Battery

[MckieS1806]

We've only had our caravan since June 17, travelled to France for 2 week
Holiday.
On return we keep getting the alarm people saying the alarm keeps going off, when we check all is ok.
Husband went to check on caravan this Sunday and noticed the battery is flat (we got a larger volt because of the motor mover).
Any advice please???

 

[Martin24]

If the caravan is in storage you will need to employ a method to keep the battery charged when not in use. Especially if an alarm and tracker are being used. Most people in this situation use a roof mounted solar panel. Others regularly bring their batteries home to recharge. Even with the bigger say 110 amp battery if you are using the mover to park the van then no recharge it will go flat as the alarm and or tracker are drawing power all of the time.

 

[Raywood]

I do not know what caravan you have or the alarm fitted but a conventional alarm will run the battery down in as little as two weeks so a solar panel is the best bet although it needs a regulator to prevent overcharging. You would probably get away with a 40 amp one in a window if it gets enough direct sunlight but a bigger one might be needed.
A tracker type alarm should last longer but you still need to keep the battery topped up.

 

[Damian]

Quote "" You would probably get away with a 40 amp one in a ....."

Really?????????????????

Solar panels are sold on Wattage rating, not Ampere rating.

 

[Dustydog]

What caravan and Tracker do you have?
Our 8 year old Tracker has its own PSU whilst the alarm has a 9 v battery.
The longest we have ever left the caravan in storage is about three months. The
PSU and main battery have never gone flat.
Maybe you need to get your dealer to test all the systems? Or if you have the wiring diagram and multimeter you could test for excessive current loss.

 

[Dodger524]

You don't say what car you are towing with, if it's a post 2016 model then this could be the answer as most have economy fittings that prevent complete charging of the caravan battery.

A better description of the Euro 6 charging problem may be found here: http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/auxiliary-battery-charging-in-vehicles-with-smart-alternators.html

 

[ProfJohnL]

If the caravan is in storage you will need to employ a method to keep the battery charged when not in use. Especially if an alarm and tracker are being used. Most people in this situation use a roof mounted solar panel. Others regularly bring their batteries home to recharge. Even with the bigger say 110 amp battery if you are using the mover to park the van then no recharge it will go flat as the alarm and or tracker are drawing power all of the time.

Hello Martin,

I know it is easy to think that as the motor mover needs a lot of current to operate that it must hammer the battery, well in reality yes the mover may need up to 20 to 40A when it operates, but in general it used for such a short period of time (causally much less than 5 mins,) the amount of battery charge it uses is surprising small, IF for example it was 30A for 5min that would only be (30A x 5)/60 = 2.5Ah.

Generally the usage is less that the example I have given. By comparison a florescent caravan light on for 1 hour will uses about the same amount of battery charge.

 

[Woodentop]

Have you checked that you switched everything off when you left the 'van, i,e, the main power switch. The alarm will by-pass the power switch (usually.)

If you leave the power turned on then there are several things that can draw power and drain your battery: depending on age the fridge control circuits may or may not take power, and if you have left the fridge door on the part-open setting the light will be on; the TV aerial amp will also be on. Between them these can kill a battery in no time.

I'm lucky as we keep the van on the drive, but a friend who has to use storage just has a fold-up solar panel that he sticks in the rooflight and (through a controller) it keeps his battery topped up without problem.

 

[Raywood]

Have you checked that you switched everything off when you left the 'van, i,e, the main power switch. The alarm will by-pass the power switch (usually.)

If you leave the power turned on then there are several things that can draw power and drain your battery: depending on age the fridge control circuits may or may not take power, and if you have left the fridge door on the part-open setting the light will be on; the TV aerial amp will also be on. Between them these can kill a battery in no time.

I'm lucky as we keep the van on the drive, but a friend who has to use storage just has a fold-up solar panel that he sticks in the rooflight and (through a controller) it keeps his battery topped up without problem.

Leaving the master switch on has happened to me causing the battery to drain. I had only the radio and TV aerial running but it was just enough to be a problem. I use a motor mover to put the caravan back into storage and the power used does not show up when I check the remaining power but it is partly downhill and very quick.
Sorry I said amps earlier, watts is correct.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Dont forget also the radio will drag your battery down in no time so when you park up in storage remove the radios front. This might help, its always a good place to start .
Sir Roger .

 

[Hutch]

Hi, on our previous Coachman 545, 2010, our alarm people, Phantom, kept telling us we had problems. Low battery, spurous alarms etc. On checking at times the battery would be low, giving the alarm people a warning. After many checks it turned out as the caravan is kept under cover, in a barn, the tracker would be searchimg for a GPS signal, using more power. And running down the battery quicker, I talked to a Phantom rep at a show who told me to call him later when the caravan is outside and they would recalibrate the system, on my unit. All done by magic, and over the air wiggley amps. I had no more troubles.
Hutch.

 

[waffler]

I had this problem two vans ago. Went to collect it and found battery was 6 volts!!!!!! Had to borrow an old charger to recover it. Spoke to the maker and then the loom maker and found it was the radio. Three things can be left switched on when you switch the master off- the fridge igniter, the alarm and the radio, even if you take the front off. Apparently the radio draws current to keep the tuning settings so you don't have to retune each time. I found the answer as to take the entire radio out. Now have a van with 80 watts solar on roof so no problem. One solution for you but a chore is to disconnect the battery in storage. Only do that if your alarm has its own battery or you may invalidate your insurance.