have ford transit camper van with new start up battery fitted with split charger for leisure battery its all working as it should except that my new battery is losing its charge after leaving the vehicle stand for a few days.took van on 100miles trip came home left it for 3 days went to start it and it was dead the leisure battery was fine was told i may have earth leakage?
2007-01-27 19:11:19 · 8 answers · asked by David S 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I assume you have had the battery checked and it tests good? My next question would be what brand battery you have. I will be perfectly honest, if it is an everstart battery take it back and tell them you want the money refund then go pay a little more for a good battery. Having worked for the company that sells everstart I can assure you that they are well aware of the problems with their batteries and they know they are not reliable. Other than that, have your charging system also checked.
2007-01-27 19:22:35 · answer #1 · answered by swksmason 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Possible faults:
1. Your so-call new start up battery is defective. Get it check by your battery supplier to confirm. It unable to hold charge or having poor internal resistance causing rapid self-discharge.
2. The charging circuit to your start-up battery may be 'open' circuit (disconnected or loosened connection), thus cutting off charging from the alternator. To confirm, place a voltmeter across the start-up battery terminals with engine running and headlight 'on'. Should read 16.5 V and 27.5 to 28.5V for a 12V system and 24V system respectively. If you are getting only the battery voltage or lower, your charging circuit or a polarity diode in your alternator is defective.
3. For earth leakage - Remove the earth cable (-) from the battery terminal is one good way if you have a leakage problem. To find out where is the leakage, my advise is to seek an auto electrician, may be too technical for non-auto technician.
4. May be a combination of some of the above factors. The age and level of maintenance of your vehicle are also important contributing factors.
2007-01-27 20:19:39 · answer #2 · answered by Passo L 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a slow discharge some where. Check all connections and grounds on both batteries and on isolator switch. It could be radio / interior light ect. in vehicle cab not turning off. Also check to make sure both batteries are charging when vehicle is running by using a voltage meter directly at each battery. Most vehicles charge at about 14 volts +/-. Vehicle may only be charging the camper battery and not the starting battery.
also check if you have a light under you hood that comes on when you lift hood. Most use some type of mercury switch to turn light on when hood opens and off when closed. I have seen them drain a battery if they are not adjusted properly.
hope this helps
2007-01-27 20:30:30 · answer #3 · answered by Greg 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I go with Greg on this initially. Occams razor states that all things being equal, it tends to be the simplest explaination that is usually correct.
Make sure that all lights, equipment and ignition are switched off, disconnect the earth lead and connect an ammeter between the earth lead and something which is bare metal on the bodywork. As a rule any reading above 0.2 amps is showing serious battery drain.
Faulty alarms sometimes cause this.
2007-01-27 22:19:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could be a bad diode in the alternator.Circuit Check;Disconnect the ground cable from the battery .Now hook a test light ,one end to the negative post and one end to the negative detached cable.Now with if the light is on with the key off you have a low amp short in one of the fused circuits.Now pull one fuse at a time until the test light goes out and you have found the bad circuit.Now try to determine where the short is in that circuit.
2007-01-27 19:25:39 · answer #5 · answered by (A) 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
im only 16, but i have had that same problem before. Take the alternator to a local auto zone or somthing like that, they should test your alternator for free, if the alternator is fine than there is a shot in one of the wires that plug into or out of thealternator. Then charge your battery and check it, daily to make sure that it keeps a charge
2007-01-27 19:57:02 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you leaving the fridge on or something? Sounds like something in the van is using the power. Try charging it up, then disconnecting it when you leave the van. If it still discharges, it must be faulty.
2007-01-27 19:20:36 · answer #7 · answered by gaz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok
2007-01-27 19:14:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