Keeping starter battery topped up

[FrankVdb]

Hi everyone, Frank here from Norwich.
I bought a lovely second-hand T6 (2017 plate) and was wondering how I could use my Jackery power station to keep the starter battery topped up? Sadly, my van has to live outside since we don't have a garage or other undercover parking opportunity. Last week, I discovered the starter battery was flat after not having been used for around a week. I know this is detrimental so my aim is to keep it nicely topped up.
I apologise if this has been covered in earlier posts but I can't seem to find the info I'm looking for. So my question is: what are the best ways to keep the starter battery topped up, can I use my Jackery power station for this purpose, and do I need additional electronic equipment (and/or a leisure battery)?
Thanks ever so much for any help!

 

[roadtripper]

First things first if your battery is getting low enough in a week then either your battery is failing, you have a parasitic drain or you are doing very short journeys and not charging the starter well.


So there are two things to think about, how to charge and how to get power to the charger.

Best plan is to get yourself a maintenance charger from CTEK/NoCo/Victron of around 5-7 amps

If you can get 240v power to where the van is parked then you can connect that to your starter, remembering not to connect the negative to the battery but another good earth so you don't bypass the battery shunt, and pop the charger+extension in a waterproof box like you get for Christmas lights.

If not then you can use the Jackery, but not in a way that you can leave it connected as there will be quite a few idle losses. Best plan there is get one of the 12v socket adaptors for the maintenance charger so you can connect the jackery + maintenance charger inside the van every few days to top the battery up.

But get your battery checked as really it should be 2-3 weeks before it gets low enough to not start.

 

[FrankVdb]

Thanks a million for your valuable advice.

I bought the van second-hand two weeks ago, so I have no idea how badly the battery was treated in the past. I might simply replace it. Also, I already have a NoCo Genius 5 charger to keep my caravan leisure battery topped up.

 

[Johny]

The battery may not have been badly treated, it might simply be coming to the end of its life. Especially if its the original one.

 

[Glenhyrst]

How do I get a charging cable to the battery and shut the bonnet of my 6.1 to enable locking the vehicle whilst on charge, without risking damaging the cable.
I cannot see an easy path for the cable. Never a problem with my car?
Am I missing something?
Thanks.

 

[roadtripper]

If you bring the cable out over the front of the engine bay around where the washer bottle/end of headlight is there is usually enough clearance to tuck a cable in that area with the compression of the bonnet seal.

Ideally wrap the area of the cable in a bit of cloth or tape to give some just in case protection

It's a popular route for more hidden EHU and you may find with the smaller CTEK/NoCo/Victron maintenance chargers there is enough space in front of the battery to tuck the charger in there too.

 

[Ayjay]

I don't know if there's any difference but mine's a T6 and I've been doing this with my EHU cable for years.

 

[Glenhyrst]

Thanks Ajay and roadtripper. I'm not sure I would have found this way in but you are right, it works a treat and the cable is quite free.
The Ctek has plenty of room in there too.
I've asked elsewhere but will try here too - why, when on EHU, is the starter battery not charged? Seems nuts to me. This is in my 6 month old Westfalia Club Joker.

 

[roadtripper]

Just replied on your other thread about that

 

[Ayjay]

@Glenhyrst - The short answer is 'because it's not' but it would also depend on the electrical system in the van. I've got a Ctek D250SE DC/DC charger installed with a 160W solar panel connected to it and when the leisure battery is fully charged, the charger then starts putting a trickle into the starter from the solar panel but that obviously relies on there being sunshine, There are alternatives and @Dellmassive has posted some valuable guidance on here.

 

[Qnapper]

I fitted a battery to battery charger/maintainer years ago in our old motorhome. Now I have it in our campervan and it works a treat. puts around 2amps in from the leisure battery, which is ¨topped up" via our leisure battery.
Link: Battery Maintainer
I guess you could use the Jackery power station if you do not have solar panel? to top up your leisure battery whilst parked up.

 

[cgtmiles]

I’ve just (yesterday) replaced my starter battery after having similar issues (5 years olds battery) to what you are reporting. I never needed to charger the starter externally before it started to fail. I would recommend checking out getting the replacement (and beefier 95ah if you don’t already have one) then monitor the situation from there.

 

[Salty Spuds]

I’ve just (yesterday) replaced my starter battery after having similar issues (5 years olds battery) to what you are reporting. I never needed to charger the starter externally before it started to fail. I would recommend checking out getting the replacement (and beefier 95ah if you don’t already have one) then monitor the situation from there.

^^^^^ This
A 95ah Exide AGM will fit the battery compartment. Add a BM2 monitor & an AMT 12 maintainer. Job done.

 

[Dellmassive]

heres some more info for you . . .

• Charging:
• Battery Chargers - How I Did It -
• Battery Charging - Main Battery Earth Point -
• Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --
• [Guide] Battery Maintainer (for Starter battery) -- How I Done It --
• Which Jump Starter?
• Seat Base Electrics, EHU+Charger+solar+install - How We Done It -
• Noco Genius 10 not working correctly
• Mobile EHU and battery charging via 12v socket.

and

Upgrading Starter Battery - how to guide

My van (April 2017 T28) is fitted with a Moll battery. I am experiencing some issues with it not starting after a few days sitting on the drive. Now this could be due to the tracker I have fitted draining it but I doubt it, I'll do some drain current tests before taking the plunge. If I were to...

www.t6forum.com

.

 

[Glenhyrst]

It's clear that I have a need for a campervan electrics guide for dummies as so much of this is like a foreign language to me!
I thought when I bought a new campervan that all would be well - just use it. It's a Westafalia and grossly overpriced - what can go wrong?
Things seem to be coming right at last but the poverty of information that came with the van is remarkable and with no wiring diagram, even an independent autoelectrician was loathe to advise.
And with regard to the starter battery not charging on EHU, OK, some vans evidently don't have that and yes, I could manage with this.
However, the small booklet that came with the van indicates that the starter battery DOES charge on EHU.

 

[Qnapper]

Glenhyrst​

I came from the motorhome world and thought I know a lot, but without reading Dellmassive's extremally will thought out posts I would have just left my campervan as is..... Now we don't use EHU 95% of the time on the road ( this may change when we visit Ireland for a few months starting April ) or use gas at all prefering induction cooking now using a lithium lifepo4 battery.
We have B to B 30amp charger, 200 watts solar, 180amp Lifepo4 battery 1600watt inverter and a Bluetti AC70 1000w 768Wh portable battery for cooking outside etc.

Read as much as you can from the links above your post and ask any question about campervan stuff here and someone will help or advise.

Welcome and enjoy.

 

[roadtripper]

Things seem to be coming right at last but the poverty of information that came with the van is remarkable and with no wiring diagram, even an independent autoelectrician was loathe to advise.

You're not alone in the lack of information. A very common thread theme is folks joining with converted vans and no information which, generally, the collective efforts manage to figure out. I'm always surprised how little information or handover folks are given for what for them is usually a very significant purchase.