Hi there ,I purchase a used Fleetwood meredien caravan in Jan this year from a dealer (they supplied a new battery with it) with 1 yrs warrenty .Last month I noticed the battery had lost charge and wasnt charging up with the caravan charger .I took it back to the dealer and they fitted a new battery and said the charger was also faulty , so fitted a new charger unit aswell .Since I have had it back i have kept an eye on the battery reading and noticed it is loosing chage very quickly ,in approx 1 week lost all charge.I have checked that I have got nothing left on even disabling the built in alarm ,the only thing I can see which is taking up power is the stereo unit ,although it is turned off ,the clock still lights up etc .I wouldnt have thought this would use much power though .before I contact the dealer again (as its a 80 mile round trip ) has anyone any advise for me to try first .many thanks in advance Rob
With a separate charger, charge battery fully & leave it disconnected. If after a week it is dead, then you have a faulty battery. If battery is still fully charged, then something in your caravan is discharging it.
there was a batch of faulty chargers fitted and in stock at dealers,mainly swift /fleetwood ect.check fridge display panel is off also the aerial booster is off.there was a spate of alarms draining the batteries too.
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A clock wouldn't drain battery in 4 days. Fridge does not work on 12v from battery only from car when being towed. If your battery is ok then something faulty is draining it. You would need an ammeter to check if there is a discharge from battery with everything switched off. You would then need to disconnect things like stereo, 1 by 1 to find cause of discharge.
Quote: Originally posted by ruralrob on 10/9/2010
thanks guys ,I have checked fridge and aerial boosted are off ,just stereo clock on ,would this drain a battery in 4 days ?
I would think doubtful, but I'm only guessing.
I had a problem once. The van had been in storeage for about a month and we came to get it to use it. After almost getting it out of the storeage pitch using the motor mover, it lost power. After investigation (i.e. a discussion with our caravan service department) , it turned out that the battery lost power because we had left on the Master Switch. When this is left on, the 'residue radio electrics' can take down the battery. This however was over a period of a month (may have been slightly longer) and there was still sufficient left in the battery to use the mover for a little while.
We now always religiously check to make sure our Master Switch is off and we have had no problems since. It just might be worth checking that the Master Switch is off (if you have one), but for the battery to go after only 4 days (was it completely discharged?) it does sound like it might be something else.
Just a quick update ,I checked the stereo clock again and found that not only is the clock showing but also the lights for the digits etc are also lighting up ,after going through the menu I have found out how to turn the clock right off ,so I am now charging the battery again ,and will see if it manages to hold charge as I cannot think of anything else taking up power .Fingers crossed !!
I'd check the master switch is off as mentioned above , it normally says Van , Car ( the middle setting if it has one, will be Off . Though it's not always marked as off ) .
Tentz has the right idea to find if it's the battery or a fault in the 'van.Disconnect the battery and charge it fully to 12.7.Leave it for a good week and check it again. If it has dropped it's a dud battery remembering that 12.4 is flat.
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just another update ,after charging the battery again ,i enterd the caravan and a awfull egg smell is now every where in the van ( we only checked because it was strong outside aswell ).after opening the battery box the battery is very hot and the smell is from there , and condensation was inside .So I can asume the battery is shot !question now is should i just get them to deliver a new battery to me or should i take the van back to get checked out .many thanks
Quote: Originally posted by michael on 10/9/2010
there was a batch of faulty chargers fitted and in stock at dealers,mainly swift /fleetwood ect.check fridge display panel is off also the aerial booster is off.there was a spate of alarms draining the batteries too.
that was intesting michael about the aerial booster noticed a small drop in charge from my battery this year battery is new..
Quote: Originally posted by ruralrob on 17/9/2010
just another update ,after charging the battery again ,i enterd the caravan and a awfull egg smell is now every where in the van ( we only checked because it was strong outside aswell ).after opening the battery box the battery is very hot and the smell is from there , and condensation was inside .So I can asume the battery is shot !question now is should i just get them to deliver a new battery to me or should i take the van back to get checked out .many thanks
The "condensation" might be be acid from the battery, so assume it is and take adequate precautions before attempting to remove it.
You need to connect a multi meter in line to test the current drain and take out the fuses 1 by 1 until you find the culprit. Take the positive lead off the battery attaching it to the multimeter lead then put the other lead from the mutimeter to the battery terminal from which you removed the positive lead then turn the selector to amps, This will then give you a reading of current being drawn.
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Topic: Help please -caravn battery losing charge
