Leisure battery - drain update

Post by **Ralf85** » 22 Jul 2017, 14:41

Having sorted out the battery light problem and now hopefully sorting out the stalling problem, I switched the test light on to check the leisure battery level and there was nothing. Checked the leisure batter and it showed 5V. Last Saturday it showed over 12.5V. Checked the drive battery and it was showing 13.2V. Switched the engine on and engine battery was charging fine and the leisure battery was charging at 13.6V. After 10 minutes I turned the ignition off and the voltage on the leisure battery fell away to 4/5V in seconds. Unless there has been a sudden short somewhere, I must assume the battery is dead. It's been in there for a good few years. I'll check this out tomorrow, once I have dropped my spare battery in place.

Post by **scottbott** » 22 Jul 2017, 20:30

bummer,if its not one thing its another,hope you get it all sorted

Post by **Ralf85** » 24 Jul 2017, 14:32

I bought a replacement standard battery for the leisure side. It showed 12.8V before connecting it up and 12.31V after connecting. So I disconnected the negative terminal and measured the amp drain between the battery terminal and the earth cable. This showed a drain of 6.44 amps. Ouch. Something is not right. So, I've disconnected the new battery and will wait for Gary to pay me another visit to try and sort this out. Why should this suddenly happen just as other issues arise? Coincidence?

Post by **AngeloEvs** » 24 Jul 2017, 15:29

If the starter battery isn't draining then the charge relay is most likely working. That is a hefty drain current. What leisure equipment you have in your van and do you have a three way fridge?

Post by **Mocki** » 24 Jul 2017, 15:59

there are not many things that will draw 6amps from a leisure battery in a t25
assuming you dont have a inverter hard wired , not much else will draw that much
the fridge shouldnt be connected to the leisure battery anyway ( but if it is pull its fuse and see)

simple process of Illimination will soon show you whats at fault if you pull fuses with that meter in line on the neg side

Post by **Ralf85** » 24 Jul 2017, 16:37

AngeloEvs wrote:If the starter battery isn't draining then the charge relay is most likely working. That is a hefty drain current. What leisure equipment you have in your van and do you have a three way fridge?

Yep it is a three way fridge.

Post by **Ralf85** » 27 Jul 2017, 21:01

Dear Gary the sparks came round. He checked the battery drain 6.5 Amps. He traced it to the Electrolux fridge. We slid the fridge out enough for him to check the wiring. He checked all the wiring on top and all was well. I flicked the battery charge switch on the kitchen unit and it came back on. At the same time the battery drain ceased. Gary decided to check the wiring to the fridge fan at the back, but we could not disconnect the flexible gas exhaust hose at the back. As an experienced problem solver he was not happy to leave things alone. However, after two hours I suggested that we put the fridge back for the moment and see if the problem returns. Now both of us have the knowledge of how to remove the fridge.I'm getting another flexible hose so if we need to remove the fridge completely, we can cut the old vent hose.
A tip to anybody else with this fridge setup. If this problem occurs, remove the fuse from the small black fuse box to the side of the driver's seat when stationary until the problem is solved to save draining the battery. Vans eh - such fun!

Post by **scottbott** » 28 Jul 2017, 08:42

yes,they can keep you on your toes!

Post by **Ralf85** » 28 Jul 2017, 09:20

You're right. The trouble with owning older vehicles is you get niggly and intermittent faults that are difficult to track down. On the positive side, I've had no serious faults on the mechanical side so far.

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