Tragic leisure battery loss...

[Stay Frosty]

Well loss of plot anyway.
Straight away I have to confess I did used to be an electrician... ok, an average electrician but when it comes to leisure battery upkeep on a T6 I've found it far easier so far to put my fingers in my ears and go la, la, la than try and understand what is going on regarding the vans charging system.
Well that honeymoon period ended yesterday when after a third time of letting the leisure battery go completely flat while not using the camper I've had to buy a new one... 18 months old and scrap.
I bought the van as a conversion and it has a Sergeant EC160 unit in the wardrobe and a relay under the drivers seat alongside the leisure battery, van is a Euro 6 with Adblu.
I realise the EC160 is much maligned but as fair weather campers we tend to use the EHU at sites so the leisure battery only has to power the fridge while driving to and from sites or on the odd days out which I had taken for granted however thinking about the relay linking the van and leisure batteries is it the case that the infrequent surges of power from the smart alternator have cooked the leisure battery?

 

[DXX]

I’m surprised your battery is dead after 3 full discharges. I run a 120Ah leisure battery with an electric motor on a canoe. While I know it isn’t good for it I have been running it until flat for about 60 cycles now and it’s just starting to fail.

 

[Loz]

It's the letting it get below 10.6 V for any long period of time is the killer.

 

[Dellmassive]

You jeed to swap that relay (Vsr) for a dc-dc charger..

Start here.....

[Guide] DC-DC Charger (for leisure battery) -- How I Done It --

DC-DC Charger (for Leisure battery) -- How I Done It -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

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[Stay Frosty]

Thank you T6 legends, I've been putting off grabbing this particular nettle by the plums.

Just so I've got a rough idea of what's been happening is it a case of the voltage sensing relay dumping power from the altenator to the leisure battery when it feels like it ie. when breaking and all other times when the engine is running the leisure battery is dumping back into the starter battery through the relay?
Cheers Dellmassive for the link, will try to absorb that but is there a link from the EC160 that will need disconnecting as I can currently charge either the leisure or starter battery via a switch on the panel when connected to the site EHU?

 

[Dellmassive]

Yes basically just that...

As for EC160 not totally sure, maybe just leave it in the starter position.

Either way a dc-dc should work when driving or angina running.

If your static a lot, look at a dc-dc charger that has a solar input.

That way you can add some mobile solar as and when you need it.


Mobile solar start here:

[Guide] Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -

Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It - There is loads of background to this . . . . . but for now here is a vid for you all. =] Just remember W = V*A and as a general rule a good 100W panel will give you up to 6A charge with good sun. 25w = 1.5A 50W = 3A 100w = 6A 200w = 12A 300w = 18A...

www.t6forum.com

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[t0mb0]

Whether or not the alternator current has cooked the leisure battery very much depends on what kind of leisure battery it is. Obviously a DC-DC charger is a superior charging mechanism but an AGM leisure battery, for instance, is designed to handle the alternator and braking swings so it shouldn't have actually damaged it? All lead acid batteries are susceptible to damage from repeated or prolonged emptying though.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Not had a lot of luck with batteries on the camper as the original starter one was a Moll which died... probably as that was dying I may well have been starting the vehicle on both batteries... I did say an average electrician earlier.

 

[Dellmassive]

If its stop/start . . . . Then its has to be AGM or better for the VSR.

But as we've seen the VSR doesn't work due the low voltage and freewheeling alternator.

Breaking regens are around 15v . . . Hence the AGM or better advice.

Standard deep cycle lead acid batterys don't like 15v...


More I for here and tests . . . .

Stop/start...regen...smart Alternator... Dc-dc Charger For Leisure Battery Or Not?

So With all the talk regarding the Bluemotion thing and regen breaking and leisure batteries our T6 has finally arrived. The first thing we done was to checkout the factory fitted setup,...... Stop/start=check, Regen Braking=check, AGM starter battery=check leisure battery under passenger...

www.t6forum.com

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