Motor mover problem

cricketscotty
cricketscotty Forum Participant Posts: 5
edited September 2016 in Caravans #1

i have a brand new motor mover professionally fitted powered by a new 110  amp hour battery. I used it the other day to hook up at my storage site and again when we got on site all of which was satisfactory. We had electric hook up for the 5 nights we were
on site and it worked satisfactory. When we got back to storage the motor mover would only work intermitently going a couple of feet at a time.

I rang the supplier and was told that the cause was the battery which was probably putting out less than the 13.4 volts required. I was advised to charge the battery for 48 hours and it should be fine.

My concern is that why should the battery require charging when it has been on charge for 5 days through the caravans charging system and if this is necessary, to enable me to be able to use the mover when I get back to storage I will have to charge the
battery whilst on site which cause obvious problems.

Comments

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
    1000 Comments
    edited September 2016 #2

    That does sound like a problem with battery.......so either the new battery is duff, or your charger isn't charging.

  • Merve
    Merve Forum Participant Posts: 2,333
    1000 Comments
    edited September 2016 #3

    Yes, I would get the battery tested and see if the charger is charging- it wouldn't be the first time that a charger is duff! 

  • DORMAN12Q
    DORMAN12Q Forum Participant Posts: 90
    edited September 2016 #4

    Have you measured the battery voltage to see if it is discharged or are you guessing?

    I would check for loose connections , something could have come slack on your way back to storage, Check the battery clamps are clean on the inside and not heavily pitted , make sure they are tight, I have also seen where they are over tight and the pinch
    bolt has snapped or the clamp body has broken.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
    1000 Comments
    edited September 2016 #5

    If it is a 12v 110amp battery ,when not on charge are they really over more than 12v? as the dealer suggest it should beUndecided

  • Flappa30
    Flappa30 Forum Participant Posts: 33
    edited September 2016 #6

    Are you certain that the battery was actually on charge while connected on the site..? On our van (2016 Swift) you have to turn the charger on. It's not necesserily a case of plug in the mains and the battery is automatically on charge. 5 nights of running lights etc without a charge would be enough to drain the battery down.

    If it was on charge did you see the battery meter reading the higher voltage 13V+..? If you did it would seem that the charger output is there, so it would indicate a problem with the battery itself maybe.

  • martindf3
    martindf3 Forum Participant Posts: 65
    edited September 2016 #7

    If it is a 12v 110amp battery ,when not on charge are they really over more than 12v? as the dealer suggest it should beUndecided

    ...Standing voltage should be about 12.7 volts for a fully charged battery thats been left for a few hours . I carry a cheap £5 voltmeter in the van to test batterys of every kind in and around van . I'd clip it to the battery direct and operate the movers
    it should hold its voltage ,it will be a lot lower (11.5-12.5 depending on the current draw ) if it doesnt , start suspecting the battery . The caravan charger should have it at about 13.2.. I had to use my mover to reverse and manoeurvre about 30 yards and
    the voltage had dropped to 12.5 if thats any help .

  • JCB4X4
    JCB4X4 Forum Participant Posts: 466
    100 Comments
    edited September 2016 #8

    If it is a 12v 110amp battery ,when not on charge are they really over more than 12v? as the dealer suggest it should beUndecided

    Any 12v battery (regardless of its ah rating) that reads 12v or less standing charge, is to all intents and purposes Flat.

    See: 12v Battery Power – Connecting UP page 652- 2015/2016 CC Sites Directory & Handbook for further details.


  • DSB
    DSB Club Member Posts: 5,695 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #9

    I got this from somewhere and kept a note of it on my laptop:

    Charge Volts  
      100%

    75%

    50%

    25%

    12.65

    12.45

    12.20

    12.06

    It gives some idea of what to expect, but I guess the older the battery the less likely it is to keep 100% charge.

    David 

  • crusader
    crusader Forum Participant Posts: 299
    100 Comments
    edited September 2016 #10

    Hi three things I would do, first take your battery to someone like Halfords and get it checked, two buy a solar panel to keep the battery charged up you can get a small window type that you attach it to a sky light ( on th inside ) and thirdly turn
    off any thing that draws power 

                                                                        
    Paul

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
    1000 Comments
    edited September 2016 #11

     .... first take your battery to someone like Halfords and get it checked,  ....

    be better to take it to a proper auto spark that knows what he's doing than Halfords