battery boiling

[Daveg1]

By van is a 2006 Eccles Jade with an NE2006-CWS mains unit & charger.

Van was left connected to mains for 4 weeks. Noticed smell - in van - it was the battery boiling. Switched off mains supply.

The handbook states that "the battery can be left permanently connected to the charger without causing it any damage".

So what caused the problem the charger or the battery?

I confess the battery has not been properly maintained over the winter. Would a faulty battery give wrong feedback to the charging unit causing it to overcharge?

I assume the battery will have to be replaced as it is a sealed unit but before I do so is it possible for me to check the charging unit myself with a basic volt and amp meter?

Thanks

Dave

 

[caravanoracle]

i would say the battery is the fault here. a modern charger will only deliver a charge to the battery whilst the battery requires it. it sounds like the battery has had a faulty cell not allowing the battery to be fully charged therefore not knocking the charger off.

 

[xtrailman]

Dave

This is exactly why i do not recommend any unnecessary

electrical appliance be left switched on, while it is unattended.

For the battery to boil, suggests "over voltage" output from the charger, output should not exceed 13.7v approx.

 

[gary]

Bit of a chicken or egg question?

First Swift have been fitting NE equipment for a few years, based on the current model, your charger is quite possibly a fully functioning 3 stage 'smart' battery charger with a maximum output of 14.4v, this output is quite capable of boiling the battery should the charger be faulty in itself.

The more likely reason though is the battery is faulty and this is fooling the charger not to switch back to the lower 13.8v maintenance stage, the constant high voltage will then cause the battery to boil as you have found.

 

[Daveg1]

Wow! These were quick replies. Thank you.

According to the manual the charger is a 3 stage one.

It would seem that the way for me to proceed is to put in a new battery, put it on charge and see if the voltage drops from 14.4 volts to 13.8 volts.

However these voltage values seem very specific. Is there perhaps a "+" or "-" tolerance value?

 

[gary]

I would first take the old battery to a decent battery retailer and ask them to test it, this should show what was the likely cause.

I would also add, wash the battery box and surrounding bodywork with lots of water to remove any acid!!

Tolerances are very fine, however, 14.4v would be a minimum for standard lead/acid batteries and a maximum for GEL batteries, 13.8v would be a maximum for both.

Perhaps 0.1v at most is the sort of tolerance to expect but you would need to ask the makers 'Nord Electronica' for exact data

 

[Daveg1]

I would first take the old battery to a decent battery retailer and ask them to test it, this should show what was the likely cause.

I would also add, wash the battery box and surrounding bodywork with lots of water to remove any acid!!

Tolerances are very fine, however, 14.4v would be a minimum for standard lead/acid batteries and a maximum for GEL batteries, 13.8v would be a maximum for both.

Perhaps 0.1v at most is the sort of tolerance to expect but you would need to ask the makers 'Nord Electronica' for exact data

Good point. I'm going out right now to remove the battery and wash everything well down.

Not sure that it's worthwhile getting the battery looked at as it must be well and truly knackered by "boiling" off for what was at least several days.

Thanks Dave

 

[Daveg1]

Battery removed from caravan.

Everything thoroughly washed down.

No sign of any physical damage to the battery.

The battery will be replaced and I will carry out voltage readings to check if the charger is operating correctly.

A warm thank you to all who responded to my query.

One last point which may be worthy of further discussion. After my experience (a boiling battery creating fumes which I understand can be highly volotile) I was extremely surprised that the battery box appears to be unventilated. Is this not potentially very dangerous?

Dave

 

[Damian]

Whilst the battery box may appear to be unvented, it actually is.

Where the mains lead enters to hook up there is enough ventilation to allow dispersal of hydrogen if it is produced.

 

[xtrailman]

Gary

Excellent feedback.

I was not aware that any manufacture was going to the extra expense, and fitting a 3 stage charger.

I know my last two vans were only charging around 13.7v max.

