it something I should be worried about and which might knacker a new LB over time?
3. . I removed the two inline fuses mentioned above and monitored the voltage at the LB terminals with the LB removed. 0V until I start the engine then 13.5v which I think indicates the split charge relay is operating correctly.
4. However, with the LB still removed, reinstalling one of the in-line fuses had no effect, but on reinstalling the 2nd in-line fuse, the voltage dropped to around 4.5v??? Does this indicate some sort of fault or is it a side effect of how I am measuring the voltage (cheap multimeter)?
Finally, she would like to be able to charge the LB when at home or on hook-up but she is on a tight budget! The van is a 2010 T5 and from what I can read the split charge relay for charging from the engine is a perfectly acceptable solution. I am thinking I could permanently fix a cheap (£15 ish) mains powered battery charger, powered via the mains distribution panel in the van thru a fused switch. I could also use a mains-powered 2-channel relay to fully disconnect the charger circuit from the battery when not on 240v power thus preventing any LB battery drain. Can anyone see an issue with doing that?
Many thanks for reading and any help you can give me.
