- May 12, 2014
- 90
- 7
- 10,585
I never use the van on battery alone, we're always hooked up somewhere. Last used it for 2 weeks in August and didn't notice anything wrong - after unplugging the van there was no issue with using the mover etc.
It's normally on the drive and plugged in, everything inside the van turned off. I turn the electricity on to charge the battery for 24 hours every 7 days. Last winter the battery was out of the van, in the garage plugged into a CTEK smart trickle charger to keep it topped up. The charger will "report" a faulty battery and didn't give any problems.
Last night whilst packing ready for a weekend away I flipped the "voltage" switch on the master panel and noticed it was only reading 11 volts (reads 13-ish when plugged in). I'd had the electricity on for 24 hours around 2 days ago, and everything turned off in the van since, so battery should be full.
Anyway I know the internal voltage meter is not accurate so I turned the electricity on to charge the battery for an hour then came out with my voltmeter. Across the terminals of the battery it was reading 13.9 volts when the electricity was switched on at the mains, dropping to 13.6 as soon as I switched it off (master switch off in the van and Vision TV aerial disconnected so should be no draw on the battery). One hour later it was reading 12.6 volts at the battery, and 12 hours later this morning it's reading 11 volts.
I think I need a new battery, but it just seems to have degenerated rather quickly. Is that normal, that it seemingly will hold a full charge but quickly lose it? Or do I maybe have electrical gremlins somewhere in the van drawing power when everything is switched off....?
It's normally on the drive and plugged in, everything inside the van turned off. I turn the electricity on to charge the battery for 24 hours every 7 days. Last winter the battery was out of the van, in the garage plugged into a CTEK smart trickle charger to keep it topped up. The charger will "report" a faulty battery and didn't give any problems.
Last night whilst packing ready for a weekend away I flipped the "voltage" switch on the master panel and noticed it was only reading 11 volts (reads 13-ish when plugged in). I'd had the electricity on for 24 hours around 2 days ago, and everything turned off in the van since, so battery should be full.
Anyway I know the internal voltage meter is not accurate so I turned the electricity on to charge the battery for an hour then came out with my voltmeter. Across the terminals of the battery it was reading 13.9 volts when the electricity was switched on at the mains, dropping to 13.6 as soon as I switched it off (master switch off in the van and Vision TV aerial disconnected so should be no draw on the battery). One hour later it was reading 12.6 volts at the battery, and 12 hours later this morning it's reading 11 volts.
I think I need a new battery, but it just seems to have degenerated rather quickly. Is that normal, that it seemingly will hold a full charge but quickly lose it? Or do I maybe have electrical gremlins somewhere in the van drawing power when everything is switched off....?