Do Bailey fit these now on the senator range?

Dave

I wouldn't rush to chuck the battery, it may only need topping up.

As i understood, it was the water that boiled off, not the acid.?

When i bought my battery it came with a plastic vent tube, i left it off as i couldn't find anywhere in the battery box to route it outside.

 

[gary]

My point about getting the old battery tested is not to confirm it is knackered but could offer a reason/clue why, ie, did the battery go faulty first or the charger?

I destroyed a brand new battery by connecting it to a faulty charger!!

The charger you have fitted has an 18A output and fused internally at 30A, you should then I would have thought have another fuse between battery and charger, perhaps 25A?

The general self protection design of these chargers is, if the amperage drawn, (by a faulty battery in this case), is higher than the chargers capacity, then the output voltage is dropped to about 11v, this should then keep the charger within it's capabilities and safe.

We can assume the battery should it have been faulty to have pulled a lot of amps, why this did not blow a fuse or the charger shut down is what needs investigation?

The gas produced is lighter than air and for this reason the battery box should be sealed where cables come through inside, the door though should not have a perfect seal and allow the box to vent.

The box design should be capable of venting normal gassing caused by charging, but and IMO, I don't think it's reasonable to design a battery box to cope with a seriously faulty battery or charger?

 

[gary]

Gary

Excellent feedback.

I was not aware that any manufacture was going to the extra expense, and fitting a 3 stage charger.

I know my last two vans were only charging around 13.7v max.

Do Bailey fit these now on the senator range?

Dave

I wouldn't rush to chuck the battery, it may only need topping up.

As i understood, it was the water that boiled off, not the acid.?

When i bought my battery it came with a plastic vent tube, i left it off as i couldn't find anywhere in the battery box to route it outside.

Ray, to date only Swift I believe and for about 4yr, certainly Swift are the only people to use Nord Electronica although that may change??

It's a batch of the same charger here that's been completely failing of late, not over charging though but zero charging!

 

[xtrailman]

Ray, to date only Swift I believe and for about 4yr, certainly Swift are the only people to use Nord Electronica although that may change??

It's a batch of the same charger here that's been completely failing of late, not over charging though but zero charging!

Gary

i did wonder, now i know.

cheers

 

[sheila_374397204]

We have a 2008 Swift Challenger and this weekend the battery went flat. It was only then that I noticed the charger symbol wasn't on the panel. As it was Good Friday when we rang the dealer there was nothing they could do, so we had to go home, collect the spare battery and our battery charger - a round trip of 120 miles. It took the battery 20 hours to charge up and we managed to fix the charger to the spare battery whilst it was in situ in the battery box, thereby having sufficient power for the rest of the weekend. Could it be our van battery charger is one of the faulty batch I wonder now.

 

[Daveg1]

Thanks all for your responses.

New battery installed and charger appears to be working fine charging initially at 14.3/14.4v and reducing to 13.7/13.8v. Problem assumed to be a faulty cell in battery causing the voltage not to increase sufficiently to initiate the lower "float voltage" stage in the charger.

The following link is particularily comprehensive (perhaps not however to read in detail but to skim thru' and gain an understanding!) http://marine-electronics.net/techar..._faq/b_faq.htm

Thank you again for all your helpful responses.

 

[Douglas_374404558]

Dave sorry its late to reply but had the same problem with my van Swift charisma 555 in september last year (08)battery was only 8 months old (so not old)put charger on and forgot about it ? went to bed and dog started whining at 3AM woke me up with the van full of smell like rotten eggs (Acid in battery boiling) charger had overcharged the battery 17.5V on the meter reading, switched off and opened windows returned home after holliday dealer replaced charger/fuse box (all one unit under warrenty) but NOT the battery have since discovered that the battery will not hold the charge so waiting to see if the dealer will replace the battery(van in for its service today so will wait and see what happens

Cheers Duggie