walshie Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 Not sure if this is the right section or not. Mods please move it of not. We went away for a few days last week in the caravan. It was hooked up to the electric all the time we were there, but on our return the leisure battery was dead as a dodo. Admittedly we had a lot of electric on. like fridge, cooker, fan, phone chargers, tv etc. but I'm surprised the battery was as dead as it was. I didn't bother to check its charge before went as it was a last minute thing. I know caravan chargers are really slow so I took the battery out and hooked it up to a proper charger. It charged up ok overnight and the charger said it was fully charged. I read that any voltage over 12.6v means it's fully charged and when I took it off charge, I left it a few hours and took a reading. It showed 12.85v. So far, so good. I left it in the garage and took a reading 24 hours later of 12.80v. 24 hours later 12.75v. That's today. All still above 12.6v, but losing charge ever so slowly. so may or may not be under 12.6 in a few days. Is the minimal discharge normal or is the battery dodgy? The reason I ask is I have 2 weeks left of the battery warranty and if it's bad, I can get it replaced. I don't want to take it back and they test it and say it's fine and I look stupid(er). Is there any way to test if it's good or bad? It's sealed so I can't check the acid. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 (edited) Surely if the set up was working correctly the equipment would have used the electricity from the hook up and the battery should have topped up and be full. How old is the battery? When did you last use it? Was it fully charged when you set off? Go to another battery supplier and ask them to test it under load. Good luck Edited June 26, 2021 by TIGHTCHOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted June 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 11 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Surely if the set up was working correctly the equipment would have used the electricity from the hook up and the battery should have topped up and be full. How old is the battery? When did you last use it? Was it fully charged when you set off? Go to another battery supplier and ask them to test it under load. Good luck 1 year 50 weeks old. Not for a couple of months, although I have plugged in the trickle charger for a day here and there. Apparently not. I'll take it somewhere to get it tested on Monday. Thanks. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfer Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 Check the charger in the Caravan,fuse , switched on , wires intact ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robden Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 Have a look: https://www.mmbalmainauto.com.au/PDF/State_of_charge_12_volt_batteries.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrepin Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 Did you have the charger on in the van 24/7? If so too much. Just charge it for 12 -18 hrs when needed. 24hrs max. These batteries are designed to be run down and recharged on a regular basis. Leaving it on charge can cook it. 12.75v if memory serves me is 75%. Fully charged at 100% should be at least 13v. I would have it checked under warranty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted June 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Centrepin said: Did you have the charger on in the van 24/7? If so too much. Just charge it for 12 -18 hrs when needed. 24hrs max. These batteries are designed to be run down and recharged on a regular basis. Leaving it on charge can cook it. 12.75v if memory serves me is 75%. Fully charged at 100% should be at least 13v. I would have it checked under warranty That's the issue. different answers from different sources. This says 12.6 and over is 100% charged. Just checked it today and it's 12.71v so still fully charged according to this but less charged than 3 days ago. You're right though. I'll get it checked tomorrow. Edited June 27, 2021 by walshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 I would put money on your caravan charger. I have changed 2 in caravans I have had. 1 because it wouldn’t work and the other when I swapped it to my new caravan as it’s an all singing multi stage charger. put a multimeter across it when it’s plugged in to the mains then with the mains off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrepin Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 13 hours ago, ph5172 said: put a multimeter across it when it’s plugged in to the mains then with the mains off. Am I missing something ? Across the battery or the charger terminals? Feeling thick today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted June 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 (edited) 20 hours ago, ph5172 said: I would put money on your caravan charger. I have changed 2 in caravans I have had. 1 because it wouldn’t work and the other when I swapped it to my new caravan as it’s an all singing multi stage charger. put a multimeter across it when it’s plugged in to the mains then with the mains off. It was still at 12.7v this morning. I put it back in the caravan, connected it up and tested it with it plugged into the mains, charger switched on and then off. 13.7v (exactly the same as it read on my charger in the garage) and 12.7v so the charger is working. Must have just let it get a bit low. I'm off for a couple of days in it on Wednesday so we'll see how it fairs. Thanks for everyone's input. Edited June 28, 2021 by walshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spurs 14 Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 We have leisure battery’s in horseboxes used most days running fridge , lights etc , never externally charged just charged when driving off a split charge system , the life of these tend to be around two years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted July 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2021 Think it's wrecked. I checked the caravan for any drain on the battery and there was none. Checked the onboard charger was charging and it was at 13.7v. We got back Friday night and I checked the battery and it showed 12.8v. Great. Checked it today as I only have a few days warranty left - 10.5v. Hope I can get it back before the warranty runs out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.