Hi All
Been away for long weekend, while packing up on Sunday morning wife heard a loud beep but as electric was still on thought nothing about it, using motor mover to hitch up it kept beeping & cutting out, my first thought was mover remote battery, on arriving home changed the remote battery then wound the mover onto wheel, again cutting out, plugged into mains to get the van into position to put the Alko lock on, wound legs down then emptied the fridge etc, wife went in Monday night to get clothes out and got a burning smell from inside van, I checked round & found the smell was from leisure battery, battery was hot, on removing battery I found the negative clamp was loose, I’ve checked the power on the leads with multimeter getting around 13.5 so it’s not the charging side, the battery is around 9 years old & caravan is connected to mains on front drive
Looking forward to your replies
Regards Graham
If the negative clamp was loose on the terminal this would create a high resistance joint which would likely get hot, especially drawing the current of a motor-mover. It is also possible that the battery could be on its way out, especially if it is 9 years old.
Hi Colin
Just what I thought, I’ve got the battery on smart charger at the min but don’t hold much hope out for recovery,
Not using the van for a few weeks as we are touring Southern Ireland for 10 days from 13th so will probably buy a new battery when I’m back, don’t suppose I can moan about it after 9 years
Thanks for the reply
Graham
If you take the leisure battery to an auto electrical battery supplier and ask them to conduct a drop test, this will confirm if the battery is defective or not. I would suggest after 9 years it probably does need replacing, however, it appears that it's still holding a charge so a drop test is the best solution and see what the results are.
Hi guys,
Just an observation - some better known high street stores will offer to take your old battery and recycle it for free.
As an alternative, take the battery to a scrap yard and get a few quid for it.
It's a shame the high street stores can't do this and therefore offer a discount towards the new battery!!!
Hi All
Battery been on smart charger all day while I was at work, just checked & its showing fault so time to replace it I think.
Will purchase a new one after Ireland trip ready for next time out in van.
Thanks for the advice everyone
Cheers Graham
As an aside from the battery, I was always told never to use the mover when plugged into electric as this can damage the charger, I’ve seen two caravans just recently where the ‘red isolator switch’ cannot be inserted if the electric cable is plugged in which reiterates the point I suppose, just saying
Quote: Originally posted by Grandad Kenny on 06/9/2019
As an aside from the battery, I was always told never to use the mover when plugged into electric as this can damage the charger, I’ve seen two caravans just recently where the ‘red isolator switch’ cannot be inserted if the electric cable is plugged in which reiterates the point I suppose, just saying
Yes that does make sense. I have never tried to insert my isolator key with the EHU connected, so I don't actually know whether it is possible on mine. I will have to take a look now, as you have got me curious.
Hi Kenny
It was a one off plugging the mains lead in to get the van off the road & onto the front drive, it’s not something I would ever do normally, it’s not possible to use the car to position the van as it has to be in exact correct position very close to the front of the house so I can line up the Alko lock
Will purchase a new battery when back from hols
Graham
When you replace the battery it might be worth checking the sealant at the rear of the battery box is in good condition. In theory the smell should not have come inside the caravan.
DaveS1
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Topic: Battery problem
via mobile 06/9/2019 at 3:23pm
